Chiang Mai or Kyoto?

Neither city is a beach destination, as both lie inland. In Chiang Mai, swimming means Huay Tung Tao reservoir, quarry lakes, waterfall pools and hotel pools, and anyone who wants the sea flies south to the islands.

Kyoto does a little better. In July and August, Lake Biwa's sandy shores such as Omi-Maiko are warm enough for a proper swim, and the white sand of the Sea of Japan coast around Amanohashidate makes a good overnight trip.

Both are excellent places to eat, but in different ways. Chiang Mai is about bold northern Thai flavours, eaten cheaply at markets and street stalls: khao soi, herby sai ua sausage and sticky rice. It also has a café culture built on coffee grown in the surrounding hills.

Kyoto goes deeper and finer. Kaiseki in old Gion houses, temple cuisine at Daitokuji and Tenryuji, tofu, pickles and tea sweets, and an unusual number of serious restaurants make it the better city for a memorable meal. Nishiki Market and the Fushimi sake breweries cover more casual eating.

Kyoto is in a different league. Seventeen UNESCO-listed sites, from Kinkaku-ji and Ryoan-ji to Nijo Castle, are joined by Fushimi Inari's tunnels of gates, the machiya lanes of Higashiyama and Gion, and imperial villas. You could spend a week here and still leave plenty unseen.

Chiang Mai's heritage is smaller and gentler. The moated old city holds Lanna temples such as Wat Chedi Luang and Wat Phra Singh, with Doi Suthep above, and it rewards slow wandering over a few days. Its museums are modest.

Chiang Mai gives you more of an evening out. Nimmanhaemin has cocktail and craft beer bars full of students, the Tha Phae Gate area fills with backpacker bars and rooftop terraces, and Loi Kroh Road is the rowdier strip. Clubbing is limited all the same.

Kyoto is quieter and closes earlier. Going out mostly means small sake bars and izakaya along lantern-lit Pontocho and the Kiyamachi canal. For a big night, people take the train to Osaka.

Both have green hills right at the edge of the city, but the landscapes suit different trips. Chiang Mai is wilder and higher. Doi Suthep-Pui National Park starts at the edge of town, and Doi Inthanon's cloud forest is within easy reach, along with rafting, ziplines and treks to hill villages.

Kyoto's nature is gentle and seasonal: the cedar path from Kurama to Kibune, the Arashiyama bamboo groves, cycling along the Kamo River, and cherry blossom and maple colour. It is the better choice for easy walks, while Chiang Mai is the place for adventure.

Kyoto is one of the best day-trip bases anywhere. Nara's deer and great Buddha, Osaka, Uji's tea and Byodo-in, Himeji Castle and Kobe are all a short, fast train ride away, so you can decide on the morning.

Chiang Mai has fewer options. Lamphun and Lampang make worthwhile old-town outings, and the craft villages make easy half days. Chiang Rai and Pai are far enough away that they need an overnight stay.

Kyoto is easier with children. It is safe and clean, and between the temples there are the Railway Museum's steam locomotives, the aquarium, ninja shows at the Edo-period film set and the deer at Nara. Osaka's theme park is close by.

Chiang Mai is warm and welcoming, and elephant sanctuaries, the Night Safari and ziplines thrill children for a few days. After that, broken pavements, heavy traffic and few dedicated attractions make it harder, and the hazy season is best avoided with small children.

Kyoto is far easier to get around. The flat central grid is good for walking and cycling, and trains, the Randen tram and buses reach the temples around the edge of the basin, though buses are crowded in peak seasons.

Chiang Mai has no metro or tram. Beyond the walkable old city, you rely on red songthaew, tuk-tuks and ride-hailing, and a hired driver or a scooter for the hills.

Both are cities for handmade things rather than designer labels, but Kyoto has more depth. Family shops run for generations sell Nishijin silk, Kiyomizu-ware ceramics, hand-forged knives and tea by weight. Kyoto also has department stores along Shijo and the flea markets at To-ji and Kitano Tenmangu.

Chiang Mai's craft shopping happens at evening markets: the Sunday Walking Street, Wualai Road's silversmiths and the Night Bazaar, with weaving at San Kamphaeng and painted umbrellas at Bo Sang. It is cheaper and more casual.

Chiang Mai is much cheaper. Teak guesthouses, street food, transport, temples and daily massages all cost little, and only organised excursions and hill resorts add up.

Kyoto is mid-range. Noodle counters and trains are good value, but hotels and ryokan are expensive, especially in cherry blossom and autumn colour seasons, and a kaiseki dinner is a splurge.

Kyoto has a real stage tradition. There are the spring dances of the geiko and maiko, kabuki at Minamiza, Japan's oldest kabuki theatre, regular Noh, and a symphony orchestra at the Kyoto Concert Hall. The calendar is seasonal, though, so some evenings offer little.

In Chiang Mai, performance is informal: jazz jam sessions near the north gate, bar bands in Nimmanhaemin, khantoke dinners with Lanna dance, and Muay Thai fight nights.

Chiang Mai is the better place to unwind. Thai massage is cheap and part of everyday life, and the city's long-established schools teach it. Wat Umong and Wat Suan Dok run meditation retreats, and there are hot springs at San Kamphaeng and quiet resorts in the Mae Rim valley.

Kyoto's calm takes more effort to find. It is there in century-old sento bathhouses, onsen at Kurama, a ryokan's wooden tub, zazen sessions and raked gravel gardens, but crowds mean it is best found early in the day or in winter.