Doha or Dubai?

Dubai is the real beach destination of the two. It has a long continuous strip of pale sand at Jumeirah, Kite Beach and JBR, and resort beaches on Palm Jumeirah that are often the whole point of the stay. The swimming is easy, and night swimming areas on some public beaches stretch the season into summer.

In Doha the beach is more of a pleasant break between other plans. The best sand is at hotels in West Bay and on The Pearl, with quieter public shores at Al Wakrah and Simaisma. Its one wilder option is Sealine, about an hour south, where the dunes meet the water.

Both cities eat mainly the food of their South Asian and Arab residents, and in both cities wine and beer are poured only in hotels. The difference is depth. Dubai has whole neighbourhoods of cheap canteens in Deira, Karama and Al Satwa, from Keralan fish curry to Afghan bread and Filipino breakfasts. At the top end it has celebrity-chef rooms and the long Friday brunch.

Doha's range is narrower but still good, with Kerala grills, Lebanese and Iranian kitchens and Gulf seafood. Qatari machboos and harees are easier to find there than Emirati food is in Dubai, served late on the terraces around Souq Waqif.

Doha comes out ahead on museums. I. M. Pei's Museum of Islamic Art holds one of the world's great collections, and Jean Nouvel's National Museum of Qatar tells the peninsula's story with real ambition. Mathaf adds modern Arab art.

Dubai's sights are mostly spectacle: the Burj Khalifa, the Museum of the Future and the towers at dusk. Its old Creek quarter of Al Fahidi and Al Shindagha, with abras crossing to the Deira souks, does feel more lived-in than Doha's reconstructed Souq Waqif. Both reward two or three days, but Doha's days have more substance.

Dubai has a real night out, and Doha largely does not. In Dubai the licensed venues add up to a large scene: DJ clubs, rooftop bars above Sheikh Zayed Road, Palm beach clubs and the boozy weekend brunch, all glossy and expensive but plentiful.

Doha's drinking is confined to a handful of hotel bars and lounges in West Bay. Its evenings belong instead to families and friends lingering over shisha and tea in Souq Waqif, along the Corniche and at Katara until well after midnight.

Neither city is a place for the outdoors, but Dubai gives you more to do. The Hajar mountains around Hatta, about ninety minutes away, offer kayaking, bike trails and short hikes, and the red dunes inland are good for sandboarding and nights under the stars. Kitesurfing and paddleboarding fill the coast.

Doha sits on flat gravel desert, and its one memorable outing is the drive through the dunes to Khor Al Adaid, the Inland Sea. Mangrove kayaking at Al Thakira is the quieter alternative.

Dubai is the far better base for getting out of town. Abu Dhabi, with the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the Louvre on Saadiyat Island, makes a full day. Sharjah's heritage quarter and Museum of Islamic Civilization are right next door, and Al Ain's UNESCO-listed oases and mud-brick forts make a third strong outing.

Qatar is small, and Doha has little to send you to. The ruined pearling town of Al Zubarah and its fort are the one heritage site of note, and the waterfront souq at Al Wakrah and the abandoned village of Al Jumail don't fill a day.

Dubai is the stronger family destination, with far more built for children, but Doha has a quieter case of its own. Its attractions are smaller and closer together: indoor rides at Doha Oasis and in the malls, the hands-on galleries of the Olympic and sports museum, and play areas in Aspire Park and MIA Park. Children stay part of the evening crowd at Souq Waqif and along the Corniche long after dark, which suits families who like to eat and stroll late.

Dubai can fill a week without repeating itself. The theme-park cluster near Jebel Ali with Legoland, the water parks on Palm Jumeirah, the aquarium in the Dubai Mall and the indoor skiing and snow play at the Mall of the Emirates cover every age from toddlers to teenagers. Its beaches are just as calm and shallow as Doha's, and resort kids' clubs give parents time to themselves. The catch is the spread, because each of these outings usually means a separate taxi ride along the coast.

Getting around is much the same in both: a clean, cooled, driverless metro laid over a city built for cars, with taxis filling the gaps. Doha is more compact, and its three lines reach Souq Waqif, Msheireb, the National Museum, West Bay and Katara without long rides.

Dubai stretches some 50km along the coast, so journeys are longer. In return it has more variety, with the Marina tram and the wooden abras across the Creek, which are a pleasure in themselves.

Dubai is where shoppers should go. The Dubai Mall and the Mall of the Emirates are destinations in their own right, the watch and jewellery trade is especially deep, and the winter Shopping Festival adds sales. In Deira the old Gold, spice and perfume souks are still working markets.

Doha offers the same two forms on a smaller scale: big branded malls and the rebuilt lanes of Souq Waqif. The souq is a good place for oud, frankincense, Arabic coffee pots and falconry gear. Independent shopping is scarce in both, though Dubai at least has Alserkal Avenue.

Both are expensive Gulf cities, with costly hotels and some of the dearest drinks anywhere. Doha comes out slightly gentler overall, especially if you eat in the souq and the backstreets.

Dubai adds costs Doha lacks, since its observation decks and theme parks are a large part of a visit. It does have one real saving: hotel rates fall sharply in the hot summer months. In both cities the South Asian canteens and the metro keep daily spending low for anyone who avoids hotel dining.

Doha has the resident orchestra. The Qatar Philharmonic plays in the opera house at Katara Cultural Village, and the amphitheatre there adds concerts and festivals in the cooler months. Apart from that, Doha depends on visiting productions at the convention centre, and in summer there is little on, so a short stay can easily pass without a show.

Dubai has no company of its own, but its touring calendar is fuller and more reliable. Dubai Opera brings in ballet, opera and musicals, the arena and outdoor venues host international pop and rock tours, and hotel lounges have resident jazz and cover bands. You can plan a trip around a particular show here in a way that is harder to do in Doha.

Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own, so in both, wellness means a luxury hotel spa with hammam rooms and scrubs. Dubai has the wider choice, with whole spa floors in the Palm and Jumeirah resorts and desert retreats an hour inland for silence and starry nights.

Doha's spas in West Bay, Lusail and The Pearl are of a similar standard. Its advantage is the city itself, which is quieter and calmer by day than traffic-heavy Dubai. It also has a retreat on the north coast built around Arabic and Islamic healing practices.