Abu Dhabi or Riyadh?

This is where the two cities differ most. Abu Dhabi has long pale sand on calm Gulf water. The Corniche beach sits at the edge of downtown, and Saadiyat has a wide natural shore where turtles nest. Many visitors simply use the beach in front of their hotel.

Riyadh lies on the central plateau, about 400km from the coast. Swimming there means a hotel pool or a water park, and anyone who wants the sea has to plan a separate stay somewhere else.

Both cities eat well, but in different ways. Abu Dhabi's food falls into two camps. One is polished hotel dining built around Friday brunch, with wine where the venue is licensed. The other is cheap Keralan, Pakistani and Levantine kitchens downtown, and Emirati cooking takes some effort to find.

In Riyadh, Arabian cooking is the main event: kabsa, mandi and jareesh served late on large shared platters, often in family sections with floor seating. Specialty coffee is a real strength in Olaya. There is no alcohol at all.

Abu Dhabi has more in the way of headline sights. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre under its perforated dome and the ceremonial halls of Qasr Al Watan are each a destination in their own right, but there is little old town beyond Qasr Al Hosn.

Riyadh's best sight goes deeper into history. At-Turaif in Diriyah is the mud-brick birthplace of the Saudi state, set above the palm groves. Masmak Fort and the National Museum fill out the story, though two or three days covers it all.

Abu Dhabi has a modest but real night out. Licensed hotels hold rooftop and beach bars, pubs and a few clubs, with the busiest clusters on Yas and Al Maryah islands. Riyadh has no alcohol and so no bars at all. Its late hours belong to coffee shops, dessert cafés and entertainment zones full of families and groups of friends long after midnight.

Neither city is an outdoor destination, and the difference lies in the landscape. Around Abu Dhabi it is flat and watery: the best of it is kayaking or walking the boardwalks through the mangroves at Jubail and on the eastern side of the island. Riyadh offers rock and sand instead. The sheer drop of the Edge of the World escarpment is a long four-wheel-drive outing, the red dunes suit quad biking and the palm corridor of Wadi Hanifah is good for walking and cycling.

Abu Dhabi has much better day trips. Dubai's skyline and old souks, the UNESCO-listed oases and forts of Al Ain and the museums of Sharjah are all within reach by road.

From Riyadh, the best outing is the restored mud-brick village of Ushaiger, together with the old Najdi houses of Shaqra, about two hours away. Beyond those, excursions lead into the desert, and the kingdom's other cities are a flight away.

For children, Abu Dhabi is in a different league. Yas Island packs a Ferrari-themed coaster park, a Warner Bros world, a water park and a marine park into a small area, and the beach resorts add kids' clubs and shallow, calm sea.

Riyadh is just as welcoming, with children out late with their parents on winter evenings. What it offers them is more ordinary, though: mall play centres and ice rinks, the zoo, Wadi Hanifah's parks and camel rides at desert camps for older children.

Both cities are spread out and built for cars, but Riyadh has the edge thanks to its driverless metro. It runs along Olaya, King Abdullah Road and out to the airport, though a taxi often finishes the journey. Abu Dhabi has no metro and only slow buses, so visitors take a taxi or ride-hailing car between the mosque, Saadiyat and Yas. On foot, both are limited to the cool season, on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi and in the old centre and Diriyah in Riyadh.

Riyadh offers the more rewarding shopping. The luxury floors of the Kingdom Centre and Al Faisaliah carry the big international names, abayas and oud are sold in dedicated perfume houses, and in the evening Souq Al Zal trades in carpets, antiques, daggers and brass coffee pots.

Abu Dhabi has the same mall-led pattern on a smaller scale, with luxury brands on Al Maryah Island. Its local side is more limited: dates and perfume at the Central Market and Qaryat al Beri, and household goods and pottery at the Iranian souk by the port.

Both are moderately expensive, but the costs fall in different places. In Abu Dhabi, chain hotels can be good value outside the winter peak, but drinks, brunches and theme-park tickets push the total up quickly. Riyadh's hotels are priced for business travel. Its main museums and heritage sites cost little or nothing, metro fares are low and, with no alcohol, there is no bar bill.

Neither city has an opera house or a regular orchestra season, so both rely on touring acts in the cooler months. Abu Dhabi has a steadier calendar: the long-running Abu Dhabi Festival brings orchestras and dance companies each spring, and the Cultural Foundation and Saadiyat venues host concerts. Riyadh's live music comes in big bursts of arena concerts and outdoor festivals, and the ardah sword dance appears at national celebrations.

Abu Dhabi is much the better place to unwind. The beach resorts on Saadiyat and the palace-style hotels combine large spas with long, quiet days by the sea, and the pace on those islands is slow.

Riyadh's hotel spas offer massages and hammam treatments, usually with separate facilities for men and women. The city around them is hot and full of traffic, though, so real calm means a desert camp or the palm groves of Diriyah on a winter evening.