Addis Ababa or Arusha?

Neither city has any beach, so this category cannot decide between them. In Addis Ababa, getting near water means a weekend at the lakeside resorts of the Bishoftu crater lakes, though people go there to relax beside the lakes rather than to swim in them.

From Arusha the better outing is the warm, clear spring pool at Chemka, about an hour and a half away among fig trees and palms. Many safari travellers finish with a flight to Zanzibar's beaches.

Food is one of Addis Ababa's real strengths. Injera shared by hand from one platter comes with doro wat, tibs or kitfo, and on fasting days there is a spread of shiro and lentils that suits vegans perfectly. Tej is served in flasks, and the coffee ceremony and Italian-era macchiato bars make coffee a daily pleasure.

Arusha's eating is plainer: nyama choma with ugali, chipsi mayai from roadside stalls and mishkaki skewers at night. Its best food experience is a coffee farm tour on Meru's slopes, because most visitors eat their dinners at the lodge buffet.

Addis Ababa has much more to see, even though it is a young city without an old quarter. Lucy at the National Museum, the Ethnological Museum, Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Red Terror memorial, Menelik's palace grounds and the churches on Entoto can fill two or three days.

Arusha has two small museums, one in the old German boma and one on the 1967 Arusha Declaration, and both can be seen in a morning. Its cultural interest lies mainly in the Maasai and Meru villages outside town.

Addis Ababa has a real weekend night out. The rooftop bars, lounges and clubs of Bole stay busy past midnight, and Kazanchis and Piazza offer rougher local bars, though weeknights are quiet.

Arusha has a few clubs playing Bongo Flava for residents and volunteers. The town runs to the safari schedule, though, so most visitors are asleep early ahead of a dawn departure.

This is the reason to go to Arusha, and it is far ahead. Arusha National Park, with giraffe, buffalo and flamingos on the Momella Lakes, lies under an hour away and allows walking safaris and canoeing. Mount Meru can be climbed in three or four days, and Tarangire, Lake Manyara and the big circuits to Ngorongoro and the Serengeti begin here.

Addis Ababa's outdoor options are gentler. You can walk in the eucalyptus of the Entoto hills, look for colobus monkeys in the Menagesha forest, watch birds at Bishoftu's crater lakes or see geladas on the cliffs above the Blue Nile gorge. Ethiopia's large wild landscapes are much further away.

Addis Ababa has the better choice of outings. Within a long day's drive are the monastery of Debre Libanos above the Blue Nile gorge, the carved stelae of Tiya, the rock-hewn church of Adadi Mariam and the prehistoric site at Melka Kunture, though you will need a hired driver on slow roads.

Once its national parks are set aside, Arusha has little left to visit. Moshi below Kilimanjaro, the market village of Mto wa Mbu and community-run visits to Maasai bomas make pleasant days, while Olduvai Gorge is usually seen on the way to the Serengeti.

Arusha is the better choice for families, mainly because of the safari. Children are thrilled by elephants and giraffes, and many lodges have gardens, pools and family rooms. However, some operators set minimum ages, the days in a vehicle are long and bumpy, and you will need to plan for malaria.

Addis Ababa welcomes children warmly but has little built for them beyond the lions in the palace park and space to run on Entoto. The altitude tires small children for the first few days, so the city suits a short stop with older children better than a whole family vacation.

Neither city is easy to get around, but Addis Ababa gives visitors a little more to work with. The light rail crosses the city, even if it misses most sights. Ride-hailing apps and metered taxis are the usual answer, and the long distances and rush-hour traffic make walking impractical.

Arusha's centre around the clock tower is small enough to walk, apart from the broken pavements. Dala-dalas and boda-bodas are hard for newcomers, but this matters less here, because every park visit includes a vehicle and driver-guide.

The two are evenly matched, and both cities are best for crafts. Addis Ababa has the huge maze of Merkato, handwoven cotton shawls from the weavers of Shiro Meda, silver and brass Orthodox crosses and roasted coffee.

Arusha's curio markets sell Maasai beadwork, shukas, Makonde carving and Tinga Tinga paintings, with fixed-price galleries on the outskirts. It also has tanzanite dealers selling a gem mined only nearby. Neither city has much in the way of fashion streets.

Addis Ababa is the cheaper destination, because the things a visitor does there cost local prices. Injera, macchiatos, minibuses and museum entry are all cheap. The costs rise only with international-standard hotels, Bole's lounges and a hired driver.

Arusha's town life is just as cheap, but people rarely come for the town. Park fees, safari vehicles and lodges all charge international prices, and a mountain climb costs more again, so a typical trip from here is expensive.

Addis Ababa has a strong live scene and Arusha has almost none. In the azmari bets of Kazanchis, singers improvise teasing verses to the masinko, often about the foreigners present. Ethio-jazz plays live in a few clubs, eskista dancers perform over dinner and Hager Fikir stages plays, though mostly in Amharic.

In Arusha, live performance mostly means Maasai jumping dances at a cultural village or a lodge evening, plus a few bar bands at weekends.

The two are about level, and in both cities the calm lies outside the noisy, crowded centre. Addis Ababa grew up around the Filwoha hot springs, but its bath cubicles are plain and functional. Residents go to the Bishoftu lake resorts to unwind, or simply settle into a long coffee ceremony.

Arusha has no bathing tradition. Its quiet places are the coffee-estate and garden lodges towards Usa River, with spas and lawns looking out to Meru, where many travellers rest for a day after a safari or a climb.