Alexandria or Istanbul?

Alexandria has the edge for swimming, simply because the sea is warmer and right at the end of the street, with summer water several degrees above Istanbul's. The catch is that the city beaches are narrow, crowded and conservative, and the nicer sand at Montaza and Mamoura sits inside paid clubs.

Istanbul's own shoreline is for sitting by, not bathing in, so a beach day means an hour's trip north to Kilyos or Sile, where the sand is long but the currents are strong. In neither city is the beach the reason to go.

Alexandria's food is good but narrow: fish weighed and grilled in Anfushi, liver sandwiches, fiteer and the old Greek patisseries downtown, with alcohol hard to find. It makes for satisfying meals rather than a culinary trip.

Istanbul is a destination for eating in its own right. Dishes from every corner of Turkey, lunchtime lokantas, evenings of meze and rakı in Beyoglu meyhanes and grazing through Kadikoy's market streets give a range Alexandria cannot approach.

Alexandria's past is largely buried or underwater, so sightseeing there means piecing together the Kom el Shoqafa catacombs, Pompey's Pillar, Kom el-Dikka and the Graeco-Roman collections, with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and belle époque streets around them. Two or three days cover it.

Istanbul's monuments are standing and close together. Hagia Sophia, Topkapi and the Blue Mosque share one walkable peninsula, and Sinan's mosques, the Chora mosaics, the land walls and the Bosphorus palaces stretch a visit to a week or more.

Alexandria's evenings are long but quiet: sea-facing coffee houses and shisha terraces along the Corniche, a few old Greek-era bars, and no clubs.

Istanbul offers a real night out. Beyoglu's rooftop bars and singing meyhanes, cocktail bars in Karakoy, the cheaper bar streets of Kadikoy and the summer clubs on the Bosphorus at Ortakoy keep going until dawn, though drinks are expensive.

Around Alexandria the scenery is the flat sea, harbour sunsets, reed beds at Lake Mariout and then desert, with no hills or walking country. Its one natural draw is diving among the sunken remains of the Pharos.

Istanbul is more rewarding outdoors. The wooded Bosphorus hills, tulip-filled parks in April, the trails of Belgrad Forest and cycling on the pine-covered Princes' Islands give plenty of green space, even if real wilderness lies far off.

Istanbul has the slightly wider choice of outings. Ferries reach the car-free Princes' Islands and the upper Bosphorus easily, and Bursa makes a full Ottoman day, while Edirne and Iznik are possible but long.

Alexandria's excursions are more historical than scenic: Ottoman houses at Rosetta an hour away, the war cemeteries at El Alamein and the ancient monasteries of Wadi Natrun. Cairo is reachable by train, but the pyramids deserve more than a day.

Both cities dote on children, but Istanbul has far more for them to do: Bosphorus ferries, the ships and submarine of the Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Miniaturk, aquariums and Asian-shore parks. Its hills, crowds and stairs are hard work with a pushchair.

Alexandria offers paddling, ice cream and carriage rides on the summer seafront and the Montaza gardens, and little else made for families. Crowded beaches and the Corniche traffic make it better for older children drawn to catacombs and forts.

Istanbul is the easier city to move through despite its size. One card covers metro, tram, funiculars and ferries, and the old city and Beyoglu are walkable if hilly, though rush-hour trams and road traffic slow things down.

Alexandria is a 20km strip with little public transport worth using beyond the slow old tram. Visitors rely on cheap taxis and ride-hailing that sit in traffic, and crossing the Corniche on foot takes care.

Alexandria's shopping serves residents: antique dealers in the Attarin quarter, fabric and spice souks around Manshiyya, and suburban malls, with little craft or fashion to seek out.

Istanbul is one of the great shopping cities of the region. Carpets, lamps, ceramics and gold in the Grand Bazaar, spices at the Golden Horn, designer labels in Nisantasi, antiques in Cukurcuma and handwoven towels and tea glasses to take home cover every taste and budget.

Alexandria is markedly cheaper. Rooms, taxis, street food and fish dinners cost little, and foreigners' site fees are the main expense, with prices rising only during the busy summer weeks.

Istanbul can be done cheaply on ferries, simit and lokanta lunches, but its tourist districts charge close to Southern European prices, alcohol is heavily taxed and the big monuments carry steep entry fees.

In Alexandria a performance is a matter of luck: the Sayed Darwish Theatre and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina's arts centre stage opera, Arabic music and concerts on an irregular, mostly Arabic programme.

Istanbul gives you far more to plan around. The state opera and ballet at the Ataturk Cultural Centre, summer jazz and music festivals in historic courtyards, Sema ceremonies in dervish lodges and small rock, folk and jazz venues in Beyoglu and Kadikoy all run regularly.

Istanbul has one of the world's great bathing traditions. A scrub on the heated marble stone of a Sinan-designed hammam such as Cemberlitas or Kilic Ali Pasa is a highlight of any visit, and the Bosphorus tea terraces offer calm away from the noise.

Alexandria has no bathing culture, only hotel spas. Rest there comes from slow mornings in old cafés and sea air on the Corniche, best outside the summer rush.