Zadar or Zagreb?

Zadar is a real swimming destination from June to September. Locals dive off the stone promenade on the peninsula, Kolovare and pine-shaded Borik offer pebble and concrete platforms, and Nin's long, shallow sandy beaches are only 20 minutes north. Ferries to Ugljan, Pašman and Dugi Otok, home of the pale sand at Sakarun, open up quieter water.

Zagreb sits inland, about two hours' drive from the Adriatic. Lake Jarun and the smaller Bundek are fine for a hot-afternoon swim from pebbly shores, but anyone who wants the sea on a Zagreb trip has to add a coastal stop.

Neither city is a food destination, but Zagreb gives you more to explore. Its cooking is hearty and Central European, with štrukli, turkey with mlinci and Zagorje sausages. Dolac market is a proper morning institution, and the café terraces and Plešivica wines make the long lunch a pleasure.

Zadar is the place for Adriatic seafood, black risotto, peka-cooked octopus and Pag cheese, and Maraschino was first made here. The trouble is that its konobas serve much the same menu, so meals start to repeat after a few days.

The two are evenly matched but feel quite different. In Zadar, Roman, early medieval and Venetian layers share one small peninsula: the open forum, round St Donatus, the UNESCO-listed walls, then the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun on the waterfront.

Zagreb is a capital in two halves. The medieval Upper Town sits on its hill above an Austro-Hungarian grid of parks and theatres. It has more museums, and more varied ones, from the Mimara and the Naive Art collection to the Museum of Broken Relationships, plus the arcades of Mirogoj.

Zagreb has more going on after dark, and it lasts all year. The terraces on Tkalčićeva, the cocktail and craft beer bars around Flower Square and the student-run alternative venues keep going through the winter, and in summer the clubs at Jarun add a lakeside night out.

Zadar's evenings are seasonal and gentle. They start with sunset at the Sea Organ and drift into the café-bars on Kalelarga. Real clubbing means the trip to Zrće on Pag, about an hour away, and from October to May the town goes quiet.

Zadar sits between a steep mountain range and a scatter of islands, and that makes it the stronger choice for the outdoors. Paklenica's limestone gorges offer serious hiking and some of Croatia's best climbing, boats run to the bare Kornati and the cliffs of Telašćica, and Krka's waterfalls are an hour away.

Zagreb's countryside is green and gentle. The beech woods of Medvednica start at the edge of the city and can be reached by tram and bus, and Maksimir and the Sava embankments are good for an easy run or ride. Plitvice is about two hours from either city.

From Zadar the day trips are stronger and more varied. You can visit Šibenik's UNESCO cathedral, Nin's royal history only 20 minutes away, Split and Trogir if you are happy with a long day, and island villages by ferry from the harbour.

Zagreb's outings run north into Zagorje, with Trakošćan castle, Marija Bistrica and Kumrovec, or out to baroque Varaždin, Samobor and Karlovac. Ljubljana works as a long day. It is a good spread, but nothing matches Split or Šibenik, and from either city a car makes most trips easier.

Both are safe and easy with children, but family days look different. In Zadar they are built around the water: Nin's shallow sand, short ferry rides that feel like an adventure, and the tiles of the Greeting to the Sun lighting up after dark. There is no zoo or aquarium.

Zagreb has more to do in town, with the zoo in Maksimir, the Tesla technical museum's trams and mock mine, and the tiny funicular. Swimming is limited to the lakes at Jarun and Bundek.

Zagreb is easier to get around. A dense network of blue trams covers the city, the funicular saves the climb to the Upper Town, and buses run to Medvednica and the airport. You only need a car for Zagorje and Plitvice.

Zadar's car-free peninsula takes a quarter of an hour to cross on foot, and the island ferries leave from its edge. Beyond Borik, though, the local buses are of little use, so the national parks, Šibenik and Nin really call for a hire car or an organised excursion.

Shopping in Zadar is small-scale and mostly about the region's food and crafts. The marble Kalelarga has jewellers and souvenir shops, but the things worth taking home are Maraschino, Pag cheese, figs and fine Pag lace, and the market by the walls is the nicest place to find them.

Zagreb offers a good deal more choice, though it is still everyday shopping rather than a reason to visit. Ilica runs west from the main square with chains, local fashion and a few design shops. The cravat began in Croatia, so a necktie or a red licitar honey-dough heart makes a good souvenir from the capital, and the Sunday flea market at Britanski trg is good for browsing.

Zagreb is the cheaper stay, especially in summer, when the coast is at its most expensive. Central rooms, tram fares, museum entry and market food are all reasonably priced, and only upmarket dining reaches Western European levels.

Zadar costs about the same as a mid-range Western European city. It is good value for an apartment in June or September, but rooms near the peninsula in July and August are dear, and national park tickets and boat trips add up quickly.

Zagreb has a real cultural season. The Croatian National Theatre stages opera, ballet and drama, and the Lisinski hall is home to the Zagreb Philharmonic. Add the Zagreb Soloists, jazz clubs and summer courtyard concerts in the Upper Town, and there is something to book in most weeks of the year.

Zadar's one standout is the Musical Evenings in St Donatus, early and chamber music in a ninth-century church, with klapa singing on summer evenings. Outside July and August there is little to see.

Neither city has a spa culture of its own, and both are calm places with long café mornings. The difference is how you unwind. In Zadar it means hotel spas at Borik, the healing mud of Nin's lagoon and watching the sun go down over the islands from the Sea Organ steps.

From Zagreb you can drive about an hour to the thermal resorts of Zagorje, such as Tuheljske and Stubičke Toplice. Their warm mineral pools work in any season, which gives the capital a useful option for winter.