Amsterdam or Dusseldorf?

Neither city is for a beach vacation, but Amsterdam is much closer to the sea. The dune-backed sand at Zandvoort and Bloemendaal is about half an hour by train, and on hot days the city's own IJburg beaches and lakes such as the Sloterplas are good for a dip, even if the North Sea is mostly for walking beside.

Düsseldorf is inland. Its Rhine is unsafe for swimming despite the sandy banks, and the coast is a long day's travel away, so a swim there means Unterbacher See or an outdoor pool.

Both cities eat well, but in quite different ways. Amsterdam's best food came in through its trading past: Indonesian rijsttafel and Surinamese roti, plus herring stalls, stroopwafels at the Albert Cuyp and the brown-café borrel of beer and bitterballen. De Pijp, the Jordaan and Oost are the places to eat.

Düsseldorf has the stronger local cooking. Its Altbier brewhouses serve sauerbraten and Halve Hahn with the city's own mustard, and around Immermannstrasse one of Europe's largest Japanese communities supports ramen counters, izakaya and Japanese bakeries. The choice there is deep in those two directions rather than wide.

Amsterdam is well ahead here. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk stand together on the Museumplein, and the Anne Frank House stays with every visitor. The Golden Age canal ring with its merchant houses makes the streets themselves the sight.

Düsseldorf is an art city with a narrower range. Klee at K20, the net slung under the glass dome of the Kunstsammlung's second house and the Kunstpalast are excellent, but wartime bombing left little old fabric. Benrath Palace, the Gehry buildings in the Medienhafen and the ruins at Kaiserswerth round out a visit.

Amsterdam has more to offer after dark. Its electronic music scene, with all-night clubs in old industrial buildings and across the IJ in Noord, draws visitors in its own right, and canal-side terraces in the Jordaan and De Pijp suit a slower evening.

Düsseldorf's night centres on one place: the Altstadt, a few streets of brewhouses where crowds drink Altbier standing outside, more street party than club night. Its clubs are modest, but Carnival, when the whole city goes out in costume for days, has no Amsterdam equivalent.

Both cities sit in flat country, and the outdoors is gentle rather than scenic. Around Amsterdam it means polders, dykes and windmills, best seen by bike in Waterland across the IJ, with the Amsterdamse Bos and the coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland for walks.

Düsseldorf has the Rhine meadows and long riverside cycle paths. It also has something Amsterdam lacks: low wooded hills in the Bergisches Land and the Neandertal close by, with the Siebengebirge and the Eifel further out.

Both make excellent bases, and Amsterdam edges ahead because so much is so close. Haarlem is a quarter of an hour away. Leiden, Delft, Utrecht and The Hague with the Mauritshuis are all within an hour, and the windmills at Zaanse Schans or the Keukenhof in spring make easy outings.

From Düsseldorf, Cologne cathedral is under half an hour away, with Bonn, the Brühl palaces and Essen's Zollverein not much further. Its trips lean more towards single landmarks and industrial heritage, and Aachen or the Middle Rhine castles take a fuller day.

Amsterdam gives children more to do within the city: Artis, one of Europe's oldest zoos, the NEMO science museum built for play, city farms, pancake houses and canal boats. The catch is the fast bikes and unfenced canal edges.

Düsseldorf is calm and easy with a buggy. It has Aquazoo Löbbecke, the tilted windows of the Rheinturm and the free game park in Grafenberg. For bigger outings, Phantasialand and Movie Park are about an hour away, closer than Efteling is to Amsterdam.

Both centres are compact, flat and easy to walk, but Amsterdam is simpler still. Most sights are within half an hour on foot, trams and a metro cover the rest, free ferries cross the IJ and Schiphol is a short direct train ride away. Cycling is how locals get around, if you have the confidence for busy lanes.

In Düsseldorf, the riverside walk links the Altstadt, the Königsallee and the Japanese quarter neatly. Its light rail is part of a regional network that reaches Cologne and the Ruhr, though the fare zones take some working out, and cycling is pleasant mainly along the river.

Shopping is equally good in both, but in opposite styles. Amsterdam's strength is independent shops: boutiques and vintage stores in the Nine Streets, galleries in the Jordaan and markets such as Waterlooplein and the floating Bloemenmarkt, with Delft blue and cheese to take home.

Düsseldorf is the place for luxury. The flagships and arcades of the Königsallee and the big department stores are the main draw. Flingern's design shops and the stationery of the Japanese quarter are its smaller independent side.

Düsseldorf is the cheaper of the two, mostly because of hotels. Amsterdam's rooms around the canal ring are among the most expensive in Europe and come with a tourist tax on top, and meals and museum tickets add up. Many visitors sleep in Haarlem or Utrecht to save.

Düsseldorf's rooms are still pricey and climb steeply during the big trade fairs, but in other weeks a stay costs noticeably less. Brewhouse meals and Japanese noodle lunches help a budget go further.

Amsterdam has the bigger programme. The Concertgebouw and its orchestra are among the finest in the world, the Dutch National Opera and Ballet perform on the Amstel, the Muziekgebouw and the Bimhuis cover contemporary music and jazz, and Paradiso and the Melkweg bring in touring bands.

Düsseldorf has the Deutsche Oper am Rhein and the domed Tonhalle, a tradition of political cabaret and a place in music history as Kraftwerk's home town. In both cities, spoken theatre is mostly in the local language.

Neither city is a place to come and unwind, and both offer the northern sauna habit, mixed and nude, rather than thermal baths. Amsterdam's version is large day spas on the edge of the city. Quiet time means early mornings on the canals or the Vondelpark, because the centre stays crowded.

Düsseldorf's pace is easier day to day, with walks on the Rhine meadows and the Japanese garden in Nordpark. Large thermal complexes and the hot springs of Aachen are close enough for a spa day.