Antwerp or Hamburg?

Hamburg comes out a little ahead, mostly because the sea is closer. The Elbe sand at Oevelgoenne and Blankenese is a pleasant place to watch ships at sunset. The Baltic resorts, with their wicker beach chairs, are about an hour away, which makes a swimming day realistic in a warm spell.

Antwerp's Sint-Annastrand is only a riverbank promenade, and reaching the North Sea at Blankenberge or Knokke takes nearly two hours each way. In both cities summer swimming mostly means lakes and outdoor pools on the edge of town.

Antwerp is the better place to eat and drink. Its Flemish cooking, such as stoofvlees, mussels with frites and shrimp croquettes, is a cuisine in its own right. Its beer culture, from the bolleke of local amber ale to long Trappist lists in the brown cafés, is a reason to visit by itself. Het Zuid and Het Eilandje add modern restaurants with a few starred tables.

Hamburg's food is more about snacks and port classics: fish rolls on the piers, Labskaus, Franzbroetchen with coffee from the old roasteries. There is plenty of good food, but few people travel for it.

Antwerp has the deeper set of sights. Its sixteenth-century wealth survives as a whole: the Gothic cathedral with Rubens inside, the guild houses of the Grote Markt, Rubens's own house and the Plantin-Moretus Museum. Central Station and Zurenborg's Art Nouveau streets add a second layer from the nineteenth century.

Hamburg is about the merchant waterfront rather than a historic core. Its highlights are the red-brick Speicherstadt and the Chilehaus, and the Kunsthalle is strong on Caspar David Friedrich. The war took most of the old town, so you spend your time walking between districts rather than exploring one old centre.

Hamburg is the clear choice for going out. The Reeperbahn is Germany's best-known nightlife strip, and nights there can run until dawn at the harbour. Each district has its own crowd, from the alternative Schanzenviertel to the smarter bars around the Alster.

Antwerp has a serious night out for a city of its size. It has late brown cafés, a house and techno tradition in old warehouses near the docks, and one of the Low Countries' best-known gay scenes. Outside the weekend, though, it is noticeably quieter.

Hamburg has more to do outside, and nearly all of it involves water. You can sail or paddle on the Alster, canoe into the northern canals or walk the Elbe path to the wooded slopes of Blankenese. Cycling through the Altes Land orchards in blossom season and a trip to Lueneburg Heath round it out.

Antwerp's countryside is flat and largely given over to the port. The Kalmthoutse Heide and bike rides along the Scheldt polder dykes are good half days, but they are about all there is.

Antwerp is the better base for day trips by a wide margin. Mechelen, Brussels, Leuven and Ghent are all under an hour by train, and Bruges is not much further. Rotterdam, Delft and the Kinderdijk windmills across the Dutch border are within a day's reach too, which puts two countries' worth of historic towns on the doorstep.

Hamburg's day trips are fewer and more spread out, but they are good ones. Luebeck's Hanseatic old town is the standout, followed by the leaning gables of Lueneburg, Bremen's Schnoor quarter and Schwerin's castle on its lake.

Hamburg has more to keep children busy. Miniatur Wunderland can fill a rainy day, Hagenbeck shows its animals across moats with no bars, and a harbour outing with a ferry, the museum ships and the old Elbe tunnel is easy to put together. Two theme parks are about an hour away.

Antwerp works well for a shorter stay. The zoo is right beside Central Station, and the MAS rooftop, the trams and the foot tunnel under the Scheldt are free or simple outings. It just runs out of big attractions sooner.

Getting around is easy in both, and neither city needs a car. The difference is in how you move. Antwerp is mainly a walking city: almost everything lies within a half-hour stroll of Central Station, with trams and the premetro covering the outer districts and shared bikes for the rest.

Hamburg is more spread out and relies on its U-Bahn and S-Bahn. The bonus is that the harbour ferries run on the same ticket, so getting about doubles as a boat tour. The airport is on the S-Bahn.

The two are close for shopping but suit different shoppers. Antwerp is the place for designer fashion with an edge. Conceptual Belgian labels from the fashion academy's circle fill the Nationalestraat and Het Zuid, and the diamond quarter, the Kloosterstraat antique shops and the Vrijdagmarkt auctions add a quirkier side.

Hamburg does polished luxury better. Neuer Wall, the covered arcades and the Alsterhaus are the centre of it, while the Karolinenviertel covers vintage and streetwear.

Both cities are expensive, and the costs fall in much the same places: sit-down dinners and central hotels. In Antwerp rooms tend to cost less than in Brussels or Amsterdam, and lunch menus, frites stands and a café beer help keep spending down.

Hamburg's room prices jump during trade fairs and summer weekends. It makes up for that with free sights such as the Elbphilharmonie plaza and the Speicherstadt, and with a day ticket that covers the harbour ferries.

Hamburg is the stronger choice here, and it is one of the best reasons to go. The Elbphilharmonie is a hall people travel for, and the Laeiszhalle, the State Opera, the internationally known Hamburg Ballet and two major drama stages sit alongside it. There are also long-running musicals and the St Pauli club circuit where the Beatles once played.

Antwerp has a solid scene that leans to the specialist. Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, contemporary dance at deSingel and early music at AMUZ are the highlights, though most of its theatre is in Dutch.

Neither city is a spa destination, but Hamburg makes it easier to relax. The art nouveau Holthusenbad and other city baths have large sauna areas you can reach by public transport. Slow boat rides on the Alster and the Japanese garden in Planten un Blomen are close by too.

Antwerp's bigger sauna complexes are out in the suburbs and the countryside, mostly reached by car. In town, relaxing usually means a park bench or a quiet afternoon in a brown café.