Aberdeen or Cardiff?

Neither city is a beach destination. Aberdeen's one advantage is location: a long beach of sand and dunes starts at the edge of the centre, and Balmedie's empty strands are up the coast. But the North Sea stays cold and the wind is often strong, so it is a place for a bracing walk.

Cardiff has no beach of its own, yet it is the better choice for a day by the sea. Barry Island's sandy bay is half an hour away by train, Penarth has its Victorian pier, and the surf at Porthcawl and the Gower sands are within a drive. The water is a few degrees warmer too, enough for a summer paddle.

Both cities eat well without being a reason to travel, but the character differs. Aberdeen's strength is its produce: North Sea fish and shellfish, Aberdeen Angus beef, the salty buttery at breakfast, serious fish and chips down the coast at Stonehaven, and Speyside malt in every bar.

Cardiff has more variety in its restaurants. There are the neighbourhood bistros of Pontcanna and Canton and the long run of Middle Eastern and South Asian cooking on City Road. The Victorian market sells Welsh cakes from the griddle, and the pubs pour good local ales.

Cardiff has more to see. Its castle sets lavish Victorian rooms inside Roman and Norman walls in the middle of town. The National Museum holds a strong Impressionist collection, and St Fagans brings buildings from all over Wales together in one open-air museum.

Aberdeen's appeal is more in its buildings: the silver-grey granite of Marischal College and Union Street, and the medieval lanes of Old Aberdeen around King's College and St Machar's. Its streets are older than Cardiff's mostly Victorian centre, but it has fewer major collections.

Cardiff has the bigger night out. St Mary Street fills with large groups on Saturdays, rugby international days take over the whole centre, and Womanby Street adds small alternative bars and late venues. Aberdeen is more of a pub town, with whisky bars, real-ale houses and a few student clubs around Belmont Street, and it goes quiet early outside term.

Both have serious hills within an hour, but Aberdeen has more to choose from. Royal Deeside leads into the Cairngorms, with high plateau walks, Lochnagar, pine forest and winter skiing at Glenshee and the Lecht. On the coast there are cliff paths, seabird colonies, seals at the Ythan estuary and dolphins off the harbour mouth.

Cardiff's outdoors starts in Bute Park and on the Taff Trail. The big day out is Pen y Fan in Bannau Brycheiniog, a half-day hike along open ridges, while the Wales Coast Path past Penarth and the Gower headlands are gentler options.

Both cities are surrounded by castles, so the difference lies in getting to them. From Aberdeen you reach Dunnottar on its sea stack, the tower houses of the Castle Trail, Balmoral and the Speyside distilleries, and most of them need a car.

From Cardiff the trips are more varied and easier by train. Caerphilly is twenty minutes away and Castell Coch stands in the woods just north of the city. Bristol and Bath are across the Severn, and the mining heritage of Blaenavon and Big Pit is up in the valleys.

Cardiff is the easier city for families. Techniquest and the boat trips at the Bay, the farm animals and craft demonstrations at St Fagans, the rowing boats on Roath Park lake and Barry Island's summer funfair give children plenty to do. The flat centre helps with buggies.

Aberdeen is safe and relaxed but has less built for children: the Science Centre, the beach funfair, the Duthie Park glasshouses and dolphin spotting at the harbour. The weather is colder, so more days need an indoor plan.

Neither city has a metro or tram, and both centres are walkable. Cardiff's is flatter and largely pedestrianised, and local trains run to Penarth, Barry Island, Caerphilly and the valleys. In Aberdeen the area around Union Street is compact, but the castles, Deeside and the distilleries depend much more on a hire car.

Cardiff is the better place to browse. Its glass-roofed Victorian and Edwardian arcades are lined with independent shops for records, books and vintage clothing, and Welsh lovespoons, woollen blankets and slate make good things to take home.

Aberdeen's centre is mostly two indoor shopping centres and the chains on Union Street, with some independents around Belmont Street and Rosemount. Its knitwear, tartan and whisky are often better bought in the Deeside villages or at the distilleries.

Both charge ordinary British prices for meals, drinks and taxis, so neither is cheap and overall costs come out much the same. In Aberdeen, the many business hotels keep weekend and summer rooms reasonable, but a hire car for the countryside adds up.

Cardiff's hotel prices jump when the stadium hosts a rugby international or a big concert. On the other hand, its free museums and short train rides to castles and the coast keep days out inexpensive.

Cardiff has much more of its own. Welsh National Opera is based at the Wales Millennium Centre, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is in the city, and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama stages frequent student shows. Small venues around Womanby Street book rising bands most nights.

Aberdeen's stage is mostly visiting productions. His Majesty's Theatre takes touring drama, musicals, opera and ballet, the Music Hall hosts the Scottish orchestras, and traditional music turns up in pub sessions.

Neither city has a bathing culture, and in both relaxing mostly means a hotel spa. The difference is the setting. From Aberdeen the restful choice is a country-house hotel out in Deeside, while in Cardiff it is closer to town: slow mornings in the Pontcanna cafés, the hotel pools at the Bay or a walk along the Taff.