Anaheim or San Francisco?

Anaheim has the better beaches, although they are a drive away. Huntington Beach's wide surf sand, the Balboa Peninsula at Newport and the coves of Laguna are all about half an hour away by car. In late summer the water is mild enough for a proper swim.

San Francisco's shore is lovely for walking but not for swimming. Ocean Beach has dangerous rip currents, and Baker Beach is better for views of the bridge than for bathing. The water stays cold even in August, so you'd come for bonfires and sunsets rather than a towel on the sand.

San Francisco is far the stronger city for eating. It has Mission burritos, sourdough, cioppino and Dungeness crab, the Ferry Building market, dim sum in Chinatown and the Richmond, Italian bakeries in North Beach, and a serious fine-dining tier, with Napa and Sonoma wines on the list.

In Anaheim, the good food is away from the resort's chains and park counters. Little Arabia on Brookhurst Street and the Vietnamese kitchens of Little Saigon are worth the drive, but you'll be eating in suburban strip malls rather than walkable food neighbourhoods.

San Francisco offers far more. It has world-famous landmarks in the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the cable cars, strong art museums in SFMOMA, the de Young and the Legion of Honor, and neighbourhoods such as Chinatown, the Castro and the Mission, each with a story of its own.

Anaheim's cultural high point is Disneyland, which really is a piece of American history. Beyond the park there are only a few old citrus-era blocks and the Mother Colony House. For the Bowers Museum or the Nixon Library you need to drive.

San Francisco gives you a real night out. There are mezcal and cocktail bars along Valencia Street, old saloons in North Beach, the Castro's gay bars and warehouse clubs in SoMa. Bars close at 2am, though, and the action is spread across several districts.

In Anaheim the evening usually ends with the park fireworks, followed by a drink on the resort promenade or at a brewpub in the centre. Going properly out means a drive to Long Beach or Los Angeles.

San Francisco has the more dramatic setting, and much of it is inside the city. You can walk the Lands End clifftop trail, cross the miles of Golden Gate Park or climb Twin Peaks for the view. Across the bridge there are the Marin Headlands, the redwoods of Muir Woods, Mount Tamalpais and Point Reyes with its elk and elephant seals.

Anaheim's outdoors is milder and always needs a car. There are chaparral trails in the Santa Ana Mountains, and tide pools at Crystal Cove. Its advantage is the dry, sunny weather, which suits cycling and paddleboarding all year round, while San Francisco's summer fog and wind are a constant factor.

Both cities make good bases for day trips, but the trips are very different. From Anaheim you head out by car to Los Angeles's museums and observatory, the Queen Mary in Long Beach, Catalina Island, the mission at San Juan Capistrano and the wineries of Temecula. Heavy traffic is part of most outings.

San Francisco's best day out is Napa and Sonoma wine country. Ferries reach Sausalito and Tiburon, and Monterey's aquarium and Cannery Row are about two hours south. Berkeley and Oakland are a short train ride away, so several outings don't need a car at all.

Anaheim is the obvious family choice. Two Disney parks stand side by side, Knott's Berry Farm is ten minutes away, and hundreds of family hotels are within walking distance of the gates. Many families never leave that area for a week.

San Francisco's family attractions are more educational. The Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences can each fill a day, and the sea lions at the wharf and the cable car rides are free or cheap treats. But there are no big rides, the hills are hard work with a pushchair, and parts of downtown are unpleasant to walk through with children.

San Francisco is compact and easy to manage without a car. BART, Muni streetcars, buses, cable cars and the bay ferries all take one Clipper card. The only real effort is the steep hills between neighbourhoods.

Anaheim is easy only inside the resort district, where you can walk or take the shuttles to the parks. Beyond that, Orange County is built around freeways. Trains from the stadium station are useful for trips to Los Angeles or San Diego, but for beaches and restaurants you'll need a hire car or ride-hailing.

San Francisco has better shopping for browsing on foot. Union Square has the department stores, while design boutiques in Hayes Valley, bookshops and vintage on Valencia Street and Haight-Ashbury's countercultural shops give the city more character.

Anaheim's shopping is in malls you drive between. You'll find Disney merchandise on the resort promenade, a vast luxury mall in Costa Mesa and outlet centres for the mid-range, but very few independent shops.

Neither city is cheap, but Anaheim is easier on the wallet. Park tickets and hotels near the gates take up most of the budget. Motels a short drive away, along with the Vietnamese and Middle Eastern eateries in the suburbs, keep other costs at normal levels, although car hire and parking add to the bill.

San Francisco is among the costliest cities in the country, and hotel rooms and sit-down meals are expensive across the centre. The parks, the bridge walk and the coastal trails are all free, and Mission taquerias and Chinatown noodle shops help, but a tight budget will still feel stretched.

San Francisco has a full cultural calendar. Opera and the nation's oldest professional ballet company perform at the War Memorial Opera House, the symphony plays at Davies Hall, and serious drama comes from the American Conservatory Theater. For music there is SFJAZZ, the historic Fillmore rock hall and free summer concerts in Stern Grove.

In Anaheim, most evening entertainment is the polished night shows and parades inside the Disney parks. For orchestras, ballet or touring Broadway, you drive twenty minutes to the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa.

San Francisco offers more ways to slow down. There's a long-established Japanese bathhouse in Japantown, the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park, plenty of yoga studios, and Calistoga's mud baths and mineral springs about two hours north.

A trip to Anaheim built around early starts and park queues is rarely restful. Relaxing there usually means a day by the hotel pool, a visit to a Korean-style day spa in the suburbs, or a drive to the clifftop resort spas around Laguna and Dana Point.