Bergen or Oslo?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Oslo gives a summer swim more to work with. Harbour ferries run out to Hovedøya, Langøyene and Gressholmen, where there are small sandy coves among the rocks. Bygdøy has Huk and Paradisbukta, and the calm inner fjord can get noticeably warmer in July.

Bergen's shore is rock, jetty and pebble, and the open sea stays colder. Swimming there means jumping off the Nordnes piers or rocks along the fjord, and the bright weeks between showers are few. The heated seawater pool at Nordnes is the gentlest way in.

Oslo has the broader table. A strong tier of Nordic tasting menus sits at the top, and below that come food halls like Mathallen in Vulkan and the easy browsing of Grünerløkka. Its light-roast coffee culture is a pleasure in itself, and summer brings prawns eaten on the quay.

Bergen eats more narrowly but with a clear identity: creamy fish soup, cod, king crab and the skillingsbolle cinnamon bun. The best meals are in small dining rooms in the old centre that cook with fjord fish and mountain lamb. Go to the harbour fish market for the scene rather than for value.

Oslo has the larger set of sights, built mostly from museums and modern landmarks. The Munch Museum and the National Museum hold the core of Norwegian art, and Bygdøy adds the Fram, the Kon-Tiki and an open-air folk museum. Then there are City Hall, the walkable Opera House roof and Vigeland Park's crowd of granite figures.

What Bergen has instead is a historic setting. The wooden passages of Bryggen, Haakon's Hall and the Rosenkrantz Tower give it an atmosphere of old Hanseatic trade that Oslo's centre lacks. The KODE museums, Grieg's villa at Troldhaugen and the Fantoft stave church complete a shorter but characterful list.

Oslo offers rather more choice after dark. Grünerløkka, Youngstorget and Grønland have natural wine bars, cocktail rooms and a few electronic clubs, and in summer crowds drink outdoors on the waterfront at Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen.

Bergen's scene is smaller and more studenty, made up of craft beer pubs and cosy wooden-walled rooms around the harbour and the university, and it really comes alive only at weekends. In both cities high drink prices mean evenings start late.

Bergen is the more dramatic base. Fløyen and Ulriken rise straight from the centre, the Vidden ridge crosses open mountain with views out to the sea, and the skerries suit kayaking. Hardangerfjord and the Nærøyfjord are within reach, which Oslo can't offer. Bring serious waterproofs.

Oslo's wild side is forest. The metro climbs to Nordmarka, with its lakes, trails and waffle cabins, and in winter those trails turn into floodlit cross-country ski tracks with downhill slopes nearby. In summer the Oslofjord islands make gentle paddling and walking country. The landscape is hills, not peaks.

Oslo has more real towns to visit. Fredrikstad's star-shaped fortress town is about an hour south, wooden Drøbak sits along the fjord, Tønsberg has Viking-age roots, and Lillehammer has its open-air museum and Olympic ski jumps. None is a headline, but together they fill several pleasant days.

From Bergen the outing is mostly the journey itself, by train to Voss, by boat to the Rosendal barony, or on the long ride to Flåm and its mountain railway. The Hardanger villages add cider farms, but with no second city close by, travellers who want towns and heritage won't find many.

Both are safe, calm and easy with children, but the outings differ. Bergen has the aquarium on Nordnes with its seals and penguins, the VilVite science centre, and troll-lined trails and canoeing at the top of Fløyen. Its steep streets and frequent rain are hard work with a pushchair.

Oslo is flatter and full of prams on the trams. Its family days are the farm animals at the Folk Museum, climbing aboard the Fram, the science and technology museum and the Tusenfryd amusement park, and in winter there's sledding near Holmenkollen. It has no aquarium, though.

Oslo is the easier city to move around. Trams, buses, metro and harbour ferries run as one network, the airport express gets you in quickly, and the centre from the Royal Palace to the harbour is a level walk. You never need a car, even for the forest or the islands.

Bergen's core around Bryggen and the lake is walkable too, but the hills and rain slow you down. The Bybanen light rail and buses cover the rest. For the smaller fjord villages, a car helps more than the train and express boats.

Bergen has less choice, but what it does well is local and handmade. Buying from the craft studios inside Bryggen's old timber passages gives you a setting that Oslo's shopping streets can't match. Norwegian knitwear and proper rain gear are the obvious things to buy in a city this wet. For ordinary clothes there are a few central streets and shopping centres, and not much beyond them.

Oslo offers much more choice. Steen & Strøm, a department store that goes back to the eighteenth century, stocks luxury and Nordic labels that Bergen largely lacks. Bogstadveien is where locals shop, and Grünerløkka adds vintage clothes, records and small design shops. Silver and ceramics are also worth taking home, along with the knitwear. Expect high prices and few markets in both cities.

Both cities are among the most expensive places in Europe, and alcohol is especially dear in each. Oslo makes saving a little easier: Vigeland Park, the Opera House roof and the forest are free, and one transport pass covers the island ferries.

In Bergen the free option is hiking straight from town, but the funicular, the cable car and any fjord excursion soon add up.

Both have a real musical life, but with different centres of gravity. Bergen is Grieg's city. The Bergen Philharmonic, one of the world's oldest orchestras, plays in Grieghallen, his music is performed at Troldhaugen in summer, and the Bergen International Festival in late spring is the year's peak.

Oslo has the national opera and ballet in the Opera House, the Oslo Philharmonic and Ibsen at the National Theatre. Its small jazz and rock clubs are busier, and its big outdoor music festival comes in August.

Oslo is the better place to unwind. Floating wood-fired saunas line the harbour by the Opera House and at Sørenga, many of them public, and people go from the heat down a ladder into the fjord all year round. It's an easy ritual for a visitor to join, and the green, quiet streets add to the calm.

Bergen offers a harbour sauna, the heated Nordnes pool and a few hotel spas. Its small, unhurried pace does more for relaxation than its facilities, and neither city has thermal springs.