Belfast or Bristol?

Neither city is a beach destination, and the difference is in the coastline rather than the quality. From Belfast, a short train ride along the County Down shore reaches real sandy coves at Helen's Bay and Crawfordsburn, though the water stays cold all year.

Bristol's estuary is brown and muddy with a huge tidal range. Weston-super-Mare has sand but the sea retreats far out, so the nearest proper bathing is the Victorian marine lake at Clevedon, where locals go for cold-water dips.

Bristol has the edge for eating out, mainly because of its range. St Nicholas Market, the harbourside container kitchens and the bakeries and roasters of Gloucester Road and North Street cover far more ground than Belfast does, and West Country cider and the craft taprooms give drinking a local character.

Belfast is narrower but has firmer roots. The Ulster fry, Strangford oysters, Mourne lamb and dry-aged beef anchor its best kitchens, St George's Market is a fine weekend graze, and a carefully poured stout or an Irish whiskey in a pub is part of the visit.

The two are evenly matched, and both tell an industrial story. Belfast's is recent and often raw. Titanic Belfast on the old slipways, Crumlin Road Gaol and the murals and peace walls of the Falls and Shankill give it a political edge that few British cities have.

Bristol's history goes back further and its architecture is finer. Brunel's SS Great Britain and the Clifton Suspension Bridge, the Georgian crescents of Clifton and the Gothic St Mary Redcliffe sit alongside Banksy's early street art, and M Shed deals honestly with the city's role in the slave trade.

Bristol is the better city for a big night out. Its sound-system heritage fills warehouse clubs around Temple Meads and along the harbour, the bars of Stokes Croft are creative and scruffy, and weekends run late all year thanks to the student crowd.

Belfast's night is a pub crawl rather than a rave. The cobbled entries of the Cathedral Quarter and the Victorian snugs of the Crown Liquor Saloon make for a warm, talkative evening, but the clubs are few and most places shut earlier.

Belfast wins clearly on scenery. Cave Hill's basalt cliffs and the Black Mountain rise right behind the city. Beyond them, the granite Mournes and the Causeway Coast, with the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, rank among the finest landscapes in these islands, and Strangford Lough adds birdlife and kayaking.

Bristol's outdoors are greener and gentler: the Avon Gorge for climbers, mountain biking at Ashton Court, the railway path towards Bath, and caving at Cheddar. For proper upland hiking you need to drive about two hours to the Brecon Beacons or Exmoor.

Bristol is the stronger base for day trips, and they are close. Bath is a quarter of an hour away by train, and Wells, Glastonbury and Cardiff are about an hour. Stonehenge, Avebury and the Cotswold villages make a long list of famous places within easy reach.

Belfast's options are more spread out but still rewarding. Dublin is two hours away by train, Carrickfergus Castle and the Ulster Folk Museum are close, and Armagh and walled Derry fill a day. The Antrim coast run past Dunluce and Bushmills is the classic outing.

Families will do equally well in either, and the line-ups are surprisingly alike. Each has a hands-on science centre in its regenerated docks, W5 in Belfast and We The Curious in Bristol, plus a zoo and a famous ship. Belfast's zoo looks out over the lough from Cave Hill, and its compact, flat centre is easier with a pushchair.

Bristol adds an aquarium, harbour ferries that children enjoy, and a roomy wildlife park, but its steep hills are hard work with small children.

Flat streets make Belfast's centre an easy walk, from City Hall through the Cathedral Quarter and across the Lagan to the Titanic Quarter. The Glider lines cross the city east to west, and suburban trains follow the lough to Holywood and Carrickfergus. Buses thin out after dark, though, and the Causeway Coast is far easier with a hire car or a coach tour.

Bristol's core is just as compact, and the yellow ferries along the Floating Harbour are a pleasant way to hop between sights. Beyond the centre things slow down. The climb to Clifton is steep, and buses crawl in traffic. Temple Meads is a walk from the old city, and it puts the region's rail links close to hand.

Neither is a shopping destination, but they offer different things. Belfast's best buy is Irish linen, the craft that built the city, along with whiskey and local food. Its streets around Donegall Place and the Victoria Square dome are mostly chain stores.

Bristol has no local craft to seek out, but it has more independent character. Gloucester Road's record shops and vintage clothes, the boutiques of Park Street and Clifton Village's Georgian arcades make for a better afternoon of browsing.

Belfast is the cheaper of the two, though the gap is narrower than it first looks. An evening of pub food and a few rounds in the Cathedral Quarter costs much the same as a similar night in Bristol. Belfast gets expensive with its headline sights and the countryside beyond it: Titanic Belfast and Crumlin Road Gaol charge for entry, and a day on the Causeway Coast usually means paying for a coach tour or a hire car.

Bristol asks more of a budget overall, but many of its sights cost nothing. M Shed and the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery are free, and grazing at St Nicholas Market or the harbourside container kitchens is the cheapest way to eat well. Day trips are easier too, since Bath is a quarter of an hour away by train and a good day out there needs no car or tour.

The two are close on stage and music, but the strengths differ. Belfast's music is traditional: Irish sessions run in pubs most nights, the Ulster Orchestra plays the Ulster Hall, and the Lyric keeps up a strong line of Irish drama.

Bristol leans to theatre history and newer sounds. The Georgian Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world, and small venues in Stokes Croft and Old Market host jazz, bands and electronic acts.

Bristol offers far more for unwinding, largely thanks to its neighbour. Bath's rooftop thermal pool, fed by Britain's only natural hot springs, is a quarter of an hour away by train, and Clifton's heated Victorian lido is a restful half day in the city itself.

Belfast has nothing comparable. Relaxing there means a hotel spa, a cold dip with the lough-shore swimmers, or a slow walk through the Botanic Gardens. Most people who want real calm head out to the hills or the coast.