Berlin or New York?

Neither is a beach destination, but New York at least has the ocean. Coney Island, Brighton Beach and the longer, surfier Rockaways are reachable by subway, and the Atlantic is pleasant to swim in through high summer, if crowded at weekends.

Berlin swims in lakes instead. The sandy lido at Wannsee, the Müggelsee and small forest lakes such as Schlachtensee are lovely on a hot afternoon, but the season is short and the sea is three hours away.

Berlin eats well on range rather than tradition: currywurst and pork knuckle, Turkish bakeries and grills in Kreuzberg and Neukölln, good Vietnamese and Levantine cooking, and street-food evenings in the market halls. It is casual, cheap and satisfying.

New York goes much further. Whole neighbourhoods cook their own cuisines, from Flushing's Chinese to Jackson Heights' Tibetan and Colombian food, and the slice, the bagel and the deli pastrami are classics in their own right. On top of that sits one of the deepest fine-dining scenes anywhere, though the best tables are expensive.

Both are first-rank museum cities, and the difference lies in what they show. Berlin pairs Museum Island, Nefertiti and the Gemäldegalerie with the history of war and division at the Reichstag, the Holocaust memorial and the Wall on Bernauer Strasse, which no other city can offer in the same way.

New York's strength is sheer scale of art, with the Met, MoMA and Museum Mile, and landmarks the whole world recognises, from the Statue of Liberty to Grand Central. Its history is read in brownstones, cast-iron fronts and tenements rather than at sites of upheaval.

Two of the world's great nights out, with different centres of gravity. Berlin is the clubbing pilgrimage: techno in old power stations and warehouses, strict doors, no closing time and parties that last into Monday, with smoky Kneipen and canal-side beer around them.

New York's strength is breadth. Speakeasy cocktail bars and dives in the East Village, wine bars in the West Village, rooftop bars facing the skyline and the gay bars of the Village sit alongside a warehouse club scene in Bushwick and Williamsburg.

Berlin's outdoors is flat and full of water. You cycle the old runways at Tempelhof, walk in the Grunewald forest, sail on the Havel and canoe through the Brandenburg lakes. It is pleasant country, but there are no climbs anywhere in it.

New York gives an active visitor a little more. Beyond Central Park and the waterfront walks, a train up the Hudson reaches the steep, rocky scrambles of Breakneck Ridge in the Hudson Highlands. The October colour there has no match around Berlin.

The choice is similar in size, with different kinds of trips. Berlin's are mostly German history and architecture by train: Sanssouci in Potsdam, Reformation Wittenberg, Bach's Leipzig, the Bauhaus at Dessau and baroque Dresden.

New York looks to American history and art. Philadelphia's Independence Hall, Princeton and Yale's New Haven are easy by rail, and the Hudson Valley adds Gilded Age estates, Dia Beacon and Storm King's sculpture park.

Berlin is the easier city to manage with small children. Prams are simple on the flat streets and the trains, and there are playgrounds in every district. There are also two big zoos, the Zoologischer Garten and the leafy Tierpark, and a towering dinosaur in the Natural History Museum.

New York has just as much to see, from the Bronx Zoo and the dinosaur halls to the aircraft carrier on the Hudson and the free Staten Island Ferry. It simply takes more effort. Stair-only subway stations, cramped hotel rooms and the Midtown crowds tire young children faster, so it pays to stay near a park.

Berlin is a city of several centres. Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Charlottenburg are each easy to walk, but you need the U-Bahn, S-Bahn or trams to get between them. Cycling also works well, because the streets are flat and there are plenty of bike lanes.

Manhattan works the other way round. Thanks to the grid and the closeness of the main sights, you can walk for much of the trip, and the subway runs all night for the rest. Its weak points are the express and local trains sharing lines, stairs at many stations and the awkward journey in from the airports.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. New York covers every level: Fifth Avenue flagships, Madison Avenue luxury, Bergdorf Goodman and Macy's, SoHo brands and independent boutiques in Nolita, plus specialist shops for rare books, sneakers and cameras.

Berlin is a city for browsing rather than spending. KaDeWe and the Kurfürstendamm handle the brands, but the real pleasure is concept stores around Hackescher Markt and Sunday flea markets at Mauerpark for East German curios and vinyl.

Berlin is far kinder to the wallet. Hotels are cheaper than in most capitals, cheap meals are everywhere and a beer in a Kneipe stays reasonable, though museum entry and fine dining add up on a culture-heavy trip.

New York is among the most expensive cities to visit, with small, costly Manhattan rooms and tax and tips on every bill. Slices, food carts, the free ferry and the parks help, and staying in Brooklyn or Queens saves on rooms.

Berlin is outstanding: three opera houses, the Berlin Philharmonic in the Philharmonie, and famous theatre companies such as the Berliner Ensemble, though most plays are in German.

New York still edges ahead, and the language barrier disappears. Broadway and Off-Broadway lead the English-speaking stage, Lincoln Center holds the Met Opera and New York City Ballet, Carnegie Hall hosts the top orchestras, and the jazz clubs of the Village and Harlem play every night.

Berlin is the easier place to unwind. German sauna culture is a real part of life, with large clothes-free sauna complexes and the columned Stadtbad Neukölln, and the city moves at a slower pace than its size suggests, with lakes and park afternoons close at hand.

New York has unexpected bathing traditions, from the old Russian and Turkish baths in the East Village to Korean spas in Queens, but the noise and pace work against rest, so calm means a morning in the Cloisters' gardens or the Botanic Garden.