Belfast or Manchester?

Neither is a beach destination, but Belfast at least has the sea at its door. Helen's Bay and Crawfordsburn are a short train ride out on the County Down shore, and the north coast strands at Whiterocks and Portstewart make a fine day.

Manchester is inland, and the dunes at Formby or the promenade at Blackpool take an hour or more by train, which makes them a seaside outing rather than beach time. Wherever you go, the Irish Sea is good for a brisk dip and little more.

You eat about equally well in both, but in different ways. Belfast cooks from its own larder: Strangford oysters, Mourne lamb and dry-aged beef on seasonal menus, St George's Market for weekend grazing and the Ulster fry for breakfast.

Manchester has less of a local cuisine and more variety, with Chinatown, the South Asian kitchens of Wilmslow Road and food halls in old Ancoats mills. For drinks, Belfast is the place for carefully poured stout and Irish whiskey, and Manchester for craft beer brewed under the railway arches.

Belfast has the slight edge for a short, memorable visit. Titanic Belfast on the shipyard slipways, the Troubles galleries of the Ulster Museum, Crumlin Road Gaol and a guided walk past the Falls and Shankill murals tell a recent story you cannot get anywhere else.

Manchester spreads its interest across more collections, most of them free: the Science and Industry Museum, the Pre-Raphaelites at the Manchester Art Gallery, the John Rylands Library and the People's History Museum. It rewards a slower look at industrial and political history, but it has no single headline sight.

Manchester is the stronger night out by a clear margin. The warehouse bars and small DJ rooms of the Northern Quarter, the Gay Village on Canal Street and the big warehouse raves of autumn and winter keep weekends going late.

Belfast is a pub city, centred on the cobbled entries of the Cathedral Quarter and the Victorian snugs of the Crown Liquor Saloon, with a chatty crowd. There are few clubs and places close earlier, so it suits a long round of pubs better than a night that ends at dawn.

Belfast has the better landscape. Cave Hill and Divis rise right behind the city, the granite Mournes are about an hour south, and the Causeway Coast, with its basalt columns, rope bridge and cliff paths, is one of the great coastlines of these islands.

Manchester has the Peak District on its eastern edge, where trains to Edale lead onto Kinder Scout and the Mam Tor ridge without needing a car, and there are big parks such as Heaton Park. It is good moorland walking, but it has no sea cliffs, and the Lake District means a longer train ride.

Manchester's rail links make it the better base for day trips. Liverpool, Chester and York are each a short train ride away, and Chatsworth, Buxton, Haworth and the Lake District towns are also within reach.

Belfast's options are fewer and more spread out. Dublin is about two hours by train, and Carrickfergus Castle and the Ulster Folk Museum are close. The classic run up the Antrim coast past Dunluce Castle and Bushmills is best done by car or coach tour.

Families will find the two evenly matched: both are compact and have plenty to do indoors on wet days. Belfast offers the W5 science centre, Titanic Belfast and a zoo on the slopes of Cave Hill, while Manchester has the hands-on Science and Industry Museum, the Manchester Museum's dinosaurs, and an aquarium and real-snow slope at the Trafford Centre. Manchester has bigger attractions about an hour away, such as Chester Zoo and Alton Towers, but its centre gets rowdy on weekend evenings.

Both centres are small and flat enough to walk, but Manchester is easier once you go further. Its Metrolink trams run to Salford Quays, Old Trafford and the airport, and trains from Piccadilly and Victoria make day trips simple. Belfast has no tram or metro and relies on the Glider buses and suburban trains along the lough, so for the coast and the mountains a hire car helps.

Manchester is the shopping city of the north. It has the high-street names around Market Street, designer labels on King Street, the vast Trafford Centre and, with the most character, the vintage and record shops of the Northern Quarter and the stalls of Afflecks.

Belfast's shopping is modest, mostly chains around Donegall Place and the glass dome of Victoria Square. Irish linen and whiskey are the souvenirs worth taking home, and shopping fills a spare hour rather than a whole trip.

Belfast is a little easier on the budget. Its hotels are usually fairly priced outside big event weekends, while Manchester's rise sharply on match, concert and conference nights, so your dates matter more there. Restaurants and drinks cost much the same in both, and Manchester makes up some ground with its free museums and cheap meals in Chinatown and Rusholme, while Belfast's free sights include the Ulster Museum and City Hall tours.

Manchester has the much deeper scene. Gigs range from Northern Quarter back rooms to one of Europe's biggest indoor arenas, the Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic play the Bridgewater Hall, and the Royal Exchange stages theatre-in-the-round inside the old cotton trading hall.

Belfast's scene is smaller and more personal. There are traditional sessions in pubs most nights, the Ulster Orchestra at the Ulster Hall, Irish drama at the Lyric and touring shows at the Grand Opera House. These make for good evenings, though there is less choice.

Neither city is made for unwinding, but Belfast makes it easier to slow down. A walk in the Botanic Gardens or along the Lagan, an afternoon in a pub snug or a country-house hotel spa outside town are all close at hand. Manchester is louder and busier, its Victoria Baths are for looking at rather than swimming, and the real escape is the train to Buxton or the Peak District.