Cardiff or Cork?

Neither city is a beach destination, and the sea at both stays cool enough that most people only paddle. Cardiff's advantage is that its beaches are easy to reach. Barry Island's sandy bay, promenade and funfair are a short train ride away, and Penarth's pebble shore and pier are closer still.

Cork's beaches are quieter and more natural, from the harbour coves at Myrtleville and Fountainstown to the long strand at Inchydoney, but you will want a car for them. The local habit of swimming in the sea all year round is the more interesting thing to see there.

Cork is the better place to eat. The English Market is a real working food hall selling West Cork farmhouse cheeses, smoked fish and spiced beef. The modern Irish kitchens around Oliver Plunkett Street buy from the same suppliers, and Kinsale's seafood is half an hour away.

Cardiff's food is pleasant but not a reason to go. You can get Welsh cakes from the griddle in Cardiff Market, cawl and laverbread, and eat at neighbourhood bistros in Pontcanna and Canton. City Road's long run of Middle Eastern and South Asian cooking gives Cardiff more variety than Cork's narrower range.

Cardiff has more to see, and more of it has real weight. Cardiff Castle, the French Impressionists at the National Museum in the white stone civic centre, the open-air museum at St Fagans and Llandaff Cathedral fill a solid two or three days.

Cork's sights are smaller: St Fin Barre's Cathedral, the Shandon bells you can ring yourself, the Irish paintings at the Crawford and the City Gaol. Much of the pleasure lies in the Georgian quays and lanes of the river island, and a day or two is enough.

Cardiff has the bigger night out. St Mary Street fills with large groups at weekends, Womanby Street has small alternative bars and late venues, and rugby international days turn the whole centre red.

Cork's nights are built around the pub: wood-panelled bars off Patrick Street, trad music in back rooms, and a few late bars and small clubs from Thursday to Saturday. Pick Cork for a long chat over a pint, and Cardiff for something louder and later.

Upland walking around Cardiff, sea and harbour around Cork: that is the real difference, and for most walkers Cardiff's is the stronger offer. The Taff Trail leaves Bute Park and follows the river into the valleys. An hour's drive brings you to the open moorland ridges of the Brecon Beacons and a half-day hike up Pen y Fan, the highest peak in southern Britain. The coast path past the cliffs at Penarth is a gentler option closer in.

Cork's outdoors is softer and centred on the water. You can sail or kayak in the harbour, walk the cliffs at Ballycotton or stand on the Old Head of Kinsale. The inlets and islands of West Cork lie further out, and the mountain lake at Gougane Barra and the Kerry hills are both a long day away.

Both cities make good bases, and the difference lies in what you go out to see. From Cardiff the theme is castles and heritage: Caerphilly by train, Castell Coch in the woods, Tintern Abbey and the Big Pit mine at Blaenavon, with Bath and Bristol just across the Severn.

From Cork the trips lean towards harbour towns and Irish landmarks. There is Cobh with its Titanic and emigrant story, Kinsale and Charles Fort, Blarney and the Midleton distillery, and Killarney or the Rock of Cashel for a longer day.

Cardiff is the easier city with children, mainly because it has more aimed at them. There is Techniquest at the Bay, the farm animals and craft demonstrations at St Fagans, rowing boats on the lake at Roath Park, and Barry Island's funfair in summer.

Cork has one strong draw that Cardiff lacks: Fota Wildlife Park, where animals roam open parkland a short train ride out. The observatory at Blackrock Castle is another. Beyond those you run out of family attractions sooner, and the heavier rain makes indoor plans more important.

Both centres are walkable, but Cardiff's is flatter and more compact. The castle, market, arcades and Central station are minutes apart, and a shuttle train, bus or water taxi runs to the Bay. Local trains reach most day trips without a car.

Cork's island centre is compact too, but the north side climbs steeply to Shandon and the buses are slow in traffic. The rail line to Cobh and Midleton is the useful one, and you really need a car for West Cork.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Cardiff's Victorian and Edwardian arcades give it the edge. They have record shops, bookshops and vintage clothing under glass roofs, and there is a large mall near Queen Street as well. Cork has the chains on Patrick Street and a few independent shops off Princes Street and in the Huguenot Quarter. Its best souvenirs are cheese from the English Market, knitwear and whiskey.

Cardiff is the cheaper of the two. Rooms are moderately priced except on stadium weekends, pubs charge ordinary British prices, and the free national museums and short train trips keep daily costs down.

Cork shares Ireland's high costs. Rooms are expensive for a city of its size, and eating and drinking cost more than in most of Western Europe. Lunch from the English Market and a walkable centre help, but your money does not go far here.

In Cardiff the music mostly happens in proper venues, while in Cork it happens round a pub table, and Cardiff's stages give you a fuller programme. Welsh National Opera is based at the Wales Millennium Centre and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is resident in the city. The music and drama college puts on frequent shows, and the small venues on Womanby Street have bands most nights.

Outside its festival weeks Cork has a thinner programme, and the Opera House and the Everyman mostly host touring productions. What it does best is the traditional session, held in pubs most nights, along with the jazz festival that has filled the city's halls at the end of October for decades.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, so in both, relaxing mostly means a hotel spa. In Cardiff that means the leisure pools of the Bay hotels, or slow mornings in Pontcanna's cafés and along the Taff. In Cork it means the resort spa on Fota Island or, if you are brave, joining the year-round cold-water swimmers in the harbour coves.