Amsterdam or Hamburg?

Neither city is a place to plan a beach trip around, and they differ mainly in where the sand is. Amsterdam's real beaches are the wide dune-backed strands at Zandvoort and Bloemendaal, half an hour away by train. The North Sea there is usually cold and windy, so most people walk on the beach rather than swim.

Hamburg's own Elbe beaches are for watching container ships at sunset, not for swimming. For a proper swim you go to the Baltic, about an hour away, where the water is a little warmer and you can rent the classic wicker beach chairs.

The two are about equal for food, and both are better for snacks and drinking than for a famous cuisine. Amsterdam's best eating comes from its colonial trading past: Indonesian rijsttafel, Surinamese roti and herring from street stalls. Its old brown cafés and jenever tasting rooms are the real draw.

Hamburg eats like the port it is. You get fish rolls on the piers, Labskaus, eel soup and a Franzbroetchen for breakfast, plus a coffee-roasting tradition that shows in the cafés of the Schanzenviertel.

Amsterdam is clearly the stronger choice for sightseeing. The Rijksmuseum's Dutch masters, the world's largest Van Gogh collection and the Anne Frank House would each justify a trip on their own. Around them, the 17th-century canal ring survives almost whole.

Hamburg's highlights are more about the working city: the red-brick Speicherstadt warehouses, the Chilehaus and the Elbphilharmonie plaza above the harbour. The Kunsthalle is a fine gallery, but the war destroyed much of the old town, so you spend your time exploring districts and the waterfront rather than one historic core.

Both cities stay out late, but in different ways. Amsterdam's strength is electronic music, with all-night clubs in old industrial buildings and across the IJ in Noord, while ordinary bars mostly close around one on weekdays.

Hamburg's Reeperbahn is rougher and has no fixed closing time, so a night can end at dawn on the harbour. It mixes dive bars, cabaret and live music clubs, and calmer districts like Ottensen give you another option.

Hamburg has a slight edge outdoors, mostly because of its water. You can sail or paddle on the Alster, follow the Elbe path up to the wooded slopes of Blankenese and cycle through the Altes Land orchards when they blossom in spring. The Lueneburg Heath is about an hour away.

Amsterdam's countryside is quieter and flatter. Its best outings are a ferry and a bike ride into the meadows of Waterland, the woods of the Amsterdamse Bos and the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland with their grazing bison.

Amsterdam has the better day trips because the Dutch towns are so close together. Haarlem is a quarter of an hour by train. Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague's Vermeers and Rotterdam's architecture are all easy outings, and the Keukenhof bulb fields and Kinderdijk windmills are within reach too.

Hamburg has fine trips of its own. The best is Hanseatic Luebeck, under an hour away, followed by Lueneburg, Bremen and Schwerin's lakeside castle. They are further apart, though, so you get fewer outings per week.

Both cities are easy with children, but the risks differ. Amsterdam has Artis zoo, the hands-on NEMO science museum and its canal boats and pancake houses. Parents will need to watch out for fast bike traffic and canal edges with no railings.

Hamburg has Miniatur Wunderland, which can fill a whole wet afternoon, and Hagenbeck's zoo, where animals live in enclosures without bars. Its pavements are wide and good for prams, and it has two theme parks about an hour away, which are closer than Amsterdam's Efteling.

Amsterdam is a little easier to get around. Its centre is so small and flat that most sights are within walking distance, with trams and a bike filling the gaps. The main thing to learn is to look out for bike lanes.

Hamburg is larger and more spread out. The U-Bahn and S-Bahn connect it well, and the harbour ferries on the same ticket are a bonus. Trips out to Blankenese or Hagenbeck do mean a proper train ride, though.

The two are about level, but the shopping feels different. Amsterdam is best for small independent shops, in the Nine Streets and the Jordaan, plus markets such as Waterlooplein and the floating flower market.

Hamburg has more of a wealthy merchant feel. Luxury labels line Neuer Wall, and covered arcades make it easy to shop in the rain. For independents, try the Karolinenviertel and Schanzenviertel.

Hamburg is the cheaper of the two, even though it is expensive by German standards. A day ticket covers trains and ferries, and plenty is free: the Elbphilharmonie plaza, the Speicherstadt and the riverside walks.

Amsterdam's hotels are what push its costs so high. Canal-ring rooms are among the most expensive in Europe, and the city adds a large tourist tax. Many visitors save by staying in Haarlem or Utrecht and taking the train in.

Each city has a world-class concert hall, so here the choice comes down to everything around it. In Amsterdam, the Concertgebouw has its famous orchestra and acoustics. Add the Bimhuis for jazz and Paradiso and the Melkweg for touring bands.

In Hamburg, the Elbphilharmonie comes with a well-known ballet company and leading German-language theatres. It also offers big musicals, some reached by boat, and the St Pauli club circuit where the Beatles got their start.

Neither city is a spa destination, but both take saunas seriously. Amsterdam's large day spas sit on the edge of town and are usually mixed and nude. Its crowded centre makes it hard to unwind, so you find calm on early canal walks or in the Vondelpark.

In Hamburg you can visit the art nouveau Holthusenbad. The Alster and the Japanese garden in Planten un Blomen are quieter places to slow down, and they are close to the centre.