Bristol or Killarney?

Neither is a place for a beach vacation, but Killarney has the better coast within reach. Inch and Rossbeigh are both about 40 minutes away: long, wild stretches of Atlantic sand that are good for walking, flying kites and beginner surf lessons, even if swimming there takes some nerve.

Bristol faces the muddy, silt-brown Severn estuary. At Weston-super-Mare the tide goes out so far that you have to time a swim. The most appealing dip near Bristol is the Victorian marine lake at Clevedon, which is a cold-water swim rather than a beach day.

Bristol is far more interesting to eat your way around. You can graze at St Nicholas Market, the container kitchens on the harbourside and the bakeries and neighbourhood restaurants of Gloucester Road and North Street. Bristol is also good for drinking, with West Country cider and a large craft brewing scene.

Killarney's best meals are built on Kerry lamb, local beef and seafood from Dingle and Kenmare, and the pubs reliably serve chowder and brown bread. Beyond that the choice is small, many menus are aimed at coach parties, and serious diners often drive to a neighbouring town for dinner.

Bristol's sights tell the story of a great trading port and the Victorian engineers who built it, and they fill two or three good days. Brunel's SS Great Britain sits in the dry dock where it was built, his suspension bridge spans the gorge above Georgian Clifton, and St Mary Redcliffe, the M Shed's frank account of the port's slave-trading past and Banksy's early walls in Stokes Croft and Bedminster add depth.

Killarney's few sights lie in parkland rather than in the streets: Muckross House and its lakeside gardens, Ross Castle on Lough Leane, and the roofless abbey with a yew in its cloister. Most visitors see them on a walk or a bike ride. Pugin's cathedral is the only real sight in the town itself, and a day or two covers the lot.

This is where the two differ most. Bristol is the city of trip hop and drum and bass, with clubs in warehouses and railway arches around Temple Meads, scruffy late bars in Stokes Croft, and a student population that keeps weeknights busy all year.

In Killarney, a night out means the pubs of High Street and Plunkett Street, which are packed and cheerful in summer and full of pints and conversation. A few late bars stay open after closing time, but there are no clubs or cocktail bars, and winter weeknights go quiet.

Killarney is built around its landscape. The national park starts at the edge of town, with three lakes, ancient oak woods, Torc Waterfall and Ireland's only native red deer. Behind them rise MacGillycuddy's Reeks, and you can walk or cycle the length of the Gap of Dunloe and take a boat back across the lakes.

Bristol has a lot of green space for a city. Climbers use the cliffs of the Avon Gorge, there are trails in Ashton Court and Leigh Woods, and the old railway path runs about 25km towards Bath. The Mendips and Cheddar Gorge are within an hour, but the countryside is gentle and rolling, nothing like Kerry's mountains and sea cliffs.

Bristol is the better base for outings. Bath is a quarter of an hour away by train and Cardiff under an hour. Wells, Glastonbury, the Cotswold villages around Lacock, and the stone circles at Stonehenge and Avebury are all close enough for a full day, so you could spend a week on history alone.

Most of Killarney's outings are scenic drives: the Ring of Kerry loop, Moll's Gap to Kenmare, and Dingle's pubs and harbour. Skellig Michael is the most memorable trip, but boats only land in calm summer seas. Cork is the one real city within easy reach.

Bristol has more to keep children busy, and a lot of it is indoors. We The Curious, the aquarium and the SS Great Britain sit close together on the harbourside, linked by little ferries, and there is a spacious wildlife park on the edge of the city. The steep streets are hard work with a pushchair, though.

Killarney is gentle and safe, and the flat lakeside paths are good for buggies and small bikes. Children tend to like the jaunting cars, the boat trips and Muckross Traditional Farms. When the frequent rain sets in, though, a family soon runs out of things to do under a roof.

Bristol has the edge. Its centre is walkable, the yellow ferries cross the Floating Harbour, and Temple Meads makes the day trips easy by train. Beyond the core, though, there is no metro or tram, the buses crawl in traffic, and the climb to Clifton is tiring.

Killarney is easy in town, where the station is central and flat, traffic-free paths lead into the park. Beyond the park you will need a car or a tour, and the narrow roads around the Ring of Kerry are shared with coaches in summer.

Bristol shops like a regional city, while Killarney shops like a tourist town. In Bristol, Cabot Circus and Broadmead cover the chains and department stores, Gloucester Road has record shops, delis and vintage clothes, and Clifton's Georgian arcades hold small galleries. There is little luxury shopping, though.

In Killarney, shopping means a few streets of knitwear, tweed and Celtic jewellery aimed at visitors. It is fine for an hour and an Aran sweater, but serious shoppers will have to head to Cork.

Both are expensive by European standards, and neither is cheap for the budget traveller. The difference is in how you save. In Bristol, most of the big museums and churches are free and the centre is walkable, but hotel prices rise at weekends.

In Killarney, family-run B&Bs keep rooms reasonable outside July and August, and the national park costs nothing. Eating and drinking are at full Irish prices, though, and seeing the wider region usually means paying for a hire car or tours.

Bristol has the wider stage. The Georgian Bristol Old Vic is the oldest continuously working theatre in the English-speaking world. There is fringe Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory, chamber music at St George's, and small venues host bands, jazz and electronic acts most nights.

Killarney does one thing well: traditional Irish music. In season there are fiddle and bodhrán sessions in the pubs most nights, and dinner shows add set dancing. For anything more formal, Siamsa Tíre, the National Folk Theatre, is half an hour away in Tralee.

The two are evenly matched here, but the experience is different. From Bristol, relaxation comes in short outings: the heated Victorian lido behind Clifton's terraces, cold dips in the Severn tidal pools, and above all Bath's rooftop thermal pool, fed by Britain's only natural hot springs.

Killarney suits a whole stay built around rest. Its large lakeside and country hotels have full spas with views of the mountains, so long walks, a spa afternoon and an early dinner make an easy routine, especially out of season.