Bristol or Limerick?

Neither city is a beach destination, though the shores near each are very different. Bristol faces a muddy, silty estuary with a huge tidal range. Its best swimming is in tidal sea pools like the marine lake at Clevedon, and real swimming beaches are a long drive away.

Limerick's river isn't for swimming either, but about an hour's drive takes you to wide Atlantic sands with real surf at Kilkee, Lahinch and Ballybunion. You'll need a wetsuit and a tolerance for changeable weather.

Bristol gives you far more choice. You can graze from the covered stalls of St Nicholas Market to the harbourside container kitchens and the bakeries and roasters along Gloucester Road and North Street. West Country cider and a large craft brewing scene give the drinking a local flavour.

Limerick's strength is plain, good farm produce: Munster beef and lamb, cheese and the city's cured ham, best seen at the Milk Market at weekends. Beyond that you'll find a few modern Irish kitchens and gastropubs, so meals are good but rarely memorable.

Bristol has more to see and fills more days. Brunel's SS Great Britain and the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the Avon Gorge are the highlights. St Mary Redcliffe and the M Shed's frank account of the port's history add depth, and Banksy's street art adds a modern streak.

Limerick's sights are mostly packed onto King's Island: King John's Castle on the Shannon, St Mary's Cathedral and the Treaty Stone across the bridge. The Hunt Museum's medieval objects are the best of its collections, and the Georgian terraces of Newtown Pery make a pleasant walk. A day or two is enough.

Bristol is a place people travel to for a night out. It has a sound-system culture behind trip hop and drum and bass, clubs in warehouses and railway arches around Temple Meads, and scruffy, creative bars in Stokes Croft.

A night in Limerick means pubs, ideally a traditional bar with a snug and an open fire, plus a few late bars and a small number of clubs. It is at its liveliest when students are in term or a Munster match at Thomond Park fills the town.

The outdoors is about equally good in both, but the landscapes differ. Bristol's green space starts inside the city: climbers on the limestone of the Avon Gorge, deer at Ashton Court, the Downs, and a traffic-free cycle path to Bath. The Mendips and Cheddar Gorge are under an hour away.

In Limerick itself there's little more than riverside walks. A short drive takes you to sailing and kayaking on Lough Derg and hill walking in the Galtees. Further out are the Burren's bare limestone and the Cliffs of Moher, scenery wilder than anything near Bristol, though you'll need a car.

Bristol is the stronger base. Bath is a short train ride away, and Wells, Glastonbury and Cardiff are about an hour each. Stonehenge, Avebury, Salisbury and the Cotswold villages of Lacock and Castle Combe make full days out.

Limerick's best outings are mostly by road. Bunratty and the thatched cottages of Adare are close by, the Rock of Cashel is about an hour away, and Galway or Cork take a longer day. Most of it is easier with a car or a coach tour.

Children have more to do in Bristol. A science centre with a planetarium, an aquarium and the SS Great Britain sit close together on the harbour, linked by small ferries. A spacious wildlife park on the city's edge rounds things off, though the steep hills are hard work with a pushchair.

Limerick is calm and easy with children but has little made for them. The castle's siege displays and Bunratty Folk Park's farm animals are the highlights. On wet days there is no indoor attraction on Bristol's scale to fall back on.

Both centres are walkable, and neither has a metro or tram. Bristol's hills make walking harder, especially the climb to Clifton. Its yellow harbour ferries help, and Temple Meads station puts many day trips within reach by train.

Limerick's centre is flat and takes only minutes to cross on foot. Once you leave the town, though, rural buses are infrequent, so most visitors hire a car at Shannon Airport to see the region.

Bristol is the better place for a shopping afternoon. Cabot Circus covers the chain stores, while Gloucester Road has a long run of record shops, delis and vintage clothes. Clifton's Georgian arcades add galleries and gifts.

In Limerick, shopping is mostly a practical high street on O'Connell Street. The Milk Market's craft and secondhand stalls have the most character. Limerick lace takes effort to track down, and Irish woollens are easier to find in Clare and Kerry.

Both cities cost about the same: a moderate base in an expensive country, comfortable to visit but not cheap. Where the money goes is different. In Bristol, the main museums and churches are free, but hotel rooms climb at weekends. In Limerick, staying in town costs little, but drinks, meals out and especially the hire car you need for the region add up quickly.

Bristol has the busier stage. The Bristol Old Vic, dating from the 1760s, produces its own plays, the Tobacco Factory stages Shakespeare, and the Hippodrome takes touring musicals and ballet. Small venues in Stokes Croft and Old Market have bands and electronic acts most nights.

Limerick has a smaller but real programme. The Irish Chamber Orchestra plays at the University Concert Hall, and the Lime Tree and Belltable stage drama. Its most rewarding offer is something Bristol can't match: traditional Irish music sessions in the pubs.

Bristol is the better choice for a restful break, mainly because Bath is so close. A short train ride brings you to bathing in Britain's only natural hot springs on a rooftop above the abbey. Clifton's heated Victorian lido with its spa makes a quiet half day in town.

Limerick itself offers little beyond hotel spas and slow river walks. The good options are country-house spas around Adare and Lough Derg, or the hot seaweed baths of the Atlantic coast, about an hour away.