Belfast or London?

Neither city is a place for a beach vacation, and what they offer is different in kind. From Belfast, a short train ride along County Down reaches the sandy coves of Helen's Bay and Crawfordsburn, and the long strands of Whiterocks and Portstewart lie further north. The Irish Sea stays cold, so a swim there is a quick dip.

London has no coast of its own. Brighton's pebble beach is about an hour away by train, and Margate and Whitstable have more sand. The city's real swimming is in fresh water, at the lidos of Brockwell Park and Parliament Hill and in the Hampstead Heath ponds.

Belfast cooks well from what lies around it: an Ulster fry with soda farls, Strangford oysters, Mourne lamb and dry-aged beef, plus weekend grazing at St George's Market and a deep shelf of Irish whiskey. Beyond that produce, though, the choice is narrow.

London offers far more. A single trip can take in Bangladeshi cooking on Brick Lane, Punjabi food in Southall, Turkish grills in Green Lanes and Caribbean kitchens south of the river, along with Borough Market and a large fine-dining scene. Eating out can easily be the main reason to go.

Belfast's heritage is recent and industrial, and it is told with care. Titanic Belfast stands on the old slipways, the domed City Hall recalls the linen boom, and Crumlin Road Gaol and the murals of the Falls and Shankill bring the Troubles close. It is a short list of strong sights rather than a historic core.

London is on another scale altogether. The British Museum, the V&A, the National Gallery and the Tates each deserve a full day, and landmarks such as the Tower, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's span a thousand years of history. A week there barely makes a start.

A Belfast night out is a round of pubs: the cobbled entries of the Cathedral Quarter, the carved snugs of the Crown Liquor Saloon and talkative crowds. Clubs are few and most places close fairly early.

London has a district for every kind of night. Soho has late cocktail bars and its long-established gay scene, Shoreditch and Dalston have clubs and warehouse parties, and Brixton and Peckham have big venues. Many London pubs still empty around eleven, but at the weekend the choice is huge.

Belfast is the stronger choice for the outdoors. The cliffs of Cave Hill and the slopes of Divis start a bus ride from the centre, the Mournes give real hill walking an hour south, and the hexagonal columns of the Giant's Causeway and the Glens of Antrim lie to the north. Strangford Lough adds birdlife and kayaking.

London's nature is parkland: deer under the old oaks of Richmond Park, the skyline view from Hampstead Heath, and the Thames Path out past Kew. The Chilterns and the South Downs offer pleasant footpaths, but the country is gentle rather than dramatic.

London has the wider range of outings, because it sits at the hub of a rail network. Oxford, Cambridge and Windsor are each about an hour away, and Bath, Canterbury, Stonehenge and the Cotswolds make a week of very different days easy to plan without a car.

Belfast's best outings have more character than convenience. The cross-border train reaches Dublin in about two hours, and Carrickfergus Castle and Armagh's cathedrals are close. Dunluce Castle, Bushmills and the walls of Derry, though, are easier with a hire car or a coach tour.

Belfast works with children because it is small and easy to manage. W5 and Titanic Belfast fill a rainy day, the zoo sits on Cave Hill above the lough, and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum has steam engines and old farmhouses. It has no big-ticket attraction, though.

London gives families much more to fill the days: free dinosaur halls at the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum's hands-on galleries, the pirate ship playground in Kensington Gardens, and Legoland or the Harry Potter studio tour outside the city. The cost is long distances, stairs at many Tube stations and crowded sights in the school breaks.

Belfast is a walking city. Its flat centre links City Hall, the Cathedral Quarter and the Titanic Quarter on foot, and the Glider buses cover the rest. There is no metro, and buses thin out in the evening.

London is far too big to walk, but its transport is much fuller. The Underground, the Elizabeth line, buses and Thames riverboats all take one contactless card, and nobody needs a car. Expect long station corridors and a packed Tube at rush hour.

In Belfast, shopping means the chains around Donegall Place, the glass-domed Victoria Square, and a few independents on the Lisburn Road. Irish linen and whiskey are the souvenirs worth looking for.

London is a reason to travel in its own right. There are luxury houses on Bond Street, bespoke tailoring on Savile Row, and Liberty and Harrods as sights in themselves. Portobello Road antiques, Columbia Road's flower market and the vintage shops of Spitalfields add weekend browsing.

Belfast leaves more of the budget for the trip itself. The centre is walkable, so little goes on getting around, and the bill grows mainly with what gets booked: a ticket for Titanic Belfast, a coach tour up the Causeway Coast, or a stay that falls on a big concert weekend. A dinner out or a round of drinks costs about what it would anywhere else in the UK.

In London the room takes the biggest share, and a central one is among the dearest in Europe. Theatre seats and evenings out then add up quickly. The daily cap on contactless fares limits what the Tube costs, and a market lunch or a meal at a Turkish or South Asian café keeps eating within reason. Even so, the same few nights cost noticeably more than in Belfast.

In Belfast, music is part of an ordinary evening: traditional sessions in city-centre pubs most nights, the Ulster Orchestra at the Victorian Ulster Hall, Irish drama at the Lyric and touring musicals at the Grand Opera House. The scene is warm but small.

London is one of the world's great stages. It has the West End playhouses, the National Theatre and Shakespeare's Globe, opera and ballet at Covent Garden, and five major orchestras, with the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall each summer. There is a serious choice every night.

Neither city is built for rest, but London has more to offer. Victorian Turkish baths survive in Bayswater and at Ironmonger Row, the grand hotels of Mayfair have full spas, and the thermal waters of Bath are an easy train ride away. The pace of the city itself is anything but restful.

Belfast's wellness is limited to hotel spas and cold dips along the lough shore. Its calm comes from slow walks in the Botanic Gardens or along the Lagan, and from how quickly the coast and hills can be reached.