Amsterdam or Maastricht?

Neither city suits a beach trip, but from Amsterdam you can at least reach the sea. Zandvoort and Bloemendaal have a long sandy shore backed by dunes, about half an hour away by train. It is good for a windswept walk, even if the North Sea is too cold for most swimmers, and IJburg has small city beaches on the IJ.

Maastricht is far inland. Swimming there means the gravel-pit lakes along the Maas on a hot afternoon, or a hotel pool.

The two cities eat equally well, but in different ways. Amsterdam's best food came with its trade: Indonesian rijsttafel, Surinamese roti, herring from street stalls and stroopwafels at the Albert Cuyp. The most interesting neighbourhood restaurants are in De Pijp, the Jordaan and Oost.

Maastricht looks south instead, to Limburg zuurvlees, vlaai and seasonal asparagus and game, with Belgian beer, local white wine and a fine-dining scene unusually strong for a city its size. Amsterdam has far more variety and street food, while Maastricht offers the more polished sit-down meal on a terrace by the Vrijthof.

For museums, Amsterdam is far ahead. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk share one square, and together with the Anne Frank House and the UNESCO canal ring they fill three or four full days.

Maastricht's appeal is its age rather than its collections. It has two Romanesque basilicas, the Helpoort and medieval walls along the Jeker, guided tunnels under the Sint-Pietersberg and the Bonnefanten museum by the river. That makes two rewarding days, but nothing there draws visitors the way the Night Watch does.

Amsterdam has the much bigger night out. It runs from candlelit brown cafés to all-night clubs in old industrial buildings in Noord, and the Amsterdam Dance Event takes over the city each October. Locals drink on canal-side terraces in the Jordaan and De Pijp rather than on Leidseplein.

Maastricht's evenings centre on student bars and brown cafés around the Markt and the Vrijthof. They are lively at weekends during term but there are few clubs. The exception is carnival, when the whole city parties in costume in the streets for days before Lent.

Maastricht has the better countryside close by, because this is where the Netherlands stops being flat. Paths and marl cliffs on the Sint-Pietersberg start at the edge of the city, the Jeker valley runs green into Belgium, and the Heuvelland has orchards, sunken lanes and short steep climbs. The Ardennes are within reach for a longer day.

Around Amsterdam the pleasures are flat and open: bike rides through the polders and wooden villages of Waterland, the woods of the Amsterdamse Bos, and the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland, where bison graze.

Both cities are excellent bases, but Amsterdam has more places within an hour on fast, frequent trains. Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam each make a full day of art, canals or architecture, and Zaanse Schans, Volendam and the Keukenhof in spring are easy extras.

Maastricht's strength is the range of countries rather than the number of towns. Aachen and Liège are about half an hour away, Tongeren and Valkenburg are closer still, and Cologne and Brussels make longer outings.

Amsterdam is easier to fill with children. Artis zoo, the hands-on NEMO science museum, the playgrounds in the Vondelpark, canal boats and city farms are all in town. The catch is the fast bikes and unfenced canal edges, so small children need holding on to.

Maastricht is calm and easy with a buggy, but apart from the tunnel tour under the Sint-Pietersberg, most children's outings are outside the city: Valkenburg's caves and fairy-tale park, or the zoo in Kerkrade.

Both centres are flat and easy on foot, and in Maastricht almost everything is within a fifteen-minute walk. Amsterdam is spread wider but adds trams, a north-south metro, free ferries across the IJ and a direct train from Schiphol, so the whole city is simple to cover.

Maastricht's limits show once you leave town. Buses reach Valkenburg and the hill villages, but the countryside is far easier by bike or car. In Amsterdam a car is only a burden.

Amsterdam has more choice. The independent boutiques and vintage shops of the Nine Streets sit alongside the luxury labels of PC Hooftstraat and De Bijenkorf on Dam Square, and the Waterlooplein flea market and the floating Bloemenmarkt add character.

Maastricht is a pleasant place to browse for a weekend. Fashion boutiques line the restored houses of the Stokstraat quarter, and Wyck has independent shops for interiors, vintage and food. It does not have the capital's depth in luxury or design.

Neither city is cheap, but Maastricht is noticeably easier on the budget. Hotels on Amsterdam's canal ring are among the most expensive in Europe and a hefty tourist tax comes on top, which is why many visitors sleep in Haarlem or Utrecht instead.

In Maastricht, rooms, simple lunches and drinks all cost less than in the capital, and walking replaces transport. Its popularity for weekend breaks is the catch, so a midweek stay saves the most.

Amsterdam is worth travelling to for music. The Concertgebouw and its orchestra, opera and ballet on the Amstel, the Bimhuis for jazz, and Paradiso and the Melkweg for touring bands give a choice on most nights. The Holland Festival brings ambitious international work each June.

Maastricht's scene is solid but regional. The theatre on the Vrijthof hosts the regional orchestra and opera, and there are organ concerts in the churches, conservatory recitals and big open-air summer concerts on the square.

Maastricht is the more restful choice. The city moves slowly, with long lunches and walks along the Maas and the Jeker. Real thermal bathing is close by: the spa above Valkenburg, Aachen's baths, in use since Roman times, and the town of Spa itself within an hour.

Amsterdam has serious saunas and day spas on its edges but no thermal tradition. Its crowded centre means you have to look for quiet, on an early walk along the canals or in the Vondelpark.