Aberdeen or Inverness?

Neither city is a place to swim, and the North Sea and the Moray Firth are both cold. The difference is where the sand is. In Aberdeen a long beach with dunes starts a short walk from the centre, and Balmedie is within half an hour. In Inverness you drive to the beach, either east to the long, dry sands at Nairn or across to Rosemarkie and Chanonry Point on the Black Isle, where watching for dolphins is the real reason to go.

The two eat at about the same level, and both make good use of Scottish produce. Aberdeen's food leans towards the North Sea and its farms: haddock and shellfish, Aberdeen Angus beef, the salty buttery roll at breakfast, and fish and chips in nearby Stonehaven. It also has a slightly wider spread of restaurants.

Inverness looks west and inland for langoustines, venison and smoked salmon, and its whisky bars, with their long lists of Highland malts, are the stronger part of what it offers. Choice runs out more quickly here, and in summer the best tables are booked well ahead.

Aberdeen has much more to see within the city itself. The silver granite of Marischal College and Union Street sets the tone. Old Aberdeen, with the crowned tower of King's College and St Machar's Cathedral, feels like a separate medieval town, and the art gallery and Maritime Museum are worth an afternoon each.

In Inverness you can see the town's sights in a morning: the red sandstone castle above the Ness, the cathedral opposite, the Victorian Market and a compact museum. Its most powerful site is Culloden battlefield, out on the moor east of town, and most other heritage means leaving the city.

Aberdeen has more going on after dark because of its two universities. Belmont Street and the lanes off Union Street mix traditional pubs with cocktail bars, and there are a few clubs that fill up on term-time weekends.

Inverness is a gentler place in the evening, with wood-panelled pubs and whisky bars around Church Street and along the river, and only a club or two. Most visitors are up early for the glens, and the town goes quiet well before midnight on weeknights.

Both cities are good bases for wild Scotland, but Inverness puts more of it within easy reach. Loch Ness and the Great Glen start just south of town, and Glen Affric's pine forests and lochs are about an hour away. The Cairngorms around Aviemore are no further, and Torridon is close enough for a long day.

Aberdeen's countryside is the Royal Deeside side of the Cairngorms, including Lochnagar, Braemar and skiing at Glenshee. It also has a coast that Inverness cannot match for cliff walks, with seabird colonies towards Stonehaven and seals on the Ythan estuary.

Aberdeen has the wider choice of day trips. Dunnottar's ruin on its sea stack is twenty minutes south, and the Castle Trail links Crathes, Craigievar and Fyvie. Deeside leads up to Balmoral, and Dundee is an easy train ride for a change of city.

Day trips from Inverness are mostly to single sites: Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness, Cawdor, Fort George and the Clava Cairns. Both cities reach Speyside's distilleries and Elgin's cathedral. From Inverness there is no other sizeable city within reach, so a week of outings becomes a series of castles and villages.

Inverness has more for children to look forward to. The footbridges of the Ness Islands, the Aquadome on wet days and Loch Ness boat trips to look for the monster all work well. The Highland Wildlife Park, with its polar bears and snow leopards, and the forest adventure park at Carrbridge are both under an hour away.

Aberdeen is just as safe and relaxed but has less made for children: the Science Centre, the seafront funfair, and the glasshouses at Duthie Park. Spotting dolphins from Torry Battery is its best free treat.

In both cities the centre is easy on foot. Aberdeen goes further without a car, because the beach and Old Aberdeen are both a walk or a short bus ride away, and trains run down the coast to Stonehaven and Dundee.

Inverness has the more scenic railway lines, to Kyle of Lochalsh, Thurso and Aviemore, and buses along Loch Ness. Beyond those routes, services on the single-track roads are thin, so a car or an organised tour matters more here. Even from Aberdeen, Deeside and the castles are much easier to reach by car.

Neither city is worth a trip for shopping, but they suit different purposes. Aberdeen is the better place for errands, with two large central malls and Union Street for the high-street chains, plus independent delis and galleries around Rosemount and Belmont Street.

Inverness is better for souvenirs. The 1870s Victorian Market, specialist whisky shops and stalls of tweed, tartan and Celtic silver make choosing something Highland to take home easy, and a second-hand bookshop in a former church is worth a browse.

Both have British prices for meals and drinks, but Aberdeen is a little easier on the budget. It has plenty of hotels built for business travellers, which often lowers rates at weekends and in summer, and its museums and gallery are free.

Inverness works the other way. It has fewer rooms, and as the gateway to Loch Ness and the Highlands it fills up in summer, when prices climb steeply. Car hire, tours and distillery visits add to the cost, so a stay in spring, autumn or winter, or booking well ahead for July and August, saves the most.

Aberdeen has the fuller programme. His Majesty's Theatre, an Edwardian house, welcomes touring opera and ballet, the Music Hall hosts the Scottish orchestras, and an arena near the airport takes big touring acts.

Eden Court on the riverbank in Inverness covers theatre, dance, comedy and film under one roof. The town's more distinctive side is traditional music, with fiddle and accordion sessions in pubs most nights and Gaelic song at the Highland Games in summer.

Neither city has a bathing culture, but Inverness is the easier place to slow down. The Aquadome has a sauna, there are country-house spas around Loch Ness, and a riverside walk round the Ness Islands on a long summer evening makes a calm end to the day.

In Aberdeen, relaxing mostly means a hotel spa in town or a drive out to a country-house hotel in Deeside.