Boston or Pittsburgh?

Neither city is a beach destination, but at least Boston is on the ocean. Revere Beach is a few subway stops from the centre, and Crane Beach and Singing Beach on the North Shore have real sand and dunes, though the Atlantic stays cold.

Nobody swims in Pittsburgh's rivers. The nearest beaches are on a reservoir lake in Moraine State Park, 45 minutes away by car, or at Presque Isle on Lake Erie, two hours away. The lake there is a little warmer in August than Boston's sea, but it is a long way to go.

Boston's food is more distinctive and comes from the sea: oysters, clams, lobster rolls and chowder. The Italian North End adds its pastry shops and red-sauce dining rooms, and Cambridge and the South End have the chef-led restaurants. Eating out is expensive at every level.

Pittsburgh's cooking is heartier and cheaper, rooted in Central and Eastern European dishes such as pierogies and haluski. Its own specialities are sandwiches with the fries inside, and the market stalls of the Strip District are the place to start. Lawrenceville and East Liberty have good modern kitchens, but there is less variety overall.

Boston has more to see. The Freedom Trail links the Revolutionary landmarks, and Beacon Hill and Back Bay are among the best-preserved nineteenth-century streets in the country. The Museum of Fine Arts is one of America's great collections, the Gardner is unlike any other museum, and Harvard and MIT add more days.

Pittsburgh's sights come from steel money. The Carnegie Museums, the Warhol and the Frick estate are worth a day or two, and the view of the bridges from Mount Washington is memorable. There is less to see overall, though, and the sights are spread between Oakland, the North Side and Point Breeze rather than gathered in one walkable core.

Both cities go out in bars rather than clubs, and in both the bars close at 2am, so neither suits anyone looking to stay out until dawn. In Boston the evening centres on Irish pubs, sports bars around Fenway and student bars in Allston and Cambridge, and the subway stops soon after midnight.

Pittsburgh's bars are spread across neighbourhoods with different characters. Lawrenceville's Butler Street has breweries and dive bars, while East Carson Street is a loud student strip. A round costs less here, and the mood is more unpretentious.

The two are evenly matched outdoors, but the landscapes differ. Boston's nature is coastal and park-like: Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, sailing on the Charles, ferries to the Harbor Islands and whale watching out at Stellwagen Bank.

Pittsburgh is steeper and more wooded, with ravine trails inside the city. The Laurel Highlands are about an hour and a half away, where Ohiopyle has whitewater rafting and waterfalls, and the Great Allegheny Passage cycle trail starts in town. Both cities are at their best when the leaves turn.

Boston has worthwhile towns in every direction: Salem, Lexington and Concord, Plymouth, the fishing harbours of Cape Ann, and further out Newport and Providence. Salem and Concord are on the commuter rail, so you don't need a car for some of the best.

Pittsburgh has one outstanding excursion, Fallingwater, which pairs with Kentuck Knob and Ligonier for a full day in the Laurel Highlands, plus the Flight 93 memorial. After that the choice quickly thins out, and almost every trip needs a car.

Both cities are good with children. Boston has the slight edge because its attractions sit in a compact, flat centre: the Aquarium, the Museum of Science, the swan boats in the Public Garden and whale-watching boats from the waterfront.

Pittsburgh has what Boston lacks, a classic amusement park in Kennywood with wooden roller coasters. It also has dinosaur halls, the National Aviary and the inclines up Mount Washington. With hills and long distances between sights, a car makes a big difference with small children.

Boston is far easier to get around. The historic districts are close enough to walk between, and the T, ageing as it is, reaches Cambridge, Fenway and the airport. In town a car is more trouble than help.

Pittsburgh's downtown, North Side and Strip District are easy on foot. The neighbourhoods where visitors go to eat and drink, such as Lawrenceville and Shadyside, mean buses or ride-hailing, and the hills make walking between them slow.

Boston has a proper shopping street in Newbury Street, with boutiques and flagship stores in brownstones. Copley Place and the Prudential Center have the big labels, Charles Street has antiques, and clothing is exempt from sales tax up to a set amount.

Shopping in Pittsburgh is small and local: browsing the Strip District, vintage and design shops on Butler Street, and boutiques on Walnut Street in Shadyside. The big brands are in suburban malls that you need a car to reach.

Boston is clearly the dearer city, and most of the gap is in what you pay to sleep and eat. Getting around is the one cheap part. The centre is walkable and the subway is fairly priced, so you can manage a whole stay without taxis. Prices peak for whole seasons, during the autumn foliage and late-spring graduations, so when you travel affects the bill more here.

Pittsburgh is the other way round. The basics cost far less, but the neighbourhoods are hilly and far apart, so evening rides or a hire car for the Laurel Highlands take back part of what you save. Its price peaks come on single big football or concert weekends, which are easier to avoid than Boston's long expensive seasons.

Boston has the stronger stage. It is led by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, the early-music Handel and Haydn Society and the American Repertory Theater, whose premieres often go on to New York. Students from Berklee and the New England Conservatory fill small jazz rooms.

Pittsburgh offers more than you would expect for its size. Its symphony plays in Heinz Hall, and the Benedum Center hosts ballet and Broadway in the Cultural District. It has a resident opera company, while opera is Boston's weak spot, and the Hill District carries the legacy of jazz and August Wilson.

Neither city is a place to unwind properly, and neither has a bathing tradition. Boston is slightly better, with day spas in Back Bay, quiet spots such as the Public Garden, the Esplanade and the Arboretum, and seaside inns on Cape Ann for a real escape.

In Pittsburgh, peace and quiet means Phipps Conservatory's warm glasshouses and the paths of Frick and Schenley Parks. For a proper spa stay you drive to the resort hotels of the Laurel Highlands.