Aberdeen or Dublin?

Neither is a beach city, but Dublin's shore is more fun to use. The DART runs to sandy strands such as Dollymount and Portmarnock, the water is a couple of degrees less cold than the North Sea, and visitors can join the locals' year-round swims at the Forty Foot and Seapoint.

Aberdeen's beach begins right at the edge of the centre, and the dunes at Balmedie are wide and empty. The wind and the sea make them places for a brisk walk rather than a swim.

Both cities cook with good produce from cold seas and green pasture, and neither is a reason to travel. Dublin offers more, with modern bistros in Dublin 2 and Dublin 8, a wider international range and the slow-poured pint of stout, which is a real local pleasure.

Aberdeen's food is plainer and more local: the buttery at breakfast, Angus beef, and fish and chips down the coast at Stonehaven. Whisky is the common thread, with Speyside malt on every Aberdeen bar shelf and Irish whiskey distilleries and tasting bars in Dublin.

Dublin has more to see, and more depth. There are the Book of Kells and the Long Room at Trinity, the free national museums, the Chester Beatty Library, two medieval cathedrals and Kilmainham Gaol, all set among Georgian squares and a literary history that runs from Joyce to Wilde.

Aberdeen has less to offer but a strong character of its own. Its granite gives the centre a striking unity, Marischal College is a real spectacle, and Old Aberdeen with King's College and St Machar's is a pleasure to wander. The museums are modest, though, and two or three days covers it.

Both are pub cities, but Dublin goes out on a different scale. Its old pubs with snugs and coal fires, the late bars and younger crowds on Camden and Wexford Streets and its busy weekends make the evenings worth planning a trip around, even though the clubs close early.

Aberdeen's nights depend on its students. They gather on Belmont Street and the lanes off Union Street, where pubs have good whisky lists and real ale. Midweek and outside term, the centre goes quiet early.

Aberdeen has the wilder, higher country. Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms bring real mountain plateau, Lochnagar, pine forest around Braemar and skiing in winter. The coast adds seabird cliffs, the seals at the Ythan estuary and dolphins off Torry Battery.

Dublin's outdoors is gentler but closer at hand. There are deer in Phoenix Park, the Howth cliff path is a train ride away, and the rounded Wicklow hills and Glendalough are within an hour. It suits walkers without a car better, but it is not high country.

Both make excellent bases for days out, and the difference is in what you go to see. From Aberdeen it is castles and whisky: Dunnottar on its sea stack, Crathes, Craigievar and Fyvie inland, Balmoral up Deeside and the Speyside distilleries.

From Dublin the sights are far older. The passage tombs of Newgrange and Knowth lie in the Boyne Valley, and there are the monastic ruins at Glendalough, medieval Kilkenny, and Belfast by train. Around both cities, a car or a tour makes the rural sites far easier to reach.

Dublin gives children more to do. The zoo inside Phoenix Park, Dublinia's Viking displays, the free natural history museum and a theme park half an hour away can fill a rainy week, and pubs welcome families at lunchtime.

Aberdeen is calm and safe but has less built for children: the Science Centre, the funfair on the beach esplanade and the glasshouses in Duthie Park, plus the chance of seeing dolphins at the harbour mouth. In both cities the weather means keeping an indoor plan ready.

Both centres are compact enough to walk, but Dublin's transport reaches further. Two Luas tram lines and the DART along the bay make Howth, Dalkey and the beaches easy to reach without a car, all on one card, though the buses get slow at rush hour.

Aberdeen has buses but no trams. Trains reach Stonehaven, Dundee and Inverness, but the castles, Deeside and the distilleries really need a hire car.

Dublin is the better place to shop, though not a great one. Grafton Street with its long-established department store, the Powerscourt Townhouse arcade and the design shops around Drury Street give it a proper browsing centre, and Aran knitwear, linen and crystal make good things to take home.

Aberdeen's shopping is mainly chain stores in two indoor centres and on Union Street, with a few independents in Rosemount and around Belmont Street. Its best buys, knitwear, tartan and whisky, are often found out in Deeside or at the distilleries.

Neither city is cheap, but Aberdeen is far kinder on the room bill. Its hotels cater to business travellers, so weekend and summer rates are often reasonable. Dublin's central hotels are among the dearest in Europe and cost even more when there is a big match or concert.

Meals and drinks are expensive in both, and both have free museums. In Aberdeen the extra cost is a hire car for the countryside. In Dublin, the usual way to save is to stay further out along a DART or Luas line.

Dublin has a home-grown stage life that Aberdeen lacks. The Abbey and the Gate stage their own productions, the National Concert Hall is home to the national symphony orchestra, and traditional sessions run in pubs almost every night.

Aberdeen's His Majesty's Theatre and Music Hall are handsome buildings with a decent programme, but most of it is touring productions and visiting orchestras. Opera is limited in both: short seasons in Dublin, and visits from the national company in Aberdeen.

Neither city is built for pampering, and hotel spas are the main option in both. The difference is in the setting. In Aberdeen, calm comes from the unhurried pace and the country-house hotels out in Deeside, while Dublin has the cold sea dip at the Forty Foot or Seapoint, often followed by a sauna on the seafront, and quiet walks in its Georgian squares.