Bangkok or Singapore?

Neither is a beach city, but Singapore at least has sand without leaving the island. Sentosa has the man-made beaches of Siloso, Palawan and Tanjong, with calm lagoons behind breakwaters, and ferries run to the quieter lagoons of St John's and Lazarus. The water is cloudy and tankers line the horizon, but a swim is easy to fit into a city day.

Bangkok's own coast is mudflat and mangrove, so swimming there means a hotel pool. The nearest real beaches, at Bang Saen and Pattaya, are a long road trip away. Serious beachgoers in both cities go further afield, from Bangkok usually to Hua Hin or the islands.

Both are among Asia's great eating cities, and in both the best meal is often from a single stall. Bangkok edges ahead on depth. Thai cooking is served at plastic tables from breakfast onwards, Yaowarat turns into one long kitchen after dark, and there are markets like Or Tor Kor, ambitious restaurants reworking regional dishes, and a serious cocktail and coffee scene.

Singapore's strength is the hawker centre, where Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan cooking share one roof. At Maxwell, Tekka or Old Airport Road you can have chicken rice, laksa and roti prata in a single sitting, in tidier and easier surroundings than Bangkok's street corners.

Bangkok's sights are grander. There is the Grand Palace with Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho's Reclining Buddha and Wat Arun across the river, with working temples in side streets and Thonburi's canal houses beyond. Its museum list is shorter than its temple list, and dress codes apply at the main temples.

Singapore's heritage is younger, and its strength is in museums. The National Gallery's Southeast Asian collection and the Asian Civilisations and Peranakan museums all sit in the Civic District, and the ethnic quarters and the Marina Bay skyline add the rest. Two or three days cover it, where Bangkok's old city repays a longer stay.

Bangkok offers far more range after dark. There are polished cocktail bars and clubs in Thonglor and Ekkamai, the cheap street-side noise of Khao San, Silom's long-standing gay scene and rooftop bars above the river, and street food is still on the go when the bars shut.

Singapore does one thing well: a carefully made drink in a Keong Saik shophouse or on a terrace above Marina Bay. Clubs are few, alcohol taxes make every round expensive and the mood stays orderly, so it suits an evening out better than a long night.

Singapore has the better green spaces close at hand. Bukit Timah and MacRitchie have real rainforest and a treetop walk, the Southern Ridges are linked by raised walkways, Sungei Buloh's wetlands draw migratory birds, and Pulau Ubin makes a day by bicycle. All are easy to reach, though the small island runs out of new places quickly.

Inside Bangkok, outdoor life mostly means parks such as Lumphini, plus cycling on Bang Krachao's raised paths. Its wilder country, the forests of Khao Yai and the rivers of Kanchanaburi, is two to three hours away and better done overnight.

This is where Bangkok pulls clearly ahead. Ayutthaya's ruined capital is an easy day out by train. To the west are the floating and railway markets of Amphawa and Maeklong, and Nakhon Pathom's great stupa and Kanchanaburi's Death Railway bridge make longer days.

Singapore, an island state, has little within a day's reach. Johor Bahru is across the causeway, if the border queues allow, and Bintan and Batam are resort islands rather than towns to explore. Malacca needs a night, and most visitors simply fly on.

Singapore is the much easier city with children. There are the zoo, Night Safari and bird park at Mandai, Universal Studios and the aquarium on Sentosa, and water play at Gardens by the Bay. All of it comes with lifts, air conditioning, clean streets and food children will eat.

Bangkok welcomes children warmly and has its own draws, from the aquarium beneath Siam Paragon to Safari World and rides on the Skytrain. But broken pavements, slow traffic and streets where a buggy is useless make every outing harder, so short days near a station work best.

Singapore wins plainly. Its MRT is step-free, reaches almost everything a visitor wants, from the airport to Orchard Road and the rainforest edge, and takes a contactless card on trains and buses alike. Covered walkways take some of the sting out of the heat.

Bangkok's Skytrain and MRT are just as comfortable where they run, and the Chao Phraya boats are a pleasure. But the old city sits largely off the rail network, rush-hour traffic is painfully slow, and getting from a station to where you are going, over footbridges and uneven pavements, is the hard part.

Both are serious shopping cities, and the difference lies in kind. Bangkok pairs huge malls around Siam and Ratchaprasong with markets full of character: Chatuchak at weekends, the night markets, Pratunam's wholesale clothing and Chinatown's gold shops. Bargaining is part of the market experience, and Thai silk, celadon and benjarong make good things to take home.

Singapore keeps it indoors and polished, with Orchard Road's chain of brand-name malls and the designer shops beneath Marina Bay Sands. Its independent side is in Haji Lane's boutiques and Tiong Bahru's bookshops, and Peranakan beadwork and porcelain are the local crafts to look for.

Money goes much further in Bangkok. Rooms with river views or rooftop pools cost a fraction of what they would in a Western capital, meals and transport are cheap, and massages and tailoring add little. Only imported drinks, rooftop bars and the Grand Palace fee push costs up.

In Singapore the room is the biggest part of the bill, drinks are heavily taxed, and the wildlife parks and Sentosa charge high entry fees. Hawker meals, the MRT and the free gardens keep daily spending in check, but it is still by far the pricier stay.

Neither city is worth a trip for the stage alone, but what you see is different. Bangkok's draw is its own tradition: khon masked dance drama at the Sala Chalermkrung and the National Theatre, classical Thai dance, and the ritual and music around Muay Thai bouts at Rajadamnern and Lumpinee.

Singapore has a steadier international programme. There are the Esplanade's concert hall and free performances by the bay, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra's season and touring musicals at Marina Bay Sands, with Chinese opera and Indian dance appearing at temple festivals.

Bangkok is the better place for a massage. Wat Pho still teaches and gives traditional Thai massage, shopfront parlours stay open late on almost every street, and the grand hotel spas along the river are among Asia's most refined. What it lacks is quiet, so the rest comes in short doses.

Singapore is calmer but offers less. There are reflexology parlours in Chinatown, traditional Chinese medicine clinics, Ayurveda in Little India and hotel spas with skyline pools. Its most restful moments are early mornings in the Botanic Gardens and on the shaded paths around the reservoirs.