Zagreb or Dubrovnik?

These two are about as far apart as Croatia allows. Dubrovnik has swimming on its doorstep: rock platforms below the seaward walls, Banje beach by the Old Town and the coves of Lapad and Babin Kuk. Even better water lies a boat ride away on Lokrum, the Elafiti islands and the sandy cove at Sunj on Lopud.

Zagreb sits two hours inland. Lake Jarun and Bundek are pleasant for cooling off on a hot afternoon, but anyone who wants the sea has to add a coastal stop.

Zagreb eats better and more easily. Its cooking is Central European rather than coastal: štrukli, turkey with mlinci and Zagorje sausages. Dolac market sits at the centre of daily life, and the terrace coffee ritual is a pleasure in itself.

Dubrovnik's strengths are narrower but distinctive: grilled fish, black risotto, Ston oysters and Pelješac reds. The catch is the Old Town, where many tables serve the day crowds, so good meals mean seeking out konobas in Lapad, Gruž or Konavle.

Dubrovnik has the more memorable sight. Its unbroken walls, the Stradun, the Rector's Palace, the Franciscan pharmacy and Fort Lovrijenac make one of the most complete historic towns in Europe, though it is small and packed on summer days.

Zagreb spreads its heritage more thinly across the medieval Upper Town and the Austro-Hungarian Lower Town. It makes up for this with a wider spread of museums, from the Mimara and Strossmayer collections to the Museum of Broken Relationships, plus the arcades of Mirogoj.

Zagreb has more of a night out and keeps it going all year. Tkalčićeva's café-bars, cocktail and craft beer spots around Flower Square, lakeside clubs at Jarun in summer and student venues give it some range, though it stays friendly rather than wild.

Dubrovnik's evenings are about a drink in a beautiful spot, at the cliffside bars outside the walls or in the Old Town lanes. Little remains once the summer season ends.

Dubrovnik's landscape is the more dramatic: bare limestone falling into an island-scattered sea, kayaking around the walls, Lokrum's gardens and the saltwater lakes of Mljet.

Zagreb's outdoors is gentler and greener but very handy. The beech forests of Medvednica start at the edge of the city, Maksimir and the Sava embankments suit a run or a ride, and Plitvice's lakes are a long day south.

Dubrovnik has the slightly stronger list, mainly because two countries lie close by. The Bay of Kotor, Perast and Trebinje are the highlights, with Ston and Cavtat nearer to hand, though summer border queues can eat into the day.

Zagreb's excursions are quieter and more varied: the Zagorje castles such as Trakošćan, baroque Varaždin, Samobor, the Plešivica wine roads and even Ljubljana by train.

Neither city is built around children, but the trips feel quite different. Dubrovnik offers boat rides, the cable car and calm swimming coves, against endless stairs and hot, crowded summer streets. Zagreb is flat, pushchair-friendly and green, with a zoo in Maksimir, the Tesla technical museum and a funicular, but it has no sea.

Zagreb is the easier city to move around. Its centre is compact and mostly flat, and a dense web of blue trams plus the funicular covers almost everything without a car.

In Dubrovnik the car-free Old Town is tiny, but most beds are in Lapad, Babin Kuk or Gruž. That means buses, steep walks and summer jams at the Pile gate. The boats out to the islands are part of the appeal.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Zagreb at least has a real high street. Ilica has fashion chains and local design, and there are licitar hearts, Croatian ties and a Sunday flea market at Britanski trg. Dubrovnik is mostly souvenir stalls, with a few genuine crafts such as Konavle embroidery and filigree jewellery.

The cost gap is wide. Zagreb is one of the cheaper capitals in the European Union, and rooms, trams, museums and market food are all easy on the budget.

Dubrovnik is the most expensive place in Croatia, with summer rooms priced like a big Western capital. The walls, the cable car and the boat trips all add to the bill. Staying in Lapad or Cavtat and coming in spring or autumn helps, but only partly.

Zagreb has a year-round season. Opera and ballet play at the Croatian National Theatre, the Zagreb Philharmonic performs at Lisinski, chamber music is given by the Zagreb Soloists, and there are jazz clubs and summer courtyard concerts.

Dubrovnik comes alive for the Summer Festival in July and August, when plays and concerts fill Fort Lovrijenac and the Rector's Palace atrium. For the rest of the year there is little to attend.

Both cities are equally modest here, with spas mostly limited to hotels. Their kinds of calm differ, though. Zagreb has the thermal resorts of Zagorje, such as Tuheljske Toplice, within an hour, and slow café mornings at home. In Dubrovnik, rest means escaping the summer crowds to Cavtat or the Elafiti islands, or coming outside the peak season.