Canberra or Wellington?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Wellington at least has the sea. Oriental Bay is a short walk from the centre, and the coves around Miramar and the surf at Lyall Bay are a bus ride away. Cold Cook Strait water and the wind keep most visitors on the sand rather than in the sea.

Canberra is about two hours from the coast at Batemans Bay. Closer in, swimming means river spots such as Casuarina Sands or Kambah Pool on hot days. These have no lifeguards, and blue-green algae often closes the lake after warm spells.

Wellington eats better. Its cafés and the craft breweries around Cuba Street and Te Aro are more numerous and more distinctive. Cook Strait seafood and Wairarapa lamb give its menus a regional accent that Canberra lacks.

Canberra's strengths are narrower: brunch in Braddon, the Asian kitchens on Dickson's Woolley Street, and shiraz-viognier and riesling at cellar doors under forty minutes out. Both cities have a wine region nearby, but Canberra's is much easier to fit into an afternoon.

Canberra has the deeper set of national institutions. Parliament House, the Australian War Memorial, the National Gallery, the Portrait Gallery and the National Museum can fill several days. Walter Burley Griffin's planned city, best seen from Mount Ainslie, is a sight in its own right.

Wellington has one great museum, Te Papa, with its Māori and Pacific collections, plus the Beehive, Old St Paul's and the wooden Government Buildings. Its Victorian and Edwardian façades in Thorndon and along Lambton Quay are nicer to wander past than anything in Canberra, but the list runs out after two or three days.

Wellington makes for the better night out. Courtenay Place has the late bars and a few clubs, and Cuba Street has the cocktail and craft-beer rooms. The two are close enough to walk between in minutes.

Canberra's bars in Braddon and the Civic laneways are fine for a drink after dinner, but midweek and outside university term the city goes quiet early. Neither city is a clubbing destination.

Both cities have bush inside the city limits, but Wellington's setting is wilder. Its hills drop to a deep harbour, Zealandia fills a valley with native birdsong, and the south coast walk to the Red Rocks seals looks across Cook Strait. Makara Peak adds serious mountain biking.

Canberra's outdoors is gentler and drier. Kangaroos graze on the hill reserves at dusk, a flat lake circuit suits cycling, and the granite summits of Namadgi are about forty minutes away. Its clear, settled weather is far kinder to planning than Wellington's wind.

Both cities are short on headline outings, and both lead best to wine country. From Canberra, the cellar doors of Murrumbateman are close, and Braidwood and Bungendore add a gold-rush town and galleries for anyone driving.

From Wellington, the Wairarapa takes a full day, with Martinborough's vineyards toured by bicycle and Greytown's colonial main street. The practical difference is transport. Canberra's outings almost all need a car, while Wellington's Kāpiti Coast is an easy train ride.

Canberra has a slight edge for children, mostly because of Questacon, which can fill a day. The National Zoo and Aquarium and the Arboretum playground add more, and flat paths and empty streets keep things calm, though a car helps.

Wellington runs close behind, with Te Papa's earthquake house and giant squid, the cable car up to Space Place, and the waterfront playgrounds. Its steep streets and changeable weather ask more of parents pushing a pram.

Wellington is far easier without a car. You can walk its flat central strip, from the railway station to Courtenay Place, in under half an hour, and the cable car, suburban trains and the Days Bay ferry cover most of the rest.

Canberra spreads its sights along wide avenues around the lake, so walking between Civic and the Parliamentary Triangle is slow. Light rail, buses and the lakeside cycle paths help, but you need a car for Tidbinbilla and the wineries.

Wellington offers more browsing. Cuba Street's vintage clothing, record shops and small design stores have real character. Merino wool, pounamu greenstone and Māori and Pacific crafts make distinctive things to take home.

Canberra's shopping centres on one large mall in Civic. Its best outing is the makers' market at the Old Bus Depot in Kingston, and the national gallery shops are good for Aboriginal art prints. Neither city has a luxury shopping street.

Both are expensive by international standards, with high costs for meals, drinks and rooms, and neither makes a cheap trip. The savings come in different forms. In Canberra almost every major sight is free, from Parliament House to the National Museum, and hotel rooms often get cheaper at weekends when official travellers leave, though hiring a car adds up.

In Wellington, Te Papa, the Botanic Garden and the town belt walks are free, and the walkable centre keeps transport costs down. Central hotels get dearer when conferences fill the city.

Wellington has much more on stage. It is home to the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and the Royal New Zealand Ballet, and theatre companies and small music venues around Cuba Street keep something on through the year. The New Zealand Festival of the Arts brings international work in late summer.

Canberra has the Theatre Centre, the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and the National Folk Festival at Easter. Beyond those, a visitor takes whatever is on, since many big tours leave the city off their route.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and both offer little more than day spas and a calm pace. The setting is what differs. In Canberra, unwinding means quiet lakeside mornings and early evenings. Wellington adds a heated harbourside pool at Oriental Bay and bush walks in the town belt, and New Zealand's geothermal spa towns are several hours north.