Amritsar or Jaipur?

Neither city has a beach or anywhere to swim outdoors, so a hotel pool is the only option in both. In Amritsar the only open water is the Golden Temple's sacred pool, which is for devotional bathing, not swimming.

In Jaipur, choosing a hotel with a pool matters more, because in the hot months it can be the only comfortable place by the afternoon.

Both are serious eating cities, but the cooking is different. Amritsar is about rich Punjabi food: butter-laden kulcha with chole, fried river fish, and the langar at the Golden Temple, where you eat dal and roti on the floor beside pilgrims.

Jaipur's Rajasthani table leans vegetarian and drier, with dal baati churma, ker sangri from desert beans, fiery laal maas and kachori breakfasts around Johari Bazaar and MI Road. Jaipur also offers thali feasts in palace courtyards, a more formal meal than anything Amritsar's dhabas serve.

Amritsar has one overwhelming sight and a few strong ones around it. The Golden Temple rewards repeated visits at different hours, and Jallianwala Bagh and the Partition Museum add a sobering history of 1919 and 1947. Beyond those, the list runs short quickly.

Jaipur offers far more to see. The planned Pink City, the City Palace, the Hawa Mahal and the Jantar Mantar observatory fill the centre, and the Amber Fort, Jaigarh and Nahargarh line the ridges above. That is easily three days of sightseeing, where Amritsar's sights fit into one or two.

Neither city is for a night out, but Jaipur has a little more going on. Amritsar is a pilgrimage city where alcohol is kept away from the temple, and the best evening there is a walk around the lit pool after dinner.

Jaipur adds rooftop dinners facing the floodlit forts, a few lounges in the old city and a handful of clubs in C-Scheme that fill up at weekends and in the wedding season.

Amritsar is surrounded by flat wheat and mustard fields, with little to do outdoors beyond the city gardens and a winter trip to the Harike wetland for migratory waterbirds.

Jaipur's landscape is far more rewarding. The rocky Aravalli hills give views from Nahargarh, Jhalana has leopards on the edge of the city, and there are balloon flights and the salt lake at Sambhar. Even so, Jaipur's outdoors are strictly a cool-season pleasure.

From Amritsar the standout outing is the flag ceremony at the Wagah border, about 30km away, a loud and memorable afternoon. After that, the options are mainly Sikh pilgrimage towns such as Tarn Taran, plus the French-style palace at Kapurthala.

Jaipur has a wider choice. The Abhaneri stepwell, Samode's painted palace, ruined Bhangarh and the block-printing villages are all within easy reach, and Pushkar, Ajmer and even the Taj Mahal at Agra can be done as long days out.

Both are hard going with small children and work best with older ones on a short, culture-led visit. In Amritsar, the langar kitchens and the drama at Wagah tend to be the hits, but foggy winter mornings and crowded lanes are tiring.

Jaipur's forts, with their ramparts and secret passages, puppet shows and a leopard safari give children more to do. A hotel pool and a driver make Jaipur's long days easier to manage.

Amritsar is a little easier, mainly because what visitors come for is compact. The temple, Jallianwala Bagh and the Partition Museum sit around one pedestrianised street, and you only need rickshaws or a hired car beyond it.

Jaipur's sights are more spread out, with the Amber Fort about 11km north and a short metro line that misses most of them. In practice you rely on auto-rickshaws, ride-hailing or a driver, and even walking the Pink City's bazaars is slowed by traffic, cows and missing pavements.

Amritsar's bazaars are good for Punjabi things: phulkari embroidery, shawls, juttis from Hall Bazaar and Katra Jaimal Singh, and dried warian to take home. Beyond that the choice is narrow.

Jaipur is a real shopping destination. Each old-city bazaar has its own trade, from gems and silver to lac bangles and quilts, and block prints, blue pottery, rugs and miniature paintings are made nearby. C-Scheme's boutiques add modern design. Watch for commission-driven shops and long-running gem scams.

Both are very cheap to visit, but Amritsar keeps more of its costs at zero. The Golden Temple is free, the langar feeds everyone, and pilgrim rest houses offer basic beds.

Jaipur is just as cheap for street food, thalis and rickshaws, but the main monuments charge foreigners a higher entry fee, and the heritage havelis that tempt many visitors cost a lot more.

Amritsar's one great performance is the gurbani kirtan sung at the Golden Temple from before dawn until late at night, free to anyone sitting by the pool. Apart from occasional bhangra shows, there is little else.

Jaipur offers more variety: its own Kathak tradition, Kalbeliya dance and string puppetry at evening shows, and theatre and classical music at Jawahar Kala Kendra and Ravindra Manch. Neither city has a concert season worth planning a trip around.

Neither city is restful outside its walls, but the calm comes from different places. In Amritsar it is the temple itself: the cool marble at dawn or late at night with hymns in the background, and only a few hotel spas.

Jaipur gives you more ways to rest, through where you stay. Havelis and palace hotels with shaded courtyards, gardens and pools often offer Ayurvedic massage and yoga between long sightseeing days.