Aberdeen or St Andrews?

St Andrews has the better beaches. West Sands is a long, pale strand backed by dunes and the links. East Sands by the harbour is sheltered enough for families, and little Castle Sands sits under the cliffs. All three are a short walk from your bed.

Aberdeen has one long sweep of sand and dunes just east of the centre, and wider, emptier strands up at Balmedie. In both places the North Sea is cold and the wind strong, so the sand is for walks and kites rather than sunbathing.

The two are on much the same level for eating: pleasant, honest and limited. Aberdeen leans towards hearty fare, with Angus beef, North Sea fish, the salty buttery roll for breakfast, Speyside whisky in every pub, and Stonehaven's famous fish and chips just down the coast.

St Andrews is more about cafés, bakeries and summer queues at its ice cream parlours, with East Neuk crab, lobster and smoked fish from the nearby villages. Aberdeen has rather more pubs to choose from in the evening.

There is little to choose between them, but the heritage is different in kind. Aberdeen's appeal is its silver granite cityscape: Marischal College, Georgian Union Street, the cobbled medieval burgh of Old Aberdeen, plus a free art gallery and the Maritime Museum's story of fishing and oil.

St Andrews has the drama of ruins: the shell of Scotland's greatest cathedral, St Rule's Tower to climb, and the clifftop castle's siege tunnels to crawl through. Add the university founded in 1413 and the golf heritage, all packed into a few streets. Either one fills two days well.

Aberdeen gives you a real night out. Two universities fill the pubs, cocktail bars and late venues along Belmont Street and the lanes off Union Street, and there are a few clubs for term-time weekends. Whisky bars and real-ale houses add depth.

St Andrews winds down early. A few student-run places liven up during term, the students' union is the nearest thing to a club, and in summer, when most visitors come, the town is in bed early. Anyone after a late night heads to Dundee or Edinburgh.

Aberdeen has the bigger landscapes on its doorstep. Follow the Dee west and within an hour or so you reach Royal Deeside and the Cairngorms National Park, with pine forests around Braemar, mountain walks and winter skiing. On the coast there are seabird cliffs, the seal colony at the Ythan estuary and bottlenose dolphins off Torry Battery.

St Andrews offers softer country: the Fife Coastal Path past sea stacks and caves, wading birds on the Eden estuary, and seals off the Tentsmuir shore. Golf and easy cycling are the main outdoor pursuits here, and proper hill walking means driving to the Lomonds or Perthshire.

Both make excellent bases, with different themes. From Aberdeen the days out are about castles and whisky: Dunnottar on its sea stack, Crathes, Craigievar and Fyvie on the Castle Trail, Balmoral up Deeside, and the Speyside distilleries. Most of these need a car.

From St Andrews the places are closer together and more varied: the pantiled East Neuk harbours within half an hour, Falkland Palace, Dundee's V&A, and Edinburgh as an easy day by train from Leuchars. Stirling, Glamis and Culross are within reach for drivers.

Both are safe and calm with children, and neither has a big attraction built for families. Aberdeen has more for rainy days: the Science Centre, the seaside funfair on the esplanade and the glasshouses of Duthie Park, with dolphin spotting at the harbour as a bonus.

St Andrews is better for outdoor freedom. It is small enough for older children to roam, and there are rock pools at East Sands, a small aquarium, the boating pond and miniature railway at Craigtoun Park, and the putting green beside the Old Course.

Both centres are easy on foot. St Andrews is the more compact, with beaches, castle, cathedral and links all a few minutes apart. Aberdeen spreads a little further, and Old Aberdeen is a half-hour walk or a bus ride from Union Street.

The real difference is rail. Aberdeen's station is right in the centre, with trains to Dundee and Inverness, while St Andrews relies on a bus or taxi to Leuchars, about 8km away. For castles and countryside, both are much easier with a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the offer differs more in kind than in depth. Aberdeen has two big indoor centres of British chains, with independents and delis around Belmont Street and Rosemount.

St Andrews is a browse along three streets of golf shops, cashmere, tartan and independent bookshops, with Old Course goods as the classic souvenir. For knitwear and whisky from Aberdeen, the Deeside villages and distilleries are the better places to buy.

Aberdeen is the easier city on the wallet, mostly because of where you sleep. Its many business hotels often have reasonable weekend and summer rates, and the museums and art gallery are free, though hiring a car for the countryside adds up.

Rooms in St Andrews are few and priced for golfers and visiting university families, and they climb steeply around tournaments and graduation. Walking and buses keep everyday costs down, but a round on the famous courses is a big extra. Staying in the East Neuk can soften the bill.

Aberdeen has the fuller stage calendar. His Majesty's Theatre, an Edwardian house, takes touring drama and musicals plus visits from the national opera and ballet, the Music Hall hosts the Scottish orchestras, and a large arena brings major touring acts.

St Andrews has the Byre Theatre for drama and comedy, and choral and chamber evenings in the university chapel and halls, but these fade in the summer break. For opera or an orchestra you would travel to Edinburgh or Dundee.

St Andrews is the more restful stay. The golf resorts on the edge of town have full spas with pools that non-residents can use, and the slow pace, long beach walks and the local habit of cold-water dipping off East Sands make it easy to switch off.

In Aberdeen, pampering is limited to hotel spas in town or a country-house hotel out in Deeside. The countryside nearby can make a stay peaceful, but you would not choose the city for this.