Dublin or Edinburgh?

Neither city is a beach destination, and the water is cold in both. What differs is the kind of coast. Dublin's sandy strands at Dollymount, Portmarnock and Killiney sit along the DART line, and its swimming culture centres on rocky spots like the Forty Foot and the Vico rocks.

Edinburgh has one proper town beach, the Victorian promenade at Portobello. The wide, grand beaches of East Lothian, at Gullane and Yellowcraig, are half an hour or more away.

The two cities eat at much the same level: good local produce, cooked best in modern dining rooms, and expensive for what you get. Dublin's strength is in the glass, a pint of stout in an old pub and its own whiskey distilleries. The best cooking clusters around Dublin 2 and Dublin 8.

Edinburgh's larder has more character: west coast scallops and langoustines, venison and grouse in autumn. Its ambitious kitchens are in Leith and Stockbridge. The drink to try here is single malt, in bars that will guide you through hundreds of them.

Edinburgh is the more striking city to look at. The castle, the Royal Mile's closes, Holyroodhouse and the crescents of the New Town make the townscape itself the main sight. Calton Hill gives you a view over all of it, and the National Museum of Scotland adds depth.

Dublin rewards you through its collections and its stories more than its skyline. The Book of Kells, the Chester Beatty Library and Kilmainham Gaol are the highlights, set among Georgian squares, with a literary thread running from Joyce to Wilde. It fills three good days, but it has no grand monument like the castle on its rock.

Both cities go out to the pub, but Dublin does it with more energy for more of the year. Its old bars around Baggot Street are made for long conversations, and Camden, Wexford and George's Streets keep younger crowds out late at weekends.

Edinburgh's Victorian bars on Rose Street and the dens of the Grassmarket are good-natured but tend to empty early, and the Cowgate is its only real late strip. August is the exception, when the festivals keep the centre up into the small hours. Neither city suits a clubbing weekend.

Both have plenty of green close at hand, but in different forms. Edinburgh has a volcanic hill, Arthur's Seat, rising beside the Royal Mile, with the Pentland ridges at the edge of town and the Highlands within about two hours.

Dublin's outdoors is gentler and more coastal: deer in Phoenix Park, the cliff path at Howth, and the rounded Wicklow hills around Glendalough. Rain and soft light come with both.

Both are excellent bases for day trips. The difference is in what you see and how you get there. From Dublin, the great outing is into deep prehistory, to Newgrange and Knowth in the Boyne Valley, along with Glendalough's monastic ruins. Many rural sites are much easier with a tour or a hire car.

From Edinburgh, most trips run by train from Waverley: Glasgow in under an hour, Stirling Castle, Linlithgow Palace and St Andrews. That makes a car optional for most outings.

Edinburgh has a slight edge with children, thanks to a castle with cannons, Dynamic Earth and the Camera Obscura near the top of the Royal Mile. The trade-off is steep steps and cobbles with a buggy.

Dublin is flatter and easier to move around in. It has a zoo inside Phoenix Park, the Viking displays at Dublinia, and a theme park about half an hour away, which Edinburgh lacks. Children are also welcome in the pubs over a daytime meal.

Edinburgh is the easier city to get around. Its sights lie within about 2km of each other, a tram runs from the airport through Princes Street, and the main station sits right in the centre. The hills and stairways take some legwork, but distances are short.

Dublin's centre is flat and walkable, and the DART makes the coast simple. Beyond those lines, though, there is no metro, so the airport and much of the city depend on buses that crawl in rush-hour traffic.

Neither city is worth visiting for the shopping alone, and they are about level, with different strengths. Dublin centres on Grafton Street, the Brown Thomas department store and the Georgian arcade of Powerscourt Townhouse. The things to take home are Aran knitwear, linen and crystal.

Edinburgh has more upmarket labels on George Street, independent shops on curving Victoria Street, and cashmere, tartan and serious single malts to bring back.

Both are expensive, but Dublin is harder on the budget. Its central hotel rooms are among the priciest in Europe year-round, and a round of drinks in town adds up quickly.

Edinburgh's rooms are also costly, and they become extreme during August and Hogmanay. Late autumn and winter bring real relief, though, and free museums, cheap buses and a free hill with the best view in town help too.

August gives Edinburgh the clear lead. The Fringe fills cellars, churches and tents from morning until after midnight, while the International Festival brings orchestras, dance and opera. Scottish Opera and Scottish Ballet also perform at the Festival Theatre during the rest of the year.

Dublin's strength is spread more evenly through the year. It has serious theatre at the Abbey and the Gate and fiddle-and-bodhrán sessions in pubs most nights. Without a permanent opera house, however, its range is narrower.

Neither city is a spa destination, but Edinburgh offers more to soak in. The Victorian Turkish baths at Portobello still keep their hot rooms and old tiles, and the Royal Commonwealth Pool is a fine place to swim. Dublin's one real ritual is the cold dip at the Forty Foot or Seapoint, followed by a seafront sauna, and otherwise calm means a long walk in Phoenix Park.