Cork or Kilkenny?

Neither is a beach destination, but Cork at least has sand within reach. Myrtleville and Fountainstown on the outer harbour are about half an hour's drive, and Inchydoney is further west. The Atlantic water is cold, but the local crowd who swim all year show it can be done.

From inland Kilkenny the nearest coast is an hour away at Tramore and the Copper Coast, which makes it a scenic drive rather than a beach day. In summer some locals swim in the River Nore instead.

Cork is clearly the stronger place to eat. The English Market sells West Cork farmhouse cheese, smoked fish and spiced beef, and the restaurants around it buy from the same stalls. Kinsale's seafood is half an hour away.

Kilkenny cooks honestly with county lamb and dairy. Its best meals tend to be in gastropubs or in country-house kitchens outside town, and its ale history at the old St Francis Abbey brewery is a real draw. Choice runs out quickly in both, but it runs out sooner in Kilkenny.

The two are broadly level, but they offer different things. Kilkenny is one coherent medieval town: the Medieval Mile runs from the Norman castle to St Canice's Cathedral, where you can climb the round tower, with Rothe House and the Black Abbey along the way.

Cork's sights are more scattered across a Georgian river city. Highlights are the Shandon bells you can ring yourself, the Crawford Art Gallery's Irish paintings and the prison story at the City Gaol. Each place fills a day or two.

Cork gives you the fuller night out of the two, and its week starts earlier. The student crowd has the centre busy from Thursday, and the trad music in the back rooms of the old bars off Oliver Plunkett Street is mostly locals playing for each other rather than a show put on for visitors.

Kilkenny's big nights are Friday and Saturday, when much of the crowd is out for a wedding or a birthday. That makes the town loud and cheerful rather than varied, and for the rest of the week it has little to offer late in the evening.

Cork has much more to offer outdoors, and most of it is on the water. You can sail and kayak in one of the world's largest natural harbours, walk the cliffs at Ballycotton and the Old Head of Kinsale, and head into West Cork's inlets and islands or up to Gougane Barra's mountain lake.

Kilkenny's country is gentler: the wooded Nore Valley Way, Brandon Hill and quiet back roads for cycling. For anything wilder, such as the Comeraghs' corrie lakes, you need to drive for an hour.

Cork has the better range of outings and the easier access. Cobh's Titanic and emigrant history, Fota House and the Midleton distillery are all on the suburban rail line, and Kinsale and Blarney are a short bus ride away.

Kilkenny is closer to the heritage of the southeast. The Rock of Cashel is under an hour, and Jerpoint Abbey and Kells Priory are nearer still. But apart from Waterford and Dublin, nearly every trip from Kilkenny needs a car.

Cork gives children more to do, and its best attraction is Fota Wildlife Park, where animals roam with few barriers, a short train ride away. Blackrock Castle's observatory is good for a rainy day.

Kilkenny is small and safe, with castle lawns to run on and zip lines in the forest park near Castlecomer. But it has no zoo or aquarium, and its centre is best avoided with young children on busy weekend nights.

Both centres are walkable, so the difference is scale. In Kilkenny almost everything lies along a single kilometre, and the station is a short walk away. Cork's island centre takes about twenty minutes to cross, with a steep climb to Shandon. Both need a car for the countryside, but Cork's rail line to Cobh and Midleton covers more of its outings.

Cork has more to browse. Patrick Street has the department stores, the Huguenot Quarter and the lanes off Princes Street have independent shops, and the English Market is the place to buy cheese to take home.

Kilkenny is smaller but has a stronger craft identity. The old castle stables sell regional pottery, glass and woollens, and there are makers' studios around the county. Neither suits serious fashion shopping.

Both cost what Ireland costs, so the difference is in where the money goes. In Cork, hotel rooms are dear for a city its size, but market lunches and a walkable centre help. Kilkenny's edge-of-town B&Bs are reasonable midweek, but rooms in the centre cost much more at weekends, and a hire car to see the county adds to the bill.

Both have traditional sessions in the pubs most nights, but they differ in what else they offer. Cork has a year-round programme, with touring shows at the Opera House and drama at the Victorian Everyman, and its jazz festival fills the city at the end of October.

Kilkenny relies on its calendar. In August the Arts Festival brings classical concerts to St Canice's Cathedral, and there are comedy and roots music festivals earlier in the year.

Cork moves at an easier pace than a capital, and it is quiet on weeknights. Even so, it is a working city with a student crowd out from Thursday to Saturday, and it has nothing designed around rest. The calmest place to stay is out of town on Fota Island in the harbour, and a slow walk along the riverside Marina is about as restful as the city itself gets.

Kilkenny has the slight edge, as long as you choose your base and your days carefully. Weekday mornings in the castle park or by the Nore are calm. On weekend nights, though, the centre gets loud, so staying out in the countryside rather than on the Medieval Mile means better sleep. For real quiet, come midweek.