Bristol or Cork?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Cork at least has real sand within reach. Myrtleville and Fountainstown sit on the outer harbour about half an hour away, and Inchydoney's long strand is about an hour west. The Atlantic is cold, but a sunny weekend at the coast is a realistic plan.

Bristol's Severn estuary is brown, tidal and muddy. Weston-super-Mare's sand is under an hour away, but the tide goes out so far that a swim needs careful timing. Locals mostly swim in tidal pools such as Clevedon's marine lake instead.

The two eat about equally well, but in different ways. Bristol offers variety: Caribbean and Middle Eastern stalls at St Nicholas Market, container kitchens on the harbourside and neighbourhood bakeries along Gloucester Road, with cider and craft beer as the local drinks.

Cork is all about produce. The English Market sells West Cork cheese, smoked fish, spiced beef and drisheen, the city has its own stout, and Kinsale's seafood is close by. The range runs out faster than in Bristol, especially late at night.

Bristol has the weightier sights. The SS Great Britain in its original dry dock and the Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge are major Victorian landmarks. Georgian Clifton and St Mary Redcliffe add fine architecture, and Banksy's early street art adds a modern draw.

Cork's sights are pleasant and on a smaller scale. They include the Shandon bells you can ring yourself, St Fin Barre's Cathedral, the Crawford's Irish paintings and the old City Gaol. A day or two covers them, where Bristol needs closer to three.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Bristol has a real club culture, born from trip hop and drum and bass, in warehouses, railway arches and a moored boat near Temple Meads. Stokes Croft's scruffy bars and the waterside pubs fill the rest of the week.

Cork's night out is the pub: wood-panelled bars off Oliver Plunkett Street, often with a music session in the back room. It is warm and sociable from Thursday to Saturday, but quiet on weeknights and short on clubs.

The outdoors is about as good in both, but the landscapes differ. Bristol's is inland and close to the city. You can climb on the Avon Gorge cliffs, walk in Leigh Woods, cycle the old railway path to Bath, and reach the caves of Cheddar Gorge within an hour.

Cork faces the sea. It offers sailing and kayaking in the harbour, cliff walks at Ballycotton and the Old Head of Kinsale, and West Cork's inlets and islands further out, with the Kerry mountains in reach on a long day.

Bristol has the richer choice of day trips. Bath is a quarter of an hour by train, and Wells, Glastonbury, Cardiff, the southern Cotswolds, Stonehenge and Avebury are all within a day's outing. Few English cities have so many major places so close.

Cork is a good base too, just with less on the list. Cobh's emigrant and Titanic history, Kinsale's Charles Fort, Blarney and the Midleton distillery are all near. Killarney and the Rock of Cashel take longer, and much of West Cork needs a car.

Bristol has more to keep children busy. On the harbourside, the SS Great Britain, the We The Curious science centre and the aquarium are all linked by little ferries, and there is a spacious wildlife park on the city's northern edge. The steep hills are hard work with a pushchair, though.

Cork is easy and friendly, but its family attractions are few. The highlights are Fota Wildlife Park, a short train ride away, and Blackrock Castle's observatory. With so much rain, it is harder to fill a wet week here.

Getting around is much the same in both: compact walkable centres, hills on one side and slow buses beyond. In Bristol, yellow ferries work the Floating Harbour, and Temple Meads makes trains the easy way to Bath and Cardiff.

Cork's centre is a flat island between two river channels, with only the north side climbing to Shandon. Its most useful link is the suburban line to Fota, Cobh and Midleton. West Cork is car territory.

Bristol has more depth. Cabot Circus covers the chains, while Gloucester Road's long run of record shops, delis and vintage stores and the Georgian arcades of Clifton Village give it character.

Cork's shopping fits into a couple of hours along Patrick Street and the Huguenot Quarter. Its best buys are things to take home: farmhouse cheese from the English Market, Irish knitwear and whiskey.

Neither is cheap, and the cost of a stay is broadly similar. In Bristol, free museums and churches help keep the bill down, though weekend hotel rates climb. In Cork, the pubs and restaurants are priced high even by Western European standards, and the market lunch is the main saving.

Bristol has the broader programme. The Bristol Old Vic, built in the 1760s, makes its own productions, and the Tobacco Factory stages Shakespeare. Small venues in Stokes Croft and Old Market host bands, jazz and electronic acts most nights.

Cork's Opera House and Everyman cover the touring circuit, and the long-running October jazz festival fills the town. On most nights, though, Cork's stage is the traditional music session in the pub.

A restful stay takes a little seeking out in Bristol, whose everyday pace is creative and sociable rather than calm, but the city gives you more to work with. The open grass of the Downs above the gorge and the quiet Georgian crescents of Clifton are where to step away from the noise. With Bath's thermal waters so near, a slow day never needs much planning.

Cork moves more gently, with a small centre and little sense of rush, yet almost nothing there is built around rest. A stroll along the riverside Marina or through Fitzgerald's Park is the calm on offer. The year-round harbour swimmers are after a cold shock rather than a long soak.