Bengaluru or Kochi?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Kochi at least has the sea within reach. Cherai Beach, about an hour north, is a long palm-backed strand with a lagoon behind it, good for a swim in the calm months, though the sand at Fort Kochi itself is only for evening walks.

Bengaluru sits on a plateau far inland, and the nearest coast is an overnight trip away. Swimming there means a hotel pool, so beach time has to be planned as a separate leg in Goa, Kerala or coastal Karnataka.

Both are excellent places to eat, and the difference is one of flavour and timing. Bengaluru is at its best in the morning, with stand-up darshinis, crisp dosas and filter coffee, then military-hotel biryanis and the VV Puram street-food lanes later on. It also brings together cooking from every corner of India, and its brewpubs add good beer.

Kochi's cooking is coconut, pepper and seafood: pearl spot in banana leaf, sour kudampuli fish curry, Syrian Christian duck roast and Malabar snacks, with fish from the nets cooked to order. Drink is the weak point, limited mostly to hotels and toddy shops.

Kochi has the stronger and more coherent heritage. Fort Kochi and Mattancherry make one historic district shaped by Portuguese, Dutch, British and Jewish traders, where you can walk from St Francis Church to the tiled Paradesi Synagogue and the murals of Mattancherry Palace in an afternoon. The Biennale brings contemporary art to the warehouses in the years it runs.

Bengaluru's sights are fewer and far apart: Tipu Sultan's wooden palace, Bangalore Palace, the Vidhana Soudha and the Bull Temple each need a separate ride. Its finest heritage lies out of town.

This is Bengaluru's strongest advantage. India's self-styled pub city fills 100 Feet Road, Koramangala and the Church Street area with brewpubs, cocktail bars and a young after-work crowd, although early closing means it is a night of drinking rather than dancing.

Kochi has almost none of this. Alcohol is tightly controlled, the few bars are mostly in hotels, and an evening means a sunset walk by the fishing nets followed by dinner.

Around Bengaluru the land is dry granite country. The main outings are early walks in Cubbon Park and Lalbagh, sunrise at Nandi Hills, climbing on the Ramanagara boulders and a safari at Bannerghatta. Heavy traffic out of the city cuts into every one of these trips.

Kochi has the richer landscape, and it sits closer to hand because it is built on water. You can kayak or take a country boat through the canals of Kumbalangi and around Vembanad Lake, watch herons in the Mangalavanam mangroves, or head inland for the birdlife of Thattekad and the falls at Athirappilly. Its weak point is the monsoon, which stops many outdoor plans.

The two are evenly matched for excursions, but the days out feel different. From Bengaluru they are about royal and temple history: the express train to Mysuru's palace, Tipu Sultan's island capital at Srirangapatna, the Hoysala temple at Somanathapura and the painted ceilings of Lepakshi.

From Kochi the trips lean towards water and older trade routes, with houseboats and ferries from Alappuzha, the Roman-era port remains of Muziris and Thrissur's great temple. Both cities suffer from slow roads.

Bengaluru has more places built for children, while in Kochi the appeal comes from everyday sights that children enjoy. Bengaluru has the zoo, butterfly park and big-cat safari at Bannerghatta, plus the science museum and planetarium near Cubbon Park, and its milder air is a real comfort. The catch is the long car rides between them.

Kochi's attractions are ferry crossings, backwater boats and watching the fishing nets being hauled in. The humidity never lets up, so families usually do best with a pool hotel and outings kept to the cooler mornings.

Kochi is the easier of the two by some distance. The old quarter is compact and flat enough to walk, and the ferries and water metro across the harbour to Ernakulam are a pleasure rather than a chore.

Bengaluru has no walkable centre. Its traffic jams are notorious, so a few kilometres can take an hour. The Namma Metro helps along its lines, but most trips end in an auto or app taxi, and days work best planned one district at a time.

Bengaluru gives shoppers more range. Mysore silk in the crowded lanes of Chickpet, sandalwood carving and Channapatna's lacquered toys in the state emporia, everyday fashion on Commercial Street, Indian designer labels in Indiranagar and large malls all sit in one city.

Kochi's shopping is narrower but full of character: antique dealers in the old Jew Town warehouses, spice merchants selling pepper and cardamom by the sack, and kasavu handloom. Beyond those and one huge mall, there is little else.

Both are cheap by international standards, and Kochi is cheaper still. Fort Kochi's family homestays, banana-leaf meals and largely free sights keep daily costs very low, and the scarcity of alcohol limits evening spending. The only real costs are optional extras such as heritage hotels and private houseboats.

Bengaluru's hotels are set up for business travel, so better rooms cost more on weekdays, and heavily taxed beer means a night in the brewpubs adds up quickly.

Bengaluru's stage life is a broad local mix, while Kochi's rests on one classical tradition performed every night. In Bengaluru that means Carnatic music in the sabhas and at Chowdiah Memorial Hall, theatre in three languages at Ranga Shankara, and rock and indie gigs in bars most weekends.

Kochi has nightly Kathakali in small Fort Kochi theatres, where you can watch the performers put on their make-up first, often followed by Kalaripayattu. In festival season, temple drumming adds to it. It is worth one evening, while Bengaluru rewards several.

Kochi is far the better place to slow down. Kerala is Ayurveda's home ground, and treatment here ranges from a shirodhara session at a Fort Kochi clinic to doctor-supervised courses lasting weeks. The quiet lanes of the old quarter and the backwater resorts beyond make for real stillness.

Bengaluru has good yoga schools, Ayurvedic clinics and retreats on its outskirts, but the city itself is loud and congested. Its calm is limited to early mornings in the parks and the old garden suburbs.