Bengaluru or Kolkata?

Neither city works for a beach trip, and the reasons are different. Bengaluru sits high on an inland plateau, and both coasts are an overnight journey away. Kolkata is closer to the sea, but Digha and Mandarmani are still at least four hours by road. In both cities swimming means a hotel pool, because nobody bathes in Bengaluru's lakes or in the Hooghly. If you want sand, add a separate stretch in Goa or Kerala, or a night on the Bengal coast.

Both cities are excellent places to eat, but Kolkata has the more distinctive table. Bengaluru's strength is breakfast: crisp dosas and filter coffee at the stand-up darshinis, the old vegetarian institutions of Basavanagudi and Malleswaram, and military hotel biryanis from dawn. Food from every Indian region is easy to find, and in the evening there is good brewpub beer.

Kolkata's cooking belongs to the city itself. There is hilsa in mustard sauce, the potato-studded Kolkata biryani, and sweets from family confectioners on every block. The old communities add their own layers, with Indo-Chinese cooking in Tangra and Tiretta Bazaar and Anglo-Indian grills on Park Street. Kolkata is the better place to eat dishes you will not find anywhere else.

This is where the two cities are furthest apart. Bengaluru has a handful of scattered sights, including Tipu Sultan's wooden summer palace, the Bull Temple's Nandi and the granite Vidhana Soudha by Cubbon Park. Two or three days are enough.

Kolkata, capital of British India until 1911, has a whole imperial district around BBD Bagh, plus the Victoria Memorial, the country's oldest museum and the Georgian tombs of South Park Street Cemetery. Bengali heritage runs alongside it at Jorasanko, Kalighat, Dakshineswar and Kumartuli. Much of it is crumbling, and a guide helps, but there is easily a week's worth to see.

Neither city stays out late, but Bengaluru is the better place for a night out. Its brewpubs, rooftop terraces and cocktail bars along Indiranagar's 100 Feet Road, in Koramangala and around Church Street draw a young, relaxed crowd from Friday after work. Closing times are early, so evenings start early too.

In Kolkata, an evening out usually means drinks and dinner on Park Street or in a hotel lounge, with most places shut by midnight and dry days closing bars entirely. The exception is Durga Puja, when the whole city tours the pandals until the small hours. That is a street festival rather than a club night.

Bengaluru has much more to offer outdoors. Cubbon Park and Lalbagh are pleasant for early walks, and beyond the sprawl the land breaks into granite hills good for sunrise drives, hiking and climbing. There is also a safari park on the southern edge. Getting out through the traffic is the main cost.

Kolkata sits on flat delta land with no hills nearby. Its green spaces are the Maidan, Rabindra Sarovar and the great banyan at Shibpur, and a sunset boat on the Hooghly is the easiest outing. The Sundarbans mangroves are remarkable, but they need two or three days, and the heat limits activity for much of the year.

Bengaluru has the better day out. The express train reaches Mysuru and its palace in about two hours, Tipu Sultan's island capital at Srirangapatna is on the way, and by car you can add the Hoysala temple at Somanathapura. Lepakshi's painted ceilings make a quieter trip to the north.

Kolkata's best day trip follows the Hooghly upstream through the old Danish, French, Dutch and Portuguese towns at Serampore, Chandannagar, Chinsurah and Bandel, all reachable by local train. Shantiniketan, Bishnupur and Murshidabad are all worth seeing, but each is better with a night there.

Bengaluru is the easier of the two with children. Bannerghatta combines a zoo, a butterfly park and a big-cat safari, the technology museum and planetarium near Cubbon Park suit older children, and the mild climate helps. Long car journeys and broken pavements are the main problems.

Kolkata has good attractions too, including Science City, the old Alipore Zoo and the rides at Nicco Park. But humid heat for much of the year, crowded pavements and the care needed with food and water make it better for families who already know India than for a first trip with small children.

Kolkata is somewhat easier to get around. India's oldest metro runs north to south through the centre, ferries cross the Hooghly to Howrah and the ghats, and the heritage core around BBD Bagh and the Maidan can be walked in the cooler months.

Bengaluru has no walkable centre, and its traffic jams are famous across the country. The metro is useful along its lines, but most trips end with an auto-rickshaw or app taxi, so plan each day around one area and avoid rush hour.

The two are roughly level, and what makes them different is the crafts each region sells. Bengaluru is the place for Mysore silk, sandalwood carving and the lacquered toys of Channapatna, found in the state emporia and the textile lanes of Chickpet. It also has more designer boutiques, in Indiranagar.

In Kolkata the specialities are Bengal handloom saris, Baluchari silk and kantha embroidery from Gariahat and the Dakshinapan emporia. There is also the red Victorian market hall off Chowringhee and the College Street book stalls, which stretch for blocks. Neither city has much luxury shopping.

Both are cheap for international visitors, but Kolkata is cheaper. Street food, sit-down Bengali meals, ferries and museum entry all cost very little, and comfortable mid-range hotels are a bargain.

Bengaluru is one of India's pricier cities. Its better hotels are aimed at business travellers and charge accordingly on weekdays, and heavily taxed alcohol makes brewpub evenings the main expense. Eating at darshinis and getting around by auto still keeps costs low.

Kolkata has the deeper arts scene, but much of it is in Bengali. Bengali group theatre fills the Academy of Fine Arts and Rabindra Sadan, the Dover Lane conference brings the great Hindustani musicians every winter, and Tagore's songs and dance dramas are performed widely.

Bengaluru's scene is smaller but easier for visitors to follow. Ranga Shankara stages plays in English as well as Kannada and Hindi, Carnatic concerts fill the sabhas and Chowdiah Memorial Hall around Ramanavami, and rock and indie bands play small venues most weekends.

Neither city is restful in itself, but Bengaluru is the easier place to recover from a long trip. The rest it offers is treatment rather than pampering, so a stay can be built around Ayurveda rather than a spa day. Where you sleep matters too: a room in leafy Malleswaram or Basavanagudi, with their temples and tree-lined streets, is far calmer than one near the business districts. The mild plateau air means an afternoon outdoors rarely wears you out.

Kolkata is harder on the body. The noise and damp heat hardly let up, and organised pampering barely exists outside the large hotels, so most visitors choose a hotel with a pool to retreat to between sightseeing days. The city's calm is spiritual and social rather than physical, and you find it by the river and in its temples, not in treatment rooms.