Brisbane or Melbourne?

Neither city has a surf beach in town, and both offer a similar amount of swimming, but of different kinds. Brisbane's in-town options are the sandy South Bank lagoon and outdoor pools, with the real beaches of the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay islands about an hour away and noticeably warmer water.

Melbourne has actual beaches at St Kilda, Elwood and Brighton a tram ride from the centre, which makes a spontaneous swim easier. The bay is cool, though, and the weather fickle, so the wilder, better sand on the Mornington Peninsula is a car trip.

Melbourne is the stronger food city by some distance. Its range is the draw: Greek on Lonsdale Street, Italian in Carlton, Vietnamese in Richmond and Footscray, a deep Chinatown, serious coffee in every laneway, and wines from the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula close at hand.

Brisbane eats well but more simply, around verandas, cafés, tropical fruit and Moreton Bay bugs, with cheap immigrant cooking in West End and breweries in Newstead. It is pleasant grazing rather than a reason to travel.

Melbourne has the fuller set of sights. Its gold rush fortune left a grand Victorian city, with the UNESCO-listed Royal Exhibition Building, Flinders Street Station, the State Library's domed reading room and the bluestone lanes with their street art, and the National Gallery of Victoria has the larger international collection.

Brisbane's best is concentrated in the South Bank Cultural Centre, whose Asia-Pacific and Aboriginal art is a real strength. Beyond that and its stilted Queenslander houses, the centre is mostly modern, and it runs out of sights sooner.

Melbourne offers more evenings out and more variety. Its small bars tucked up stairwells and behind unmarked doors, the creative crowd in Fitzroy and Collingwood, Chapel Street's clubs and St Kilda's rougher edge keep things busy most nights, with clubs open into the early hours at weekends.

In Brisbane, going out largely means Fortitude Valley at the weekend, with rooftop bars and riverside terraces for warm evenings. Licensing rules close venues earlier, and weeknights are quiet.

Both cities have plenty of outdoors within reach, but of a different character. Brisbane leans subtropical: bush trails on Mount Coot-tha and in D'Aguilar on the city's edge, the World Heritage rainforest of Lamington and Springbrook, the Glass House Mountains and Moreton Island's dunes, with whales passing in winter.

Melbourne's version is cooler and more coastal: mountain ash and tree ferns in the Dandenongs, cliff walks on the Mornington Peninsula, the surf coast at Torquay and Phillip Island's penguins and seals. It also has to be planned around changeable weather in every season.

A day out from Brisbane almost always means coast or hills: the Gold Coast an hour away by car or train, Noosa on its river mouth at the far end of the Sunshine Coast, and the gallery and winery villages of Montville, Maleny and Tamborine Mountain, with Toowoomba's gardens over the range. They are relaxed, scenic days, but there is little history to go and see.

Melbourne adds wine and heritage to the choice. Ballarat's open-air goldfields museum and Bendigo's grand boom-era streets and art gallery are each under two hours by train, the Yarra Valley pairs cool-climate chardonnay and pinot noir with local produce, and the Mornington Peninsula and the old port of Queenscliff mix vineyards with seaside villages.

Both are easy, safe cities with children, and the difference lies in the kind of outing. Brisbane has the warmer, splashier version: the free South Bank lagoon, Lone Pine's koalas, river ferry rides, and the Gold Coast theme parks and Australia Zoo for big days out.

Melbourne has no theme-park cluster, but it has more variety close by: Melbourne Zoo, the Werribee safari bus, platypus at Healesville, Luna Park, the Puffing Billy steam train and good indoor options for cool or rainy days.

Brisbane's best transport is its river. The CityCat and cross-river ferries link the inner suburbs and double as a sightseeing ride, and the compact core of the CBD, South Bank, West End and Fortitude Valley can be walked, though hills and summer humidity wear you down. Trains and busways cover the suburbs, but the rainforest parks and hinterland villages really need a car.

Melbourne is simpler without a car. Its flat central grid suits walking, trams are free within the CBD, and one of the world's largest tram networks fans out on separate routes to St Kilda, Fitzroy, Carlton and South Yarra, so most inner neighbourhoods are a short ride away. Only the Dandenongs, the Yarra Valley and Phillip Island push you towards a car or a tour.

Melbourne is the better place to shop. The mosaic-floored Block and Royal arcades, luxury labels at the top of Collins Street, and a strong independent scene of local designers, vintage and record shops in Fitzroy, Collingwood and the laneways give real depth.

Brisbane covers the basics in Queen Street Mall and its arcades, with local fashion on James Street and antiques in Paddington. It is pleasant enough, but rarely worth planning a day around.

Both are expensive, with Australian prices for meals, drinks and taxis, so the budget will be similar in either. Brisbane offers cheap public transport, free main galleries and the free South Bank lagoon.

Melbourne's savings come from the free tram zone in the centre, free museums and the good cheap eating of Chinatown, Footscray and Richmond, though its hotels rise sharply during big sporting events and festivals.

Melbourne has the deeper stage. The Arts Centre is home to the Australian Ballet and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, historic theatres such as the Regent and Her Majesty's host the big musicals, and the pub stages of Fitzroy, Collingwood and St Kilda have live bands most nights, with the autumn Comedy Festival on top.

Brisbane covers the essentials at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre and the Powerhouse, with a good band circuit in Fortitude Valley and the Brisbane Festival in September, but the choice on any given night is narrower.

Brisbane has no springs or bathhouse culture, so unwinding there comes down to its pace: heritage open-air pools such as the Spring Hill Baths of 1886, warm evenings by the river and long café mornings. A proper retreat means heading to the rainforest lodges and spas of the hinterland, about an hour and a half away.

Melbourne has a real spa tradition at the same distance, in the mineral springs of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs, bathed in since the nineteenth century around a historic bathhouse. Closer in, the sea baths at St Kilda and Brighton have pools and saunas by the water, day spas are plentiful, and the geothermal hot pools of the Mornington Peninsula make an easy day out.