Amritsar or Delhi?

Neither city is anywhere near the sea, so swimming in both means a hotel pool, which is welcome in the hot months. The difference is what water means locally: in Amritsar the only pool people enter is the sacred one at the Golden Temple, where pilgrims bathe in devotion, while Delhi travellers wanting sand usually fly on to Goa or Kerala.

Both are excellent places to eat Punjabi food, but Delhi offers far more range. Amritsar is narrow and deep: tandoor-baked kulcha with chole and butter, batter-fried fish, lassi in steel tumblers, and the shared meal on the floor of the Golden Temple's langar, best enjoyed at breakfast and lunch.

Delhi adds Mughlai cooking in the lanes around Jama Masjid, chaat at street carts across the city, and butter chicken and dal makhani in the city that made them. Above that sits a proper restaurant scene, with kitchens from Kerala to Kashmir and modern Indian tasting menus, so evenings out are as rewarding as lunch.

Amritsar has one sight of overwhelming power, the Golden Temple, worth visiting at dawn, midday and night, backed by Jallianwala Bagh with its bullet-scarred walls and the Partition Museum's personal stories of 1947. Beyond those, the list is short.

Delhi has layer upon layer of history: three UNESCO sites in the Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb and the Qutb Minar, plus Jama Masjid, the Lodi tombs and the imperial axis from India Gate to Rashtrapati Bhavan. It fills many days, though the sights are far apart and need planning.

Amritsar has almost no nightlife, a few hotel bars and lounges at most, and its best evening is a long dinner followed by a walk around the lit temple pool. Delhi can deliver a proper night out, with rooftop bars in Hauz Khas Village, pubs in Connaught Place and clubs and brewpubs in Gurugram. Even so, the scenes are scattered, finish early and are reached by taxi, so neither city is one to choose for its nights.

Both sit on flat plains with the mountains far to the north, so neither is an outdoors destination. Around Amritsar the countryside is open wheat, rice and mustard farmland, and the one real outing is the Harike wetland, about an hour and a half away, where the Beas and Sutlej meet.

Delhi's green spaces are within the city itself: Lodhi Gardens and Sunder Nursery for morning walks, and the Ridge forest and Sanjay Van with trails among ruins. Both cities draw winter waterbirds, at Harike and at Okhla or Sultanpur, but Delhi's smog often rules out exercise outdoors in late autumn and winter.

Delhi has one of the great day trips in the world: the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort, a little under two hours away by express train, with Fatehpur Sikri, Mathura and Vrindavan as further options. Amritsar's standout outing is the evening flag ceremony at the Wagah border, about 30km away, loud and memorable. Beyond that its trips are mainly for those drawn to Sikh history, such as Tarn Taran Sahib, plus the French-style palace at Kapurthala.

Amritsar offers children a compact visit centred on the Golden Temple, where they are warmly welcomed, while Delhi has places actually built for them. In Amritsar, older children tend to be gripped by the langar kitchens and the stamping drama at Wagah. Little else is aimed at them, though: the nearest science centre is a long drive away in Kapurthala, and with the crowded old-city lanes and dense winter fog, the city suits a short cultural visit better than a relaxed one.

Delhi counters with the open-air steam locomotives of the National Rail Museum, the zoo beside Purana Qila and the Akshardham water show. The trade-off is winter smog that weighs on small lungs, chaotic traffic and long journeys across a huge city, so the clearer weeks of late winter and early spring suit families best. In both cities, summer heat and food hygiene need care.

Delhi is easier to get around thanks to its metro, which is clean, air-conditioned, signed in English, linked to the airport and close to most major monuments. Auto-rickshaws and app taxis cover the gaps, though distances and traffic jams are large.

Amritsar has no metro and buses of little use, so beyond the pedestrianised heritage street around the Golden Temple you rely on rickshaws and ride-hailing through noisy traffic. Its saving grace is that the core sights are close enough to walk between.

Delhi is the far stronger shopping city, with crafts from all of India at Dilli Haat and the state emporiums, specialist Old Delhi bazaars such as Khari Baoli for spices, Indian designers in Khan Market and Shahpur Jat, and luxury brands in the South Delhi malls. Amritsar is narrower but distinctly Punjabi: phulkari embroidery, stacks of juttis, shawls and suits in Hall Bazaar and Katra Jaimal Singh, and papad and warian to take home.

Both are very cheap to visit, and the gap between them is small. Amritsar's edge is that its main experience costs nothing: the Golden Temple and its langar are free, and pilgrim rest houses offer simple beds.

Delhi is just as easy on the wallet for street food, metro rides and mid-range rooms. Foreigners do pay a higher fee at the major monuments, and the city's grand hotels and stylish restaurants make lavish spending much easier than in Amritsar.

Amritsar offers one remarkable performance: the gurbani kirtan sung to harmonium and tabla in the Golden Temple from before dawn until late at night, open to anyone sitting by the pool. Beyond that there are only occasional folk shows and concerts.

Delhi has a genuine stage life. Hindustani recitals and classical dance fill the Mandi House auditoriums through the cooler months, the National School of Drama anchors the theatre, and the free qawwali at the Nizamuddin shrine is a highlight for many visitors.

Neither is a restful city, but Delhi offers a little more to relax with. Its large hotels run Ayurvedic spas, South Delhi has yoga and Ayurveda centres, and early mornings in Lodhi Gardens or Sunder Nursery are calm. Amritsar has only a few hotel spas, and its peace is concentrated in a single place: the cool marble around the temple pool at dawn or late at night, with hymns in the background.