Amsterdam or Oxford?

Amsterdam at least has a proper beach within reach. The wide sands at Zandvoort and Bloemendaal are half an hour away by train, with dunes and summer beach pavilions, though the cold, windy North Sea means most people walk along the shore rather than swim. In town there are the man-made IJburg beaches and lakes like the Sloterplas.

Oxford is about as far from the sea as you can get in England. Swimming there means a cool dip in the Thames at Port Meadow, the Cherwell or the open-air pool at Hinksey, with grassy banks instead of sand.

Amsterdam eats better, mainly thanks to its trading past. Indonesian rijsttafel and Surinamese roti are the meals to look for, along with herring from the stalls and stroopwafels at the Albert Cuyp. Its brown cafés and old jenever houses make an early-evening borrel part of the trip.

Oxford's food revolves around the pub: ale under low beams, a Sunday roast by the river, and lunch stalls in the Covered Market. Cowley Road adds cheap Middle Eastern, South Asian and Caribbean food, but meals here are solid rather than something you would travel for.

Amsterdam has the heavier collections. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk sit together on the Museumplein, the Anne Frank House needs booking well ahead, and the UNESCO-listed canal ring turns a walk into sightseeing. Give it three or four days.

Oxford's appeal is a living university. You walk through Christ Church, the Radcliffe Camera, the Bodleian and the Sheldonian within a few minutes of each other, and the Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers are better than such a small city leads you to expect. It is more compact and can be covered well in two or three days.

This is where the two differ most. Amsterdam goes from candlelit bars to a serious electronic music scene, with clubs licensed to stay open all night in old industrial buildings and in Noord, and the Amsterdam Dance Event every October. For a drink, head to the Jordaan and De Pijp rather than Leidseplein.

Oxford's evenings are pub evenings: a historic tavern in term time, a riverside garden in summer, or a late bar on Cowley Road. The centre is mostly quiet by midnight and quieter still once the students leave for the summer.

Both offer gentle countryside rather than wild landscape, but of different kinds. Around Amsterdam it is completely flat. You cycle out across the IJ into Waterland's meadows and wooden villages, wander the Amsterdamse Bos, or look for bison in the coastal dunes.

Oxford has more contour. Port Meadow and Christ Church Meadow are a stroll from the centre, punting is the classic pastime, and within an hour lie the rolling Cotswolds, the Chiltern beech woods and the ancient Ridgeway. It is the better pick if you want long walks on foot rather than flat bike rides.

Both make excellent bases, and the difference is how you travel. From Amsterdam, fast trains reach Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam, each with its own historic centre, and the windmills of Zaanse Schans and the old Zuiderzee villages are close by. You never need a car.

Oxford's outings are more about countryside and great houses: Blenheim Palace just up the road, Cotswold villages such as Bibury and Burford, Stratford, Warwick and Windsor. London is about an hour away by train. Some of the Cotswold trips are much easier with a car or a tour.

Amsterdam has more for children in the city itself. There is the old Artis zoo, NEMO's hands-on science floors, playgrounds in the Vondelpark, canal boats and city farms. The catches are fast bikes and unfenced canal edges, so keep small children close.

Oxford is safe and easy to walk round, and the free Natural History Museum and Pitt Rivers are big favourites, as is punting. Christ Church's Harry Potter hall delights older fans, but most of the city is aimed at adults, and the wildlife park and studio tour both mean a trip out.

Both centres are small, flat and good on foot, but Amsterdam has the fuller network. Trams cover the canal ring, a metro runs north to south, free ferries cross to Noord, and Schiphol is a short direct train ride away. Hiring a bike is the local way to get around, though the busy lanes take some nerve.

In Oxford, walking does nearly everything: you can cross the centre in twenty minutes, and some streets are closed to through traffic. Buses serve the outer districts and the station is close to the centre. In both cities a car is a burden.

Amsterdam is the better place to shop, especially for independents. The Nine Streets and the Jordaan are packed with boutiques and vintage shops, PC Hooftstraat has the luxury labels, and the markets, from Waterlooplein to the floating Bloemenmarkt, give a reason to browse.

Oxford's centre is mostly chains, but its best shops are distinctive: Blackwell's vast book room on Broad Street, map and print dealers, the Covered Market traders and university clothing. Designer hunters go to the outlet village at Bicester.

Neither is cheap, and accommodation is the main cost in both. Amsterdam's canal-ring hotels are among the dearest in Europe, there is a tourist tax on top, and museum tickets add up. Staying in Haarlem or Utrecht helps.

Oxford comes out a little cheaper. Rooms are scarce and pricey around graduations and conferences, but the major museums are free and pub meals keep daily spending modest. College entry fees and library tours are the main extras.

Amsterdam has the bigger stage. The Concertgebouw and its orchestra are world-class, the National Opera and Ballet perform on the Amstel, the Bimhuis covers jazz, and Paradiso and the Melkweg bring touring bands.

Oxford's highlight is more intimate: Evensong sung by the choirs of Christ Church, Magdalen and New College in candlelit chapels during term. Add chamber music at the historic Holywell Music Room and summer plays in college gardens, but theatre and gigs are on a smaller scale.

For pampering, Amsterdam has more to offer. Neither city has a thermal bath tradition, but the Dutch take saunas seriously, and there are large day spas on the edge of town, mixed and nude in the northern style. Quiet canals early in the morning and ferry rides across the IJ help too.

Oxford has few spas, so its calm comes from places instead: the Botanic Garden, walled college gardens, Addison's Walk past Magdalen's deer park, or an unhurried afternoon on a punt.