Cairo or Marrakech?

Neither city is a beach destination. In both, swimming during a city stay means a hotel pool, and in Marrakech the riad plunge pool. The sea that each one leads to is very different, though.

From Cairo, the Red Sea at Ain Sokhna is warm and calm, but the shore is lined with resort compounds and is better for a weekend than a day out. From Marrakech, Essaouira's Atlantic shore is further away, with cool water and strong wind. The Lalla Takerkoust reservoir is the only nearby water for a lakeside afternoon.

The two eat about equally well but in different ways. Cairo's best food is quick, cheap street fare: ful and taameya at breakfast, a bowl of koshari at lunch, feteer and sugar-cane juice. Afterwards the evening moves to the ahwa for tea and shisha.

Marrakech cooks slowly. Tagines, pastilla and the tanjia buried in hammam embers are the dishes to try, along with the grill stalls on Jemaa el-Fna at dusk. Its menus repeat themselves sooner than Cairo's do, and both cities have only a thin layer of fine dining.

This is where Cairo pulls well ahead. It has the Giza pyramids and the Sphinx, two major antiquities museums and the royal mummies at Fustat. On top of that come the mosques and madrasas of Al-Muizz Street, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo, enough to fill many days.

Marrakech's heritage is real but smaller in scale. The medina itself is the main sight, with the Koutoubia, the Ben Youssef Madrasa, the Bahia and El Badi palaces and the Jardin Majorelle, and its museums are modest. Most visitors have covered it in two or three days.

Cairo's nights are longer and more sociable, even though they run on tea rather than alcohol. Families stroll the corniche and the ahwas stay full past midnight. For a drink, Zamalek has bars, rooftops and party boats on the Nile.

In Marrakech, an evening usually means a long dinner and the scene on Jemaa el-Fna. Drinking happens in licensed places, with the lounges and a few big clubs grouped in Hivernage and Gueliz. It suits a sunset cocktail more than a night out.

Marrakech has much better access to landscape. The High Atlas is visible from the city, and within an hour and a half you can reach the Ourika waterfalls and the trails around Imlil. There is winter skiing at Oukaimeden, the Agafay desert is closer still, and balloons rise over the plain at dawn.

Cairo's green space comes down to Al-Azhar Park and the canyons of Wadi Degla. Its real scenery starts two hours away in the Fayoum, with the lakes of Wadi El Rayan and the whale fossils of Wadi Al-Hitan.

Cairo makes the far better base for excursions. The Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the Bent and Red Pyramids at Dahshur and the ruins of Memphis are all under an hour or so south. The monasteries of Wadi Natrun and a long day in Alexandria extend the choice, though most of these trips need a driver.

From Marrakech, the places worth seeing are mostly too far for a single day. Essaouira is a long round trip, and Ait Benhaddou needs a night away. Close by, the choice is limited to village souks at Asni and Amizmiz and the mosque at Tinmel.

Both cities are demanding with children, but Cairo gives them a little more to remember. There are the pyramids, a camel ride by the desert and Tutankhamun's gold, and the reward makes the traffic and touts easier to put up with.

Marrakech has fewer standout sights for children, beyond a water park and the snake charmers of Jemaa el-Fna. Its strength is the calm base that a riad with a plunge pool or a garden resort provides. It suits older, adventurous children best.

Getting around is tiring in both, in different ways. Cairo has a metro and river taxis, but it does not reach the pyramids, so ride-hailing or a hired driver means sitting in heavy traffic. Walking there is a matter of short stretches.

Marrakech has no metro, but its medina is compact and has to be walked, through unnamed lanes shared with motorbikes. Petit taxis link it to Gueliz, usually after agreeing the fare.

Cairo's shopping centres on Khan el-Khalili, trading since the fourteenth century, where much of the brass, inlaid wood and spice on display is tourist stock. The better finds are close by: hand-stitched appliqué on the Street of the Tentmakers, the coppersmiths hammering in their alley, and cotton linens and contemporary Egyptian design in the small boutiques of Zamalek.

Marrakech is the stronger shopping city, and its souks are a reason to come in themselves. The lanes north of Jemaa el-Fna are grouped by trade, so leatherworkers, dyers and carpet sellers each keep to their own stretch, and a purchase can turn into a long bargaining session over tea. Beyond the souks, Gueliz has boutiques that rework Moroccan crafts, and Sidi Ghanem has the showrooms where decorators buy.

Cairo is the cheaper of the two by a clear margin. Street food, the metro, ride-hailing and comfortable mid-range hotels all cost very little, and only foreigners' entry fees to the big sites, alcohol and guided tours add noticeably to the bill.

Marrakech is still inexpensive for meals, taxis and palace entries. However, its boutique riads, palace hotels and smart restaurants charge international prices. Souk purchases depend heavily on how patiently you bargain.

Cairo offers a proper season to attend. The Opera House on Gezira Island hosts the symphony orchestra, ballet and Arabic music. In Islamic Cairo, tanoura whirling dancers perform in the Wikala of al-Ghouri, and small venues keep zar and traditional song going.

In Marrakech, performance takes place mostly in the open, with gnawa musicians, drummers and storytellers on Jemaa el-Fna each evening. It is memorable, but there is no opera, orchestra or theatre to book beyond tourist dinner shows.

Marrakech is much the better place to rest. You can choose between neighbourhood hammams with black soap and a kessa glove, marble spa hammams with argan oil massages and quiet hours in riad courtyards and the Majorelle and Agdal gardens.

Cairo's old hammams have largely fallen out of use. Rest there means a hotel spa or a felucca on the Nile, and many visitors save their recovery for the Red Sea afterwards.