Budapest or Split?

On the beach, Split is in a different league. You can walk from the old town to the shallow sandy bay at Bačvice or to the pine-shaded coves around Marjan, and ferries reach longer beaches on Brač, Šolta and Hvar. Most of the shore is pebble or concrete platforms rather than sand, and the city beaches are packed in high summer.

Budapest has no sea, and the Danube is not for swimming. Summer bathing there means the big open-air lidos, such as Palatinus on Margaret Island, or a train out to warm, shallow Lake Velence. That is fine for a hot afternoon, but it is no substitute for the Adriatic.

Budapest has the edge on depth. It has paprika-rich stews and lángos, the Great Market Hall, the old coffee houses with their layered cakes, a serious modern restaurant tier and wine bars pouring Tokaji and Eger reds. Split's cooking is lighter and comes from the sea: grilled fish, black risotto and peka, washed down with Plavac Mali or Pošip.

Neither city offers much beyond its own regional cooking. In Split the best meals are in the konobas of Varoš rather than inside the palace walls, and the food scene quietens in winter.

Budapest takes several days to see properly. It has the Parliament and Castle Hill facing each other across the river, Andrássy Avenue, the Museum of Fine Arts, the Dohány Street Synagogue and layers that run from Ottoman tombs to the communist statues of Memento Park.

Split's heritage is one remarkable place rather than a whole city of sights. Diocletian's Palace is a Roman emperor's residence that people still live in, with the cathedral inside his mausoleum and the vaulted halls below. Add the Meštrović Gallery and the list is mostly done within two days.

Budapest is the stronger choice for nights out, and it stays that way all year. District VII's ruin bars fill old courtyard tenements room by room, and the streets around them keep going well past 2am at weekends. The trade-off is the stag and student groups that make Friday and Saturday rowdy, though the wine bars of District V and the cafés of Buda stay calm.

Split's nightlife is a summer affair. It runs from the Riva into small bars on the palace stairways and out to the clubs around Bačvice. From October to May it shrinks to a few bars and a glass of wine.

Split has the more dramatic outdoors. Marjan's forest trails start at the edge of the old town, Mosor and Kozjak offer proper ridge hikes, and Biokovo rises above 1,700m down the coast. There is rafting and canyoning in the Cetina gorge, Krka's waterfalls an hour north, and sea kayaking and sailing among the islands.

Budapest's green side is gentler. It has the oak and beech woods of the Buda Hills, reached by cogwheel railway, caves carved by thermal water, and forested walking and cycling along the Danube Bend. It is pleasant, but there are no mountains and no sea.

Split is the handier base for day trips, and many of them are by boat. Trogir is half an hour away and Šibenik's UNESCO-listed cathedral about an hour. Roman Salona and Klis Fortress are right on the edge of town, and in summer ferries reach Hvar, Brač and Vis. Winter timetables need more planning.

Budapest's outings are mostly by train and inland. Szentendre, Visegrád and Esztergom line the Danube Bend within easy reach, while Eger, Hollókő and Pannonhalma take around two hours each way.

Budapest has more aimed at children. There is the old zoo in City Park, the Children's Railway run by uniformed schoolchildren, the Palace of Wonders science centre and lidos with wave pools and slides. The weekend noise in District VII and the metro stairs take some working around.

Split works for families in a simpler way. Bačvice is shallow enough for paddling, Marjan has shade and space to run, and the ferry ride is often the highlight. There is almost nothing built for children, though, and midsummer is hot and crowded.

Budapest has a proper network. One tram line runs along the embankment past Parliament, two more circle the Grand Boulevard round the clock, and the short metro includes the little yellow carriages of Line 1 under Andrássy Avenue. Flat central Pest is easy on foot, and Buda's hills are served by buses and the funicular.

Split's centre is small and car-free, and the ferry port, bus station and railway station sit together at the harbour. Beyond that, the buses are basic and the coast road is slow in summer. A car helps for trailheads inland, and the stepped stone lanes are hard work with a pushchair.

Budapest is the better place to shop, though few people come for that alone. Look past Váci utca's chains to Herend and Zsolnay porcelain, small Hungarian design boutiques in Districts V and VII, the Great Market Hall and the communist-era finds at Ecseri flea market.

In Split, the shops inside the palace mostly sell souvenirs and Croatian ties. The most enjoyable browsing is at the Pazar green market, and Dalmatian wine and olive oil are the things worth taking home.

Budapest is the cheaper city for most of the year. Transport, wine and ordinary coffee houses cost little, and good mid-range rooms are easy to find near the centre. Costs only build up in the tourist core around Váci utca and the Basilica.

Split's costs depend on the season. In July and August, rooms near the old town and fish sold by weight on the waterfront can feel like a big Western European city, and island ferries add up. Come in May, June, late September or winter and it becomes a modestly priced place.

Budapest is one of Europe's better cities for classical music. It has the neo-Renaissance State Opera House, the Art Nouveau hall of the Liszt Academy, the national concert hall at Müpa, a busy run of church concerts, operetta and folk dance. As a visitor you can find a performance most nights.

Split's stage comes alive mainly in summer, when the Summer Festival puts opera in the open-air Peristyle and klapa singers fill the palace vestibule. Outside the season there is the Croatian National Theatre and not much else.

For wellness, Budapest is unmatched. Over a hundred thermal springs feed baths that locals use every day. You can soak outdoors at the Széchenyi in the snow, under the mosaics of the Gellért, or beneath the star-pierced Ottoman domes of Rudas and Király, then move on to a coffee house.

Split has no bathing culture, only hotel spas and massage studios along the coast. Its kind of rest is fjaka, the long unhurried coffee on the Riva. That works best outside midsummer, or on one of the islands.