Antwerp or Bruges?

Bruges has the easier route to the sea. Blankenberge is about fifteen minutes away by train, and the coast tram runs past long, flat sandy beaches with promenades all the way to Knokke. That makes a sunny August afternoon on the sand a simple half-day outing.

From Antwerp the same coast takes close to two hours each way, and the city's own Sint-Annastrand faces a tidal river where swimming is not an option. It is the same chilly North Sea from both, but only from Bruges does it fit casually into a stay.

Both serve the same Flemish classics of mussels with frites, beef stewed in beer and waffles, with great beer at the heart of it. Antwerp goes further. It has its own amber ale in the round bolleke glass, chocolate handjes, and a confident modern restaurant scene in Het Zuid and around the Eilandje docks.

In Bruges the beer cafés are the highlight, but the everyday choice is narrower and the squares are given over to set menus for day-trippers. Its best fine dining is mostly in farmhouses and villages outside town, so a good dinner can mean leaving the city.

The two are evenly matched, but they offer different things. In Bruges the whole town is the sight: a UNESCO-listed ring of canals, guildhalls, the Belfry and the Begijnhof, with Van Eyck at the Groeninge, Memling in St John's Hospital and a Michelangelo Madonna. It is small, and the streets fill by late morning in season.

Antwerp spreads its interest across more eras. There are Rubens's altarpieces in the cathedral and his house, the Plantin-Moretus printing works, the domed Central Station and Art Nouveau Zurenborg. It also has later stories at the MAS, the Red Star Line museum and MoMu, which gives a more varied two or three days.

Antwerp is far the stronger city for going out. Its bars have no fixed closing time, student streets and brown cafés stay busy past midnight, and house and techno nights run in warehouses near the docks. It also has one of the best-known gay scenes in the Low Countries.

Bruges offers a different kind of evening: a long session over Trappist ales in a vaulted cellar bar around the Eiermarkt or 't Zand, followed by a walk along the lit canals. Clubbing comes down to one or two small weekend venues, and on weeknights the centre is quiet by midnight.

Neither is an outdoor destination, but Bruges has the more pleasant countryside on its doorstep. The poplar-lined towpath to Damme, the polder lanes towards the Dutch border, the dunes and the bird-rich Zwin salt marsh near Knokke all make easy, open rides and walks.

Around Antwerp the land is more built up, with the port taking much of the riverbank. The Kalmthoutse Heide heathland and the Scheldt dykes are worth a cycle, but they take more effort to reach.

Both make excellent bases, and the difference is the direction they face. From Antwerp, the Netherlands is within easy reach: Rotterdam in about an hour, plus Delft, The Hague and the Kinderdijk windmills, with Mechelen, Leuven and Brussels close on the Belgian side.

Bruges looks west and to the coast instead. Ghent is under half an hour away, and Ostend, Damme, the First World War sites around Ypres and even Lille are within reach. Each city is a worthwhile day out from the other.

Antwerp is easier with children. One of the world's oldest zoos sits right beside Central Station, and the trams, the MAS rooftop, the Steen castle and the foot tunnel under the Scheldt make easy outings. The flat centre is manageable with a pushchair.

Bruges has charming short treats, like canal boats, horse carriages, swans on the Minnewater and Boudewijn Seapark, and sandcastles on the coast are close by. Beyond those, though, the town is mostly paintings and churches, and cobbles and summer crowds make pushchairs hard work.

Both are easy, flat and best without a car, but the scale differs. Bruges can be crossed on foot in half an hour inside its canal ring, so most visitors never need transport. The only awkward part is the walk from the station, which sits outside the ring.

Antwerp is larger and spreads further, so trams and the underground premetro come in handy for Het Eilandje and Zurenborg. Its Central Station, the national rail hub, sits right in the city, with direct links to the airport and the Netherlands. Cobbles test ankles and bike wheels in both.

Antwerp is one of Europe's fashion cities, and its shops show it. The fashion academy's influence runs through the conceptual Belgian labels on the Nationalestraat and Kammenstraat. On top of that come the diamond quarter, antique and interiors shops on the Kloosterstraat, and the Meir for chain stores.

Bruges is mainly for things to eat and drink: pralines, specialist beer shops and bobbin lace, much of it imported. Its high street is mostly familiar chains, and the Dijver flea market is a nice browse rather than a reason to go.

Both cost roughly the same, but the money goes in different places. In Antwerp dinner is the main expense, while rooms tend to be cheaper than in nearby capitals and the compact centre and trams keep getting around cheap.

In Bruges the main expense is a bed inside the canal ring, especially at weekends and in summer. A midweek stay near the station and meals away from the Markt help a lot, and the beer and the day-trip trains are fair value.

Antwerp has far more on in an evening. Opera Ballet Vlaanderen performs at the Frankrijklei opera house, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra plays in the Queen Elisabeth Hall, and deSingel stages adventurous contemporary dance. Touring stars come to its arena, though much of the theatre is in Dutch.

Bruges has no opera company, but its Concertgebouw and summer early music festival make it a real stop for early and chamber music. Early music is a strength the two share, since Antwerp has AMUZ in a Baroque church, but Bruges's carillon and church concerts make it more of a summer scene.

Neither has thermal baths, but Bruges is the more restful place to stay. At dawn and in the evening the canals, the Begijnhof and the Minnewater park are very still, and the Sint-Anna and Langestraat streets stay calm even at midday.

Antwerp is more about doing than resting. Its best wellness options are the large Flemish sauna complexes in the surrounding countryside, mostly reached by car, and otherwise a quiet hour in Rivierenhof or a brown café.