Stuttgart or Zermatt?

Neither place has a beach, so swimming is not a reason to choose either. The difference is in what replaces it: Stuttgart has outdoor pools in summer, some fed by its mineral springs, and Lake Constance a couple of hours away. In Zermatt the mountain tarns are for photographing the Matterhorn, and a swim means a hotel pool.

Stuttgart offers the richer table. Swabian staples such as Maultaschen and Käsespätzle, wine from vineyards inside the city, seasonal Besen taverns and the Markthalle give it real local character, and there is a strong fine-dining tier as well.

Zermatt's best meals are long lunches at chalets in Findeln or Furi, with raclette, air-dried beef and a glass of Petite Arvine in view of the Matterhorn. The setting is memorable, but the range is narrow, cheap options are few and many kitchens close between seasons.

Stuttgart has far more to see. Its two car museums, the Staatsgalerie, the Le Corbusier houses of the Weissenhof Estate and the palaces around Schlossplatz fill two or three full days, even though wartime bombing left the old core patchy.

Zermatt's heritage is about mountaineering: the Matterhorn Museum and its story of the 1865 first ascent, the climbers' cemetery and the old larch barns of the Hinterdorf. All of that fits into a single morning.

Neither is a party destination, but Stuttgart offers more evenings out across the year. There are bar strips on Theodor-Heuss-Strasse, basement clubs with a loyal electronic crowd, quieter wine bars in the Bohnenviertel, and the huge beer tents of the Cannstatter Volksfest in autumn.

Zermatt's nightlife is winter après-ski: loud slope-side bars at dusk and a handful of late spots on the main street. It is cheerful but expensive, and in summer most people are in bed early for a climb.

This is where Zermatt wins outright. The Matterhorn rises above the village, dozens of four-thousand-metre peaks and the Gorner Glacier surround it, and the lifts open up glacier skiing, the Five Lakes walk and the Europaweg suspension bridge.

Stuttgart's countryside is gentler: vineyard trails above the Neckar, deer in the Rotwildpark, and the cliffs of the Swabian Jura or the fir ridges of the northern Black Forest an hour out. It is good for walking and cycling, but it is not high mountain country.

Stuttgart is one of the better day-trip bases in Germany. Ludwigsburg's palace and half-timbered Esslingen are short S-Bahn rides away, Tübingen and Heidelberg take under an hour, and Maulbronn, Hohenzollern Castle, Ulm and even Strasbourg are within reach.

From Zermatt every outing starts with the long train ride down the valley. Sion's castle hills and Brig's Stockalper Palace are worth it, but most visitors sensibly spend their spare days on the mountain.

Stuttgart gives children more to do. Wilhelma, the zoo and botanical garden among Moorish pavilions, fills a day, and the Killesberg park railway, the car museums and the fairy-tale garden at Ludwigsburg cover the rest, with or without good weather.

Zermatt's appeal is its car-free calm, with nursery slopes at Sunnegga and marmot-spotting walks in summer. However, there is no zoo or theme park, wet days are hard to fill, and the thin air at the top viewpoints can be too much for small children.

Both are easy, though Zermatt is slightly simpler, since everything in the car-free village is on foot and the cog railway, the funicular and the gondolas start a short walk from the centre. Getting there takes more effort, with a shuttle train from Täsch and over an hour of rail to the Rhône valley.

Stuttgart's flat centre is walkable, and one ticket covers the Stadtbahn, the S-Bahn, the rack railway and the funicular up the steep sides of the basin, including the airport and the car museums.

Stuttgart is the better place to shop. Königstrasse runs for a long stretch of pedestrian high street, Breuninger handles designer fashion, the Bohnenviertel has independent shops, and the outlet town of Metzingen is half an hour away.

Zermatt's single main street sells Swiss watches, cowbells and chocolate. Its one real strength is serious ski and mountaineering gear.

Stuttgart is not cheap, but it is far easier on the wallet. Hotel rooms drop at weekends and outside trade fairs, tavern portions are generous, and a day ticket covers transport.

Zermatt ranks among the priciest places in the Alps. Rooms, terrace lunches and the lift passes everyone needs all add up, and only self-catering or sleeping down the valley in Täsch eases the bill.

Stuttgart's stage life is a real reason to go. The Staatsoper and the ballet, celebrated since John Cranko's time, share the state theatre beside the palace gardens, and the Liederhalle, a strong Bach tradition, serious drama and long-running musicals at Möhringen add plenty more.

Zermatt has no theatre or concert hall. Outside the spring Zermatt Unplugged festival and the late-summer chamber music weeks, live music mostly means an après-ski band.

Stuttgart has a true public bathing culture. The springs of Bad Cannstatt and Berg feed the Mineralbad Cannstatt and the Mineralbad Leuze with naturally carbonated warm water, and saunas are included, though the city itself moves at a businesslike pace.

Zermatt has no springs. It does have a cluster of excellent hotel spas with mountain views, some open to day visitors, and car-free quiet that feels restful after a day on the slopes.