Zagreb or Zakopane?

Neither place is a beach destination, and anyone who wants the sea should plan another stop. What differs is how you cool off. In Zagreb it means a summer swim in the former gravel pits at Jarun and Bundek, which have pebbly shores. In Zakopane the Tatra lakes are off limits, so a swim usually means the outdoor thermal pools, which stay warm even in winter.

Zagreb eats better and has more variety: štrukli, turkey with mlinci, Dolac market every morning, wines from Plešivica and Slavonia, and a few serious kitchens. Its café culture, peaking on Saturday mornings around Flower Square, is a reason to visit in itself.

Zakopane's highland cooking is distinctive, with grilled oscypek with cranberry, kwaśnica and lamb served in timber inns. But the choice is narrow, and the menus along Krupówki tend to repeat each other. The best meals are found in family inns on the side streets.

Zagreb has far more to see. There are St Mark's tiled roof and the Stone Gate in the Upper Town, the Green Horseshoe's galleries below, collections from the Mimara to the Museum of Broken Relationships, and the arcades of Mirogoj. Together that fills two unhurried days.

Zakopane's heritage is small but unlike anywhere else: the steep-roofed villas of the Zakopane style, the Tatra Museum, and the carved grave markers at Pęksowy Brzyzek. You can see it all in a day, and it is a side note to the mountains.

Zagreb gives you more choice of evenings. Terraces along Tkalčićeva fill up, there are cocktail and craft beer bars around Flower Square, and the lakeside clubs at Jarun open in summer. Its student population keeps alternative venues going all year.

Zakopane's nightlife is mostly on Krupówki, where pubs and inns get rowdy over winter weekends with the après-ski crowds and then go quiet midweek and out of season. Most people there are hiking early the next morning anyway.

Zakopane is in another league here. Granite peaks, cirques and glacial lakes start at the edge of town, and the walks range from the paved road to Morskie Oko up to Rysy at 2,499m and the chained Orla Perć. Add the cable car to Kasprowy Wierch, winter skiing and rafting on the Dunajec.

Zagreb's outdoors are pleasant but gentle: beech woods and mountain huts on Medvednica, the lakes of Maksimir, and cycling along the Sava. Plitvice is its big natural sight, two hours away by car.

Both have a good spread of outings, but in different directions. From Zagreb, you head north into the castle and baroque country of Zagorje and Varaždin, or across to Ljubljana, though none of these is a headline destination.

Zakopane has the one big name, Kraków with the Wieliczka salt mine on the way. Closer in are wooden churches and villages like Dębno and Chochołów, and over the border are Spiš Castle and Levoča. The catch is weekend traffic on the roads out of town.

Zagreb is a flat, safe city that is easy with a pushchair, and it works for a few relaxed days rather than a trip built around children. The zoo is inside Maksimir park, the Technical Museum has old trams and a mock mine, the short funicular is fun for younger children, and Jarun gives them somewhere to swim in summer.

Zakopane is the better choice for outdoor families. Gubałówka has slides and a summer toboggan run, the Kościeliska valley trail is flat enough for small legs, winter brings sledging and ski schools, and the thermal water parks fill a rainy day. The downsides are the crowds and traffic on long weekends and during the school breaks.

Zagreb is the easier place to get around. The centre is compact and mostly flat, blue trams cover the whole city, the tiny funicular climbs to the Upper Town, and buses reach Medvednica and the airport. You only need a car for Zagorje or Plitvice.

Zakopane is easy on foot, and minibuses run to the trailheads, but getting there and away is the weak point. The road jams at peak times, and the train from Kraków is slow.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Zagreb has more range. Ilica has chains and local fashion, there are malls on the edge of town, and the Sunday flea market is at Britanski trg. Good things to take home are licitar hearts, neckties and lace.

Zakopane is mostly souvenirs and outdoor gear. The market below Gubałówka is worth a look for wool sweaters, sheepskins, carved wood and wheels of oscypek, if you choose the handmade pieces.

Neither will stretch a budget, but the costs work differently. In Zagreb the everyday things are cheap: trams, museum entry, market food, bakery snacks and a coffee on a terrace. Central apartments are reasonably priced, but smart restaurants, cocktails and the best hotels cost about what they would in Western Europe.

Zakopane is cheap by alpine standards, with family guesthouses, filling inn meals and minibuses to the trailheads. As a resort, though, it gets dearer at Christmas, New Year, during the winter school breaks and on long summer weekends, and rooms need booking early then. Spring and autumn are the cheapest times to go.

Zagreb has a real season. There is opera and ballet at the Croatian National Theatre, the Zagreb Philharmonic at the Lisinski hall, the Zagreb Soloists, and summer concerts in Upper Town courtyards, though much of the drama is in Croatian.

Zakopane's live culture is smaller and folk-based. Highland string bands play in the inns, the Witkacy Theatre is respected, and the mountain folklore festival fills the town each August. Classical concerts are only occasional.

Zakopane is far better for unwinding. Several large geothermal complexes within half an hour have outdoor pools that steam in the snow, with views of the Tatras, and plenty of hotels have saunas. To get real calm, stay on the quieter slopes rather than near Krupówki.

Zagreb has no bathing culture in the city and only hotel spa floors. The Zagorje thermal resorts are about an hour away, so its relaxation comes mostly from the slow pace of café mornings and quiet parks.