Brighton or Inverness?

Neither is a beach destination, but Brighton at least puts the sea at the centre of town. Its shingle runs the whole length of the seafront, with lifeguards in season and water you can swim in on calm late-summer days. On a sunny afternoon the beach is where everyone goes.

Inverness has the softer beaches, with long sands at Nairn and the spit at Chanonry Point. But they are a drive away and the firth is colder, so they are for breezy walks and dolphin watching rather than swimming.

Brighton has far more choice. Small independent kitchens are packed into the North Laine, the Lanes and Kemptown, the vegetarian and vegan cooking has a long reputation, and there are roasteries all over the North Laine. You also get oysters and fish and chips under the seafront arches, and Sussex sparkling wine on most lists.

Inverness has a narrower range but is rooted in its larder: langoustines, venison, smoked salmon and Cullen skink. Its real strength is whisky, poured from long lists of Speyside and Highland malts. You will eat well there for a few nights, while Brighton keeps you interested for a week.

Brighton has one true showpiece, the Royal Pavilion with its domes and chinoiserie interiors. Around it are the Regency crescents of Kemptown and Hove, the alleys of the Lanes and two piers, so the town rewards a couple of days of wandering.

Inverness has less to see in town: the red sandstone castle, the cathedral across the river and a compact museum of Highland and Pictish history. Its most important site, the moor at Culloden, is a short drive out, and most of the region's history lies further afield.

Here the two are far apart. Brighton goes out every night of the week. There are craft-beer rooms in the North Laine, Kemptown's LGBTQ+ bars, and clubs in the seafront arches that stay open until the small hours, though West Street on a Saturday can get rowdy.

Inverness is a pub town, with wood-panelled bars around Church Street and slow drams by the river. On weeknights the streets are quiet well before midnight. It makes for a pleasant evening, not a big night out.

Inverness is the clear winner outdoors. Loch Ness and the Great Glen start twenty minutes away. Glen Affric's Caledonian pine forest and the high Cairngorm plateau are about an hour off, and Torridon and the road to Skye are within a long day. Dolphins off Chanonry Point are closer still.

Brighton's outdoors is gentler: chalk downland on the edge of the city, the South Downs Way for walking and mountain biking, the Seven Sisters cliffs and water sports off the seafront. It is lovely walking country, but it is not wild.

Brighton is the richer base for outings. London is about an hour away by fast train, and Sussex is full of towns worth a day: Lewes, Arundel, Chichester, Rye and Battle, plus vineyards and the gardens of the Weald.

Day trips from Inverness are mostly to single sites rather than towns: Urquhart Castle, Cawdor, Fort George, the Clava Cairns and the Speyside distilleries. Most are easier by car or on a tour. A week of outings there means castles and whisky, while from Brighton it can mean several different towns and a capital city.

Both work with children, and Brighton is slightly ahead for a classic seaside outing. It has the Palace Pier rides, the Victorian aquarium, Volk's Electric Railway and paddling at Hove Lagoon, all in a centre you can walk round. The drawbacks are the shingle beach and rowdy weekend nights.

Inverness is calmer, with the Ness Islands, Bught Park and the Aquadome in town, Loch Ness boat trips and monster hunting nearby, and the Highland Wildlife Park under an hour away. The weather limits it more, so plan indoor fallbacks.

Brighton is easier without a car. The station, the Lanes, the Pavilion and the sea are all within walking distance. Frequent buses cover Hove and the edge of the Downs, and trains go straight to London and the Sussex towns. The only catch is the climb back up from the seafront.

The flat centre of Inverness is just as easy on foot, and its rail lines to Kyle of Lochalsh and Thurso are scenic trips in their own right. But the glens, castles and distilleries lie down single-track roads with few buses, so most visitors hire a car or book tours.

Brighton is much better for browsing. The North Laine has vintage clothes, records and retro furniture, the Lanes have jewellers and antique dealers, and the chains are on Western Road. Neither city has luxury shopping.

In Inverness an hour or two covers it. The draws are the Victorian Market and Highland goods such as tartan, tweed, knitwear, Celtic silver and malt whisky, plus a second-hand bookshop in a former church.

Neither is a cheap base, and in both the room is the main cost, highest in summer. Brighton's prices jump at weekends, when Londoners and party groups arrive, so a midweek stay helps. Once you are there, the walkable centre, the beach and the Downs cost little, though train fares add up on day trips.

In Inverness the squeeze comes in July and August, when its limited rooms fill with people touring the Highlands. The extra costs there are car hire, tours and distillery visits rather than nights out.

Brighton has much more on stage. Every May the Brighton Festival and England's largest fringe take over the city. The rest of the year there is the Dome, the Theatre Royal, plenty of small music rooms and strong comedy, with Glyndebourne's opera in the Downs nearby.

Inverness relies on Eden Court for touring theatre, dance and concerts. What sets it apart is traditional music: fiddle and accordion sessions in the pubs, and Gaelic song at festivals and the Highland Games in summer.

The two offer quite different kinds of calm. In both, the spa side is limited to a few hotel and day spas, with no thermal baths or bathing tradition. Brighton's own ritual is the year-round dawn swim in the Channel, followed by a seafront sauna. Its restful side only shows midweek out of season, on Hove's lawns among the beach huts, and summer weekends are anything but quiet.

Inverness is peaceful by nature. The country-house hotels around Loch Ness have the better spas, and the Aquadome in town has pools and a sauna. Long summer evenings are made for a slow walk round the Ness Islands and a dram by the fire.