Christchurch or Hobart?

Christchurch has a little more to offer on the sand. New Brighton is a proper open surf beach with a pier and lifeguards in summer, Sumner is a sheltered family bay, and Taylors Mistake has waves for surfers.

Hobart's beaches line the calm Derwent estuary or sit a drive away at Seven Mile Beach. They are pleasant for a walk but quieter in character. In both cities the water stays cold, so treat the beaches as a bonus, not the reason to go.

Both cities live off their farmland, but Hobart turns it into a better eating trip. You can buy oysters and mussels from the channel and fish and chips from punts at Constitution Dock, and Salamanca Market is a good way to sample the island's produce. Pinot noir, sparkling wine and single malt whisky are all made close to town.

Christchurch has Canterbury lamb, Akaroa salmon, excellent brunch and coffee, and the Waipara Valley wines to the north. It does not have a distinctive local cuisine, and a few dinners cover its best places.

Both cities are gateways to Antarctica, but Hobart has more history to see. It has sandstone warehouses from the 1830s at Salamanca Place, the cottages of Battery Point, the Cascades Female Factory and the state museum's convict and Aboriginal collections. MONA, reached by ferry up the river, is reason enough to visit.

In Christchurch, the main story is the earthquakes. You see it in the Transitional Cathedral built with cardboard tubes, the riverside memorial wall and the earthquake museum, alongside the Gothic Revival quadrangles of the Arts Centre and the South Island's best collection of New Zealand art.

Neither city is for a big night out, and they are quiet in a similar way. Christchurch has riverside bars along Oxford Terrace and craft beer and student crowds around Victoria Street. Hobart is about whisky and wine bars on Salamanca Place and local pubs in North Hobart, and it gets busier around New Year, when yacht crews arrive.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, and the difference is in the scenery. From Christchurch you reach high mountains: the Southern Alps, Arthur's Pass for alpine tramping and Mt Hutt for skiing, plus braided rivers and Hector's dolphins in the volcanic bays of Banks Peninsula.

Hobart's landscape is on the doorstep and along the coast. kunanyi/Mount Wellington rises straight behind the streets, and the sea cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula and the Three Capes walk are close by. Bruny Island has penguins, and the southwest wilderness is not much further.

Hobart has more places worth a day out. Port Arthur's convict ruins are about an hour and a half away, and Richmond's Georgian village is half an hour. The Huon Valley's orchards, the ferry to Bruny Island and the sandstone towns of the midlands mean you can fill several days.

Christchurch has one excellent outing in Akaroa, the French-founded harbour village, plus Lyttelton, the Waipara wineries and Hanmer Springs. After that, longer drives are mostly about scenery, not places.

Christchurch is the easier city for children. It is flat and has a lot of space, the playground by the Avon is one of the largest in the country, and punting or the heritage tram suits young children. Around the edges are Orana's open-range animals, kiwi at Willowbank, penguins at the Antarctic Centre and the gondola up the Port Hills.

Hobart works well too, especially with older children. Tasmanian devils and wombats at the sanctuaries north of town, forest walks and the grounds of Port Arthur go down well, but the steep streets and changeable weather make it harder with toddlers.

Getting around is about equally easy, but the ground is different. Central Christchurch is completely flat and has separated cycleways and e-scooters. Hobart's compact centre climbs steeply from the water, though it has a ferry up the river to MONA. Outside the city, both need a hire car.

Neither city is for fashion shopping, but Hobart has the better finds. Salamanca Market fills the waterfront on Saturdays with crafts, ceramics and produce, and the warehouse galleries sell Huon pine woodwork and Tasmanian glass all week.

Christchurch has a small precinct of chain stores and Ballantynes, a department store trading since the 1850s. The things worth taking home are merino knitwear, pounamu greenstone and local wine.

Both are expensive by European standards, and both cost more once you add a hire car and fuel. Christchurch's rooms are kinder than New Zealand's tourist hotspots, and its gardens, gallery and beaches are free. Hobart's rooms fill up and get dearer in summer, but self-catering with local produce and free walks on the mountain help keep costs down.

Hobart has the more interesting stages. Its Theatre Royal is the oldest working theatre in Australia, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra plays on the waterfront, and the MONA festivals bring experimental work, including a midwinter one that makes the dark months worth a trip.

Christchurch has a solid programme for a city its size: the symphony orchestra in the Town Hall, known for its acoustics, the Court Theatre and touring shows at the Isaac Theatre Royal. Its buskers' festival is a summer highlight.

Christchurch has the edge here because it has hot water. You can soak in saltwater hot pools on the beachfront at New Brighton while watching the surf, and the mineral pools at Hanmer Springs are an easy day trip.

Hobart has no bathing tradition. Its restful side is the slow pace, with mornings on the waterfront and long lunches, and for real pampering visitors tend to book a lodge in the countryside.