Wroclaw or Zakopane?

Neither is a place for a swimming vacation. The difference is in what takes the place of the sea. In Wroclaw, summer means lounging on sandy river beaches along the Oder, and the swimming happens in outdoor pools and countryside lakes.

The Tatra lakes are closed to bathers, so in Zakopane time in the water means warm thermal pools that stay open all year. The reservoir at Czorsztyn, about an hour away, is the summer alternative.

Wroclaw has the wider choice: pierogi, żurek in a bread bowl, roast duck, cheap milk-bar lunches, a fair number of bistros giving Polish dishes a lighter touch, and a strong beer scene in cellar brewpubs. Zakopane's highland cooking is more distinctive but narrower. It is built around grilled oscypek with cranberry jam, kwaśnica and lamb, served in timber inns with musicians.

In Zakopane many places on Krupówki repeat the same menu, so the better meals are in the family inns on the side streets. In Wroclaw the thing to avoid is the Market Square terraces, where you pay for the view.

This is where Wroclaw pulls well ahead. The Market Square with its Gothic Old Town Hall, the red-brick churches of Ostrów Tumski, the gilded Aula Leopoldina, the UNESCO-listed Centennial Hall and the Racławice Panorama fill several days. The post-war rebuilding also gives the whole centre a layered history.

Zakopane's heritage is small and very much its own. There is the wooden Zakopane style at Villa Koliba and the Jaszczurówka chapel, the Tatra Museum, and the carved grave markers of the Pęksowy Brzyzek cemetery. It has real charm, and one day covers it.

Wroclaw's large student population gives it the better nights out. They centre on the courtyard passage off Ruska Street, full of small bars, and the cellars around the Market Square. Weekends run past 2am, and in summer the drinking moves to the riverbanks. The city goes quieter between university terms.

Zakopane's evenings gather on Krupówki, in pubs, a few dance clubs and inns that turn rowdy. They are at their liveliest during the ski season's après-ski and on New Year's Eve. Midweek and out of season the town is quiet, and hikers go to bed early.

Zakopane is in another league here. The Tatra national park begins where its streets end. Kościeliska has crocus meadows, Morskie Oko is a glacial lake under granite walls, and a cable car climbs to Kasprowy Wierch. Rysy is there for fit hikers and Orla Perć for scramblers, with skiing in winter and rafting on the Dunajec in summer. Expect crowds on the popular trails.

Wroclaw's green side is flat and gentle: riverside paths, Szczytnicki Park with its Japanese Garden, and kayaks on the Oder. Ślęża makes a half-day hike within an hour, but the Sudetes are about two hours away.

Both cities have plenty of good day trips, but of different kinds. From Wroclaw you go to castles and abbeys across Lower Silesia, such as Książ above its gorge, the wooden Churches of Peace at Świdnica and Jawor, and Krzeszów. A car makes it easiest to combine several in one day.

From Zakopane the big outing is Kraków, with the Wieliczka salt mine on the way. Closer by are the painted wooden church at Dębno and the log houses of Chochołów, and over the border in Slovakia, Spiš Castle and Levoča make a strong day out. Weekend traffic out of the mountains can make any of these trips much longer.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Wroclaw is a flat, largely car-free city. Hunting for the bronze dwarfs, the zoo with its Afrykarium shark tunnel and the water science centre fill the days, though winters are cold and grey.

Zakopane suits families who want to be outdoors. There is the Gubałówka funicular with its summer toboggan run, valley trails that work with pushchairs, sledging and nursery slopes in winter, and thermal water parks for wet days. The steeper hikes are only for older children, and crowds in the school breaks can wear you down.

Wroclaw is the easier of the two. The main sights sit close together on flat ground, a large tram network reaches the zoo and the Centennial Hall, and bike lanes follow the river. Direct trains from the main station cover much of Lower Silesia.

Zakopane's centre is small and walkable, and minibuses shuttle out to Kuźnice and the valley trailheads. The hard part is getting in and out. The road jams on peak weekends, the railway from Kraków is scenic but slow, and parking in town is difficult.

Neither is a place to come for shopping, but Wroclaw has more range. There are malls for the chains, the 1930s Renoma department store, the riverside market hall, Bolesławiec stoneware and a few vintage shops in Nadodrze. Zakopane is mostly souvenirs, though the market below Gubałówka sells real highland craft: wool sweaters, sheepskins, felt slippers and carved boxes.

Both are good value, and Wroclaw more so. Central hotels cost a fraction of what they do in Western capitals, milk-bar lunches and beer are cheap, and only the Market Square terraces and big-event weekends push prices up.

Zakopane is cheap compared with Alpine resorts, with family guesthouses and filling inn meals. As a resort, though, it charges noticeably more at Christmas, New Year, in the winter school breaks and on long summer weekends. Spring and autumn are its cheapest seasons.

Wroclaw has far more for a night at a concert or show. The National Forum of Music runs a full orchestral season, and there is the Wroclaw Opera, the Wratislavia Cantans and Jazz on the Oder festivals, and a theatre tradition going back to Grotowski, though plays are in Polish.

Zakopane's live culture is smaller and rooted in the place. Highland string bands play in the inns, there is the Witkacy Theatre, and every August the folklore festival fills the streets with dance troupes.

Zakopane began as a mountain health resort and is still one. Geothermal pools at Chochołów, Białka Tatrzańska, Bukowina and Szaflary lie within half an hour, steaming outdoors with views of the Tatras. For quiet, stay on the slopes above town rather than near Krupówki in high season.

Wroclaw has no bathing tradition of its own, just hotel spas, an indoor aquapark and slow riverside afternoons. For a proper spa cure you go an hour out to Szczawno-Zdrój.