Bangkok or Chiang Mai?

Neither city is a beach destination, so in both you swim in a hotel pool and spend a few nights by the sea somewhere else. Bangkok has the edge on reach: Pattaya and Bang Saen make a long day out by road, and rooftop pools are a real part of its hotel scene.

Chiang Mai is a long day's travel from any coast, so swimming there means fresh water: the Huay Tung Tao reservoir below Doi Suthep, quarry lakes on the edge of town and pools beneath waterfalls.

Bangkok is the stronger eating city by some way. It offers the full range of central Thai cooking at almost any hour, from boat noodles and khao man gai to the open-air kitchens of Yaowarat Road and the produce halls of Or Tor Kor. On top of that come ambitious Thai restaurants, good Japanese and Chinese food and a serious cocktail culture.

Chiang Mai's food is narrower but distinctive, built on northern dishes such as khao soi, herb-packed sai ua sausage and nam prik noom with sticky rice, eaten at Warorot market and the Chang Phueak Gate stalls. Its cafés, roasting coffee from the surrounding hills, are a real pleasure, but most visitors eat Thai at nearly every meal because the international choice is limited.

Bangkok's sights are grander and better known. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho and the porcelain tiers of Wat Arun anchor several days in the old centre, and the National Museum and the Jim Thompson House add depth.

Chiang Mai offers a smaller and more intimate version of Thai temple culture. Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Phra Singh and dozens of teak-gabled monasteries lie within walking distance inside the moat, and Doi Suthep's temple looks down from the mountain. Museums are few, though, and two or three days covers the main sights.

Here the gap is wide. Bangkok has a night out for most tastes: polished cocktail bars and clubs in Thonglor and Ekkamai, the loud street party of Khao San Road, Silom's long-established gay scene and rooftop bars high above the river, most of it running until around two.

Chiang Mai is sociable rather than wild. You will find craft beer and cocktails in Nimmanhaemin and backpacker bars around Tha Phae Gate, but most places close around midnight. Come for a few drinks in good company, not for dancing until dawn.

Chiang Mai wins easily. Doi Suthep-Pui National Park begins at the western edge of town, Doi Inthanon's cloud forest and waterfalls are about an hour and a half away, and the Mae Taeng valley adds rafting, treks to hill villages and sanctuaries where elephants are watched rather than ridden. The haze from field burning between February and April can spoil hikes, so the cool months are the time to go.

Bangkok's outdoor life comes down to its parks, from Lumphini with its monitor lizards to cycling on the raised paths of Bang Krachao. Real landscape, at Khao Yai or Kanchanaburi, needs an overnight stay.

Bangkok has the better day trips. The ruined capital of Ayutthaya is the standout, an easy train ride north. To the west, the canal country offers the Amphawa floating market, the Maeklong railway market and the great stupa at Nakhon Pathom, and Kanchanaburi's Death Railway bridge makes a long day.

Chiang Mai's outings are smaller in scale: old Lamphun half an hour south, Lampang with its horse-drawn carriages and teak mansions, and craft villages such as Bo Sang. Its best-known names, the White Temple and Pai, are too far for a day, so most excursions head into the hills instead.

For families the two balance out, but their appeal is different. Bangkok has the purpose-built attractions, including Sea Life Ocean World, Safari World, Dream World and KidZania, and the malls' indoor play areas are a refuge on hot afternoons. The catch is that traffic and crowded pavements turn every outing into an effort.

Chiang Mai is smaller and calmer, and its draws are mostly outdoors: feeding elephants at sanctuaries, the zoo on Doi Suthep, the Night Safari and quarry swimming parks. It runs out of things for children to do sooner, and young children should not visit in the hazy burning season.

Bangkok is easier to cross without a car. The air-conditioned BTS Skytrain and MRT link Siam, Sukhumvit, Silom and Chinatown, river express boats stop at the Grand Palace and Wat Arun, and a rail link runs to Suvarnabhumi airport. Away from the stations, though, road traffic is slow and walking is tiring.

Chiang Mai has no metro or tram at all. The old city works on foot, and red songthaew pickups, tuk-tuks and ride-hailing cover the rest. For the hills you need a scooter, a hired driver or a tour.

Bangkok is a shopping destination in its own right. It has the long chain of malls around Siam and Ratchaprasong, ICONSIAM on the river, Pratunam's wholesale clothing and the thousands of stalls at Chatuchak Weekend Market. Chiang Mai cannot match that range, and it has few luxury brands or fashion labels.

Chiang Mai's strength is buying handmade goods close to where they are made. The Sunday Walking Street and the Wualai Road Saturday market sell textiles, silver, carved wood and hill-tribe embroidery, and the villages of Bo Sang and San Kamphaeng make paper umbrellas and woven silk.

Both are cheap places to travel well, and the difference between them is small. In Bangkok the costs build up at rooftop bars, international restaurants and the Grand Palace, and a room in Sukhumvit or on the river costs more than one in Banglamphu.

Chiang Mai stretches a budget a little further, with inexpensive teak guesthouses, temples that are free or close to it, and cheap songthaews. There, the money goes on organised outings such as sanctuary visits, treks and cooking classes.

Bangkok has more to see on stage. Khon, the masked dance drama, at the Sala Chalermkrung Royal Theatre and the National Theatre is the highlight. The Thailand Cultural Centre hosts the symphony orchestra and touring productions, and Muay Thai at Rajadamnern and Lumpinee draws visitors for its ritual and music.

Chiang Mai has no formal season to speak of. Its evenings mean jazz jam sessions near the old city's north gate, Lanna dance with a khantoke dinner and, at Yi Peng, processions through the streets.

Chiang Mai is the better place to unwind. It is the country's best-known place to learn Thai massage, and it adds yoga studios, spas in old teak houses, meditation retreats at Wat Umong and Wat Suan Dok, and the San Kamphaeng hot springs, all in a slow, green city.

Bangkok has the famous massage school at Wat Pho and some of Asia's most refined hotel spas. Its heat, noise and traffic, though, mean that relaxation comes in short breaks between everything else.