Bath or Cardiff?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Cardiff is closer to the sand. Barry Island's bay and funfair are about half an hour away by train, Penarth has a pebble shore and a pier, and the wide beaches of the Gower are an hour or more to the west.

From Bath, the nearest seaside is Weston-super-Mare, an hour away, where the sea is muddy and the tide goes out a very long way. Decent sand means two hours or more to Dorset or Devon. Bath makes up for it a little with river swimming in the Avon on warm days. Either way, the Bristol Channel stays cool.

The two eat about equally well, in different ways. Bath relies on West Country produce and tradition: cider, cheese, the Bath bun and the Sally Lunn bun, afternoon tea in Georgian tearooms and the farmers' market in the old Green Park station. Its weakness is range. There is little cooking from other cuisines, and the city's evenings finish early.

Cardiff has more variety. City Road's long run of Middle Eastern and South Asian places fills the gap that Bath leaves, Pontcanna and Canton have neighbourhood bistros, and the Victorian market serves Welsh cakes off the griddle, along with cawl and laverbread with cockles.

Bath is the more remarkable place to walk around. The whole city is a World Heritage Site, with the Royal Crescent, the Circus and Pulteney Bridge forming one unbroken Georgian townscape, and the Roman Baths and the Abbey beneath and beside it.

Cardiff has fewer sights, and most of them are Victorian: the castle with its lavish Gothic rooms, the Impressionists in the National Museum and the open-air buildings of St Fagans. They fill two or three good days, but the streets between them lack Bath's coherence.

Cardiff has far more going on after dark. St Mary Street fills with big groups at weekends, Womanby Street has alternative bars and late venues, and on rugby days the whole centre is taken over by the crowd. The wine bars of Pontcanna offer something calmer.

Bath is a city of old coaching inns and real-ale pubs, with a handful of student clubs during term. Most weeknights end soon after dinner, and anyone wanting a big night out takes the train to Bristol.

Cardiff has wilder country within reach. The Brecon Beacons are about an hour away, with the open moorland ridges of Pen y Fan, and the Taff Trail runs from Bute Park up the valley into the hills. The Wales Coast Path adds the cliffs at Penarth.

Bath's countryside is gentler but closer to the door. The Skyline loop starts from town, the Kennet and Avon towpath follows the Limpley Stoke valley, and the Cotswolds and Cheddar Gorge are close by. It suits rambles and canal-side cycling more than proper hill walking.

Both are fine bases, but Bath's list of trips is longer. Stonehenge and Avebury, Wells and Glastonbury, Lacock, Castle Combe and Salisbury are all within about an hour, and Bristol is fifteen minutes away by train. The catch is that many of the villages need a car or a tour.

Cardiff's day trips are mostly castles: Caerphilly by train, Castell Coch in the woods, and Chepstow together with Tintern Abbey. Big Pit and Blaenavon add the mining past. Bath is an easy hour across the Severn, so a stay in Cardiff can still take in its rival's highlights.

Cardiff is the easier city with children. It is flat and most of its sights are free or cheap. Techniquest, the farm animals at St Fagans and the rowing boats on Roath Park lake are all aimed at families, and Barry Island's sands are a short train ride away in summer.

Bath has the Roman Baths, which children love, and the playground in Royal Victoria Park. But its steep streets are hard going with a pushchair, and much of the city is built around adult pleasures. Families staying there often go to Bristol or Longleat for the bigger attractions.

Both cities have small, largely pedestrianised centres, and Bath's is slightly easier: nearly every sight is within a twenty-minute walk, though the hills are steep. Driving in the city is a nuisance, yet you need a car or a tour to reach the outlying villages.

Cardiff is flat, with the castle, market and station a few minutes apart, but Cardiff Bay is a half-hour walk, a shuttle train or a water taxi ride away. Local trains serve Penarth, Caerphilly and the valleys well, which makes up for having no metro or tram.

There is little between them, and both are at their best in independent shops rather than luxury. In Bath they fill Georgian streets: fashion on Milsom Street, antiques on Bartlett Street, makers and salvage dealers on Walcot Street, and small shops along Pulteney Bridge.

Cardiff's character is in its glass-roofed Victorian arcades, full of record shops, vintage clothing and books, alongside the chains on Queen Street and Welsh crafts such as lovespoons and slate. Bath rewards a slow browse, while Cardiff is easily covered in an afternoon.

Cardiff costs noticeably less. Hotels are moderately priced on ordinary weekdays, though they climb steeply on rugby and big concert dates, and the free national museums and short train hops keep daily spending low.

Bath is expensive to stay in. Central rooms are dear, summer weekends and Christmas are dearer still, and the Roman Baths and spa add up. Visiting midweek helps, as does sleeping in Bristol and coming in by train.

Cardiff has the richer arts life. The Wales Millennium Centre is home to Welsh National Opera, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is based in the city, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama stages frequent performances, and small venues around Womanby Street book bands most nights.

Bath's stage life centres on the gilded Georgian Theatre Royal, with touring drama, visiting opera and pantomime, plus concerts in the Abbey and the Assembly Rooms. Its festivals of literature and music are a draw, but on an ordinary night there is not much choice.

The difference here comes down to the water itself. Bath is the only city in Britain where you can still bathe in natural hot springs, so a soak is the point of the visit rather than something added on. You can float in the rooftop pool at Thermae Bath Spa looking across to the Abbey, or slip into the little Georgian Cross Bath, and then spend the rest of the day idling in the riverside Parade Gardens.

Cardiff has no springs of its own, and the pampering on offer there is much like what you would find in most British cities. Its gentler side is in slow mornings in the cafés of Pontcanna and the riverside paths of Bute Park. These make a pleasant break between sights, but they are not a reason to plan a restful trip around the city.