Chicago or Pittsburgh?

Chicago has proper city beaches, with sandy stretches along Lake Michigan from Oak Street beneath the Gold Coast towers to the volleyball courts at North Avenue. From late June to early September, a swim fits easily into an afternoon between sights.

Pittsburgh has nothing similar. Nobody swims in its three rivers, the closest sand is a small reservoir beach at Lake Arthur, a drive north, and the better beaches at Presque Isle on Lake Erie are two hours away. Neither city is a beach destination, but swimming is easy in Chicago and takes a day out from Pittsburgh.

Both cities are proud of their working-class food, but Chicago has far more of it, and more range. Beyond the deep-dish pizza, Italian beef and dressed hot dogs, you get fine dining on Randolph Street and serious Mexican, South Asian and Vietnamese cooking in Pilsen, on Devon Avenue and on Argyle Street.

Pittsburgh's food comes from Central and Eastern Europe, with pierogies and haluski, plus its sandwiches stacked with fries. The Strip District, a long market street, is the most enjoyable place to graze in either city. Chef-led kitchens in Lawrenceville add a modern layer, but the range is narrower.

Chicago is a city to visit for its architecture. This is where the skyscraper grew up, and the river cruise past the Loop towers and Mies van der Rohe's glass landmarks has no equal in Pittsburgh. The Art Institute's Impressionists and the three lakefront museums of the Museum Campus give it a heavyweight museum line-up too.

Pittsburgh's sights come from its steel-era fortunes and are more eccentric: the Warhol Museum, the room-sized installations at the Mattress Factory, and the Nationality Rooms in a Gothic university tower. Its best sight is the view of bridges over three rivers from the top of the Mount Washington inclines.

Chicago stays out far later. Many bars pour until 4am, and the city's history as a birthplace of house music keeps proper dance clubs alive in River North, with cocktail bars and dives across Wicker Park and Logan Square.

Pittsburgh is a bar town with a small club scene and last orders at 2am. Butler Street in Lawrenceville draws a young crowd and East Carson Street is the noisy student strip. It is friendly and cheap, but there are fewer places and the nights are shorter.

Pittsburgh is the greener and steeper of the two. Wooded hillsides rise behind the houses, Frick Park and Schenley Park have shaded ravine trails, and about an hour and a half away the Laurel Highlands offer rafting through the Ohiopyle gorge and forest hikes. Autumn colour on the ridges is a real draw.

Chicago's outdoors is the lake. The shoreline path of about 29km is excellent on a bike, but the land around it is flat, and for dunes and woods you have to go to Indiana Dunes, about an hour away.

Neither city is surrounded by great outings, and the two lists are about equally thin, but they differ in shape. Chicago's are easy: Milwaukee is a short train ride away, and Wright's Prairie houses in Oak Park are on the edge of the city.

Pittsburgh has one standout. Fallingwater, with Kentuck Knob nearby, makes a full day in the Laurel Highlands, and the Flight 93 memorial lies further along the same route. Almost all of it needs a car.

Chicago has the bigger offer for children. The Museum of Science and Industry can fill a day on its own, the Museum Campus puts dinosaurs, beluga whales and a planetarium side by side, Lincoln Park Zoo costs nothing, and the summer beaches have lifeguards.

Pittsburgh is gentler in scale. The Science Center, the Children's Museum and the National Aviary are close together on the North Side, and Kennywood's old wooden roller coasters and the incline rides are a delight for children. Expect to use a car between the hilly neighbourhoods.

Chicago is much easier without a car. The L runs from both airports into the Loop, and the flat grid puts Millennium Park, the Art Institute and the riverfront within an easy walk of each other. Crossing between neighbourhoods sometimes means a long bus ride.

Pittsburgh's downtown is compact, and the T light rail crosses to the North Side. Beyond that, buses built for commuters, steep hills and river crossings push most visitors into ride-hailing, and the Highlands need a hire car.

Chicago is a genuine shopping city. The Magnificent Mile has flagships and vertical malls, Oak Street has the luxury labels, and the old Marshall Field's store on State Street is worth seeing just for its Tiffany mosaic ceiling. Wicker Park and Andersonville add independent boutiques.

Pittsburgh is low-key. The weekend stalls in the Strip District and the vintage and design shops on Butler Street are pleasant to browse, but there is no luxury street, and the big brands are out in the suburban malls.

Pittsburgh is the cheaper stay. Downtown hotels cost well below big-city rates on most nights, and a beer or a casual meal in the Strip is reasonably priced.

Chicago's downtown hotels, high taxes and sit-down restaurants make it noticeably dearer, especially in summer. Its free lakefront, beaches and Lincoln Park Zoo, along with cheap taquerias, bring the bill down, but only partly. Tipping adds to the bill in both cities.

Both cities take the stage seriously, but Chicago is in a different league. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Lyric Opera and the Goodman and Steppenwolf theatres sit alongside dozens of storefront companies. Second City improv runs every night, and blues clubs on the North and South Sides keep the city's own sound alive.

Pittsburgh packs its symphony, opera, ballet and touring musicals into the downtown Cultural District, which makes a night out easy to plan. Its story belongs to the Hill District's jazz past and August Wilson's plays.

Chicago has the edge, thanks to two things Pittsburgh lacks: a Russian-and-Turkish bathhouse in Wicker Park that dates from the early 1900s, and a large Korean-style jjimjilbang in the northern suburbs. Its two conservatories also make a warm escape in winter.

In Pittsburgh, relaxing means a day spa, the glasshouses at Phipps or a quiet walk in Frick Park. For a proper spa break, you drive to the resorts of the Laurel Highlands.