Antwerp or Luxembourg?

Neither city is a place for a beach vacation. In Antwerp, the North Sea coast at Blankenberge or Knokke is a long day out by train, and the water stays cool. Luxembourg is landlocked, so swimming there means the Upper Sûre reservoir or the gravel-pit lakes at Remerschen, which are pleasant on a hot afternoon and warmer than the Belgian sea. Both cities treat swimming as an occasional summer outing.

Antwerp has more to eat and drink. Stoofvlees, mussels with frites, shrimp croquettes and the city's own chocolate make for a clear local cuisine. Its beer culture, from the bolleke of amber ale to long Trappist lists, gives every evening a focus. The ambitious cooking is in Het Zuid and Het Eilandje.

Luxembourg mixes French, German, Portuguese and Italian traditions, and its own dishes are few. Its real strength is Moselle Riesling and crémant, along with a fine-dining tier that is surprisingly serious for the city's size. Casual eating is thinner, so it suits a special dinner more than grazing.

The difference is between great paintings and a great site. Antwerp's sights grew out of Flemish Baroque wealth. Rubens altarpieces hang in the Cathedral of Our Lady, you can visit his house and studio, and the Plantin-Moretus printing house is on the UNESCO list. Add the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, the MAS and Zurenborg's Art Nouveau streets, and you have two or three full days.

In Luxembourg the city itself is the attraction more than any collection. The fortress remains, the Bock casemates and the view from the Corniche down to the Grund are what stay with you. The palace, the cathedral and MUDAM make up a smaller list that fits into two days.

Antwerp is far better for going out. With no fixed closing time, its brown cafés and student streets keep going 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.

Luxembourg's nights are concentrated in the Rives de Clausen, the riverside pubs of the Grund and a few later venues in Hollerich. Thursday and Friday are the busy nights because residents tend to leave at weekends, so it is a terrace-and-crémant place rather than a clubbing one.

Luxembourg is much the better choice for time outdoors. Wooded gorges cut through the city centre, the mossy rock passages of the Müllerthal are half an hour away, and the Ardennes hills and Moselle vineyard paths are close by.

Antwerp's surroundings are flat and dominated by the port. The Kalmthoutse Heide heathland and the polder dykes give good cycling, but there are no hills, and the city's parks are for an afternoon rather than a trip.

Both are good bases, and Antwerp has more within reach. Mechelen, Brussels, Leuven and Ghent are each under an hour by train, Bruges is a little further, and Rotterdam, Delft and Kinderdijk bring the Netherlands into range.

Luxembourg's choice crosses three borders: Roman Trier and Metz's Gothic cathedral are each under an hour away. Closer to home, Vianden's castle, Echternach and the Moselle wine villages give it more countryside outings, while Antwerp's day trips are mostly to other cities.

With children, Antwerp is the easier city to fill. One of the world's oldest zoos is right beside Central Station, and the MAS rooftop, the Steen castle and the foot tunnel under the Scheldt are all easy wins in a flat centre that works with a pushchair.

Luxembourg is calm and safe, and its lifts and funicular make buggies easy. Beyond the fortress tunnels, the natural history museum and the small Parc Merveilleux, though, little is built for families. It works better for a short stay with older children than for a full week.

Luxembourg is the easier of the two, mainly because all public transport is free: the tram to Kirchberg, the buses, and trains out to Vianden, Clervaux and the Moselle. The city is built on several levels, but public lifts and a funicular link the upper town with the valleys.

Antwerp is flatter and very walkable, with most sights within a half-hour walk. Trams and premetro lines, shared bikes and Central Station's fast rail links cover the rest. Neither city needs a car.

Antwerp is the place to shop. Its fashion academy shaped a generation of avant-garde designers, and their conceptual Belgian labels fill the Nationalestraat, Kammenstraat and Het Zuid. Antiques along the Kloosterstraat and the diamond quarter add range.

Luxembourg's Grand-Rue offers the same international luxury brands found anywhere, and there is little independent design. The local specialities to take home are Villeroy & Boch porcelain and a few bottles of crémant.

Neither is cheap, but Antwerp is easier on a mid-range budget. Rooms cost less than in nearby capitals, and café beers, frites and lunch menus keep daily costs reasonable. The compact centre means you walk most places for free.

Luxembourg is one of the more expensive stays in Western Europe, with hotels priced for business travel and restaurant bills well above the norm. Free transport, free museums and wine by the glass help a little. Some visitors save by staying in Trier or Metz and coming in by train.

The two are fairly close, but Antwerp has the edge because it has its own companies with reputations. Opera Ballet Vlaanderen performs in the historic opera house, deSingel programmes contemporary dance, a field where Flanders is known internationally, and AMUZ specialises in early music. Much of the theatre is in Dutch, though.

Luxembourg is built around the Philharmonie, a hall with fine acoustics that touring orchestras visit regularly. The Grand Théâtre stages visiting productions, often in English or French, which makes it more accessible to visitors even though most of the programme comes from elsewhere.

Luxembourg is the better place to slow down. The thermal spring at Mondorf-les-Bains, half an hour away, has pools, saunas and treatments in a landscaped park, and the quiet evenings and river walks in the Grund help too.

Antwerp has no spring or bathhouse of its own. Its Flemish sauna complexes are mostly out of town and reached by car, so in the city, unwinding usually means a park or a slow afternoon in a brown café.