Amsterdam or Stockholm?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Stockholm makes swimming part of a summer stay in a way Amsterdam does not. In July and August you can take the metro to Långholmen's rocks or a lake beach at Hellasgården and swim in clean water, then catch a ferry to a jetty in the archipelago.

Amsterdam's real beach is out at Zandvoort and Bloemendaal, a long sandy shore with dune pavilions. The North Sea there is cold and windy, so most visitors walk on the sand rather than swim. Stockholm offers rock slabs and short jetties, not a strand, but you are far more likely to actually get in the water.

Stockholm has a slight edge at the table, mostly thanks to its tasting-menu cooking built on archipelago fish, game and foraged herbs, and the old-fashioned dining rooms serving meatballs and toast skagen. Fika in the Södermalm bakeries adds a gentle daily ritual.

Amsterdam's best eating comes from far away: Indonesian rijsttafel and Surinamese roti, plus herring and stroopwafels from street stalls and markets. Its real strength is drinking in brown cafés and jenever tasting rooms. If you graze from stalls, Amsterdam is easier. Stockholm rewards a planned dinner more.

The two cities are close here, but Amsterdam has the deeper art collections. The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Stedelijk share one square, the Anne Frank House is a powerful visit, and the canal ring itself is a 17th-century monument you walk through.

Stockholm's highlights are more about history and setting than painting. The Vasa warship, Skansen's open-air farmhouses, the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan and the woodland cemetery are all memorable. You also reach them by bridge and ferry across the islands, which turns sightseeing into part of the pleasure.

Amsterdam is clearly the better city for going out. Its electronic music scene is internationally known, with all-night clubs in old industrial buildings in Noord. Canal-side terraces in the Jordaan and De Pijp make for easy evenings, and in October the Amsterdam Dance Event takes over the city.

Stockholm splits between the strict doors and smart crowd of Stureplan and the more relaxed bars of Södermalm. It is at its best on light summer nights by the water. High drink prices and quiet winter weekdays make it a pleasant evening out rather than a reason to come.

Stockholm wins easily. Forest, lakes and granite islands start almost in the centre, with oak meadows on Djurgården, old-growth pine in Tyresta National Park and the archipelago for kayaking, sailing and island walks. In a hard winter you can skate on natural ice.

Amsterdam's countryside is gentler: flat polders, dykes and windmills, best seen by bike in Waterland just across the IJ, plus the bison-grazed dunes near the coast. It makes a calm half-day out. Neither city has hills.

Amsterdam is the better base for day trips, because the Netherlands packs historic towns close together on frequent trains. Haarlem, Leiden, Delft, Utrecht, The Hague and Rotterdam are each an easy hop, with Kinderdijk's windmills, the old Zuiderzee villages and the Keukenhof in spring on top.

Stockholm has fine outings of its own: Uppsala's cathedral and burial mounds, Sigtuna, and Drottningholm Palace by boat. However, many of its best trips, such as Birka, Vaxholm and Sandhamn, depend on summer ferries, so in winter the choice narrows.

Both are safe and welcoming, but Stockholm is the easier city for children. Djurgården puts Skansen's Nordic animals, Junibacken's Astrid Lindgren train ride and the Gröna Lund amusement park side by side. Buses take buggies without fuss, and ferry rides are a treat in themselves.

Amsterdam has Artis zoo, the hands-on NEMO science museum and pancake houses, but parents have to watch out for streams of fast bikes and unfenced canal edges. Steep canal-house stairs add to the effort with small children.

Both are easy to get around without a car, and both have contactless transport. The difference is in the layout. Amsterdam's flat, compact centre puts most sights within walking distance, and a hired bike is the local way to travel if you can handle the busy lanes.

Stockholm spreads over fourteen islands, so you cross more bridges and climb steep streets on Södermalm. In return, its painted bedrock metro stations and harbour ferries are sights in their own right.

The two are evenly matched but sell different things. Amsterdam is about browsing: the Nine Streets' boutiques and vintage shops, and markets such as the Albert Cuyp, Waterlooplein and the floating flower market, with Delft blue and cheese to take home.

Stockholm is the place for Scandinavian design and minimalist Swedish fashion, from Biblioteksgatan and NK to the second-hand shops of SoFo. It has far fewer markets.

Both are expensive, but Amsterdam is the harder of the two on a budget, mainly because of its canal-ring hotel rooms and tourist tax. Staying in Haarlem or Utrecht helps, and market stalls keep lunch cheap.

Stockholm's main costs are dinners and drinks. Its hotels drop in price at weekends and through July, the weekday lunch deal is good value, and free parks, bathing spots and museums help soften the bill.

Amsterdam has the stronger stage, led by the Concertgebouw and its orchestra, one of the world's great classical experiences. The Bimhuis adds jazz on the IJ waterfront, and Paradiso and the Melkweg are long-standing rock and pop venues.

Stockholm offers solid opera and ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera and orchestral concerts at the Konserthuset. Its rare treat is baroque opera in summer at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre, performed with its original stage machinery. In both cities, spoken theatre is mostly in the local language.

Stockholm is the more restful of the two. Historic bathhouses such as Centralbadet and Sturebadet, lakeside saunas with an icy dip, and waterside spa hotels in the archipelago give it a real bathing culture. The slow habit of fika helps too.

Amsterdam has large Dutch-style saunas on its edges and quiet early mornings on the canals. Its crowded centre, though, is not a place to unwind.