Amritsar or Udaipur?

Neither city is anywhere near a coast, so the choice comes down to pools. In Amritsar the only open water is the Golden Temple's sacred pool, where pilgrims bathe as an act of devotion and visitors do not swim, so a hotel pool is all there is.

Udaipur's lakes are also for boats rather than swimming. However, many heritage hotels around Lake Pichola have pools that look out over the water, so a hot afternoon by the pool there still feels like part of the trip.

Amritsar is the one to travel to for food. Its Punjabi cooking is very much its own. Long-established dhabas in the old walled city serve tandoor kulcha with chole and butter, fried river fish and lassi in steel tumblers, and at the Golden Temple's langar you eat dal and roti on the floor beside pilgrims.

Udaipur is good for a few days of eating, with Mewari dishes such as dal baati churma and laal maas and thalis with refills. The best of it is at the kachori stalls in the bazaars, not on the lakefront, where rooftop restaurants sell the view more than the cooking. Udaipur does have the palace-hotel fine dining that Amritsar lacks.

Each city is built around one great set piece, and they are equally rewarding in different ways. Amritsar's is a living shrine: the Golden Temple, open to all and worth seeing at dawn and again at night. The weight of modern history is a short walk away, at Jallianwala Bagh and the Partition Museum.

Udaipur's set piece is royal and scenic. The City Palace rises from Lake Pichola, the Lake Palace and Jag Mandir sit on the water, and havelis and ghats fill the old city behind them. Choose Amritsar for faith and history, Udaipur for palaces and the view they make together.

Neither city offers a real night out, but Udaipur gives an evening a little more to do. In Amritsar alcohol is unwelcome near the temple and the few bars are in hotels in the newer districts. The best way to spend the night is a walk round the lit pool after dinner.

Udaipur adds sunset drinks on rooftops above Lake Pichola and a handful of lounge bars, some with music at weekends. The old city still goes quiet early, though, and there are no clubs.

Udaipur has a natural setting that Amritsar cannot match. Its chain of lakes is ringed by the Aravalli hills, with boat rides, the Sajjangarh forest below the Monsoon Palace, and short hikes and bike rides through the hill villages. The Kumbhalgarh sanctuary is further out.

Around Amritsar the land is flat Punjab farmland, and the city parks are good only for a shaded stroll. The one real outing is the Harike wetland, worth the drive in winter for its migratory waterbirds.

Udaipur is far the better base for getting out of town. Within about two hours you can reach the temple ruins of Nagda, the pilgrimage town of Nathdwara, the walls of Kumbhalgarh, the marble Jain temple at Ranakpur and the fortress of Chittorgarh. That is enough for several full days out with a driver.

From Amritsar, the trip everyone makes is to the evening flag ceremony at the Wagah border, about 30km away, which is loud, crowded and memorable. Beyond that the choices are mostly Sikh shrines such as Tarn Taran Sahib, plus the French-style palace at Kapurthala.

Amritsar's best moments for children are spectacles: the langar kitchens cooking for thousands and the stamping guards at Wagah. Very little else is made for them, and parents have to cope with crowded lanes, fierce summer heat and dense fog on winter mornings.

Udaipur gives younger visitors more to do between sights, with boat rides, puppet shows and the cable car, and lakeside hotels with pools make a calmer base. Its narrow lanes are shared with motorbikes and cows, though, so in both cities a winter visit with older children works best.

Amritsar is the easier of the two on foot, at least at its centre. The Golden Temple, Jallianwala Bagh and the Partition Museum all sit around a pedestrianised heritage street. Outside that area, you rely on rickshaws or ride-hailing cars through heavy traffic.

Udaipur's old city is compact too, but its lanes are narrow, steep in places and full of motorbikes, so even short walks need care. The hill viewpoints and every day trip need a hired driver, so you spend more of the visit in cars.

The two are about level for shopping, and the difference is what you bring home. Amritsar's bazaars, such as Hall Bazaar and Katra Jaimal Singh, are all about Punjabi textiles: phulkari embroidery, shawls, suit fabric and stacks of juttis. You can add steel bangles, and dried warian from the food shops.

Udaipur is a crafts town, best for miniature paintings from the workshops near the City Palace, bandhani and block prints, silver jewellery and puppets. You bargain in both places, and the selling near Udaipur's palace is pushier.

Both are very cheap, but Amritsar is cheaper still because its main attraction costs nothing. The temple is free, the langar feeds you, and the pilgrim rest houses offer basic beds.

Udaipur is just as inexpensive day to day, with thalis, autorickshaws and guesthouses to suit any budget. The catch is that the kind of stay it is famous for, in a lake palace or a heritage haveli with a view, is priced at international luxury levels.

Amritsar's music is devotional and never stops. Gurbani kirtan is sung to harmonium and tabla in the Golden Temple from before dawn until late at night, and anyone can listen from beside the pool. Beyond that, there is no theatre or concert life to follow.

Udaipur's performances are staged for an audience. You can watch the evening folk dance show at Bagore ki Haveli, the puppet shows kept going by Lok Kala Mandal, and the folk musicians at the December crafts fair at Shilpgram. That makes for a lighter, more varied evening, though Udaipur has no regular classical or theatre circuit either.

Udaipur is the place to slow down. Ayurvedic massage and yoga classes are easy to find in the old city, the lake hotels run full spas, and a terrace over the water at sunset is restful in itself.

Amritsar has only a few hotel spas, in a loud and crowded city. Its calm is spiritual rather than pampering: the cool marble beside the temple pool at dawn or late at night, with hymns in the air.