Dublin or Galway?

For warm-water beach days, neither city works. In both, the sea is a cold-water ritual, and what differs is the setting. Dublin has several sandy strands spread around its bay, from Dollymount to Killiney, all reachable on the DART, and its swimming spots are rocky places such as the Forty Foot and the Vico rocks.

Galway's sea life is concentrated on the Salthill prom, a walk from the centre, with the Blackrock diving tower as its landmark and smaller stony strands below. Its finest sand is in the Connemara bays, which are more than an hour away.

The two are broadly level, and both are expensive for what you get, but their strengths differ. Dublin's better side is drink: stout in Victorian pubs, whiskey distilleries and tasting bars, and modern bistros in Dublin 2 and Dublin 8 cooking good Irish meat and fish, with a wider international range.

Galway eats closer to the shore. Galway Bay oysters, mussels and chowder lead the menu, the Saturday market by St Nicholas' is the place to graze, and the September Oyster Festival is the main event of the year. Away from seafood, the choice is thinner than in the capital.

This is the widest gap between the two cities. Dublin has proper national collections: the Long Room at Trinity, archaeology and art museums with free entry, the Chester Beatty's Asian and Islamic manuscripts, two medieval cathedrals and Kilmainham Gaol. Around them are the Georgian squares and Liffey façades. It is worth three days.

Galway's history comes in fragments, among them the Spanish Arch, Lynch's Castle and St Nicholas' Collegiate Church, which you can see in an afternoon's walk. Its appeal lies in the Latin Quarter lanes rather than in its museums.

Both cities centre their nights on the pub, but Dublin offers more variety. Old snugs around Baggot Street contrast with Camden Street and Wexford Street, which have cocktail bars and late bars for younger crowds. Even so, clubbing is limited.

Galway's nights are louder and smaller in scale. Students fill the centre even midweek, the drinking spills onto the pavements in summer, and a few small clubs take the crowd after closing. There are hardly any cocktail bars. Race week and the arts festival push it to its most crowded, and hen and stag groups are part of the weekend crowd.

Dublin's outdoors is close to hand but gentle. Deer graze in Phoenix Park, wading birds winter on Bull Island, and the DART runs out to the cliff path at Howth. The rounded Dublin and Wicklow hills rise just south of the suburbs, and the wooded valley of Glendalough is about an hour away.

Galway has the wilder country. Connemara's bog and lakes and the quartzite Twelve Bens lie about an hour west, and the bare limestone of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher are to the south. Lough Corrib, good for kayaking and boat trips, reaches almost into town.

Dublin has more to choose from, and more of it is history. Newgrange and Knowth in the Boyne Valley are older than the pyramids, and Tara and Trim Castle are nearby. Medieval Kilkenny and Belfast are both reachable by train.

Galway's outings are mostly landscape and single sites: Dún Aonghasa on Inis Mór, Kylemore Abbey, Cong and Clonmacnoise. Beyond the train lines to Ennis and Limerick, nearly all of them depend on a coach tour or a hire car.

Dublin gives children more to do, and much of it is indoors. Families can visit the zoo in Phoenix Park, Dublinia's Viking displays, the natural history museum and the hands-on children's museums, and there is a theme park in Meath.

Galway is relaxed and welcoming, but its attractions are few: the aquarium, playgrounds and the summer funfair at Salthill, plus buskers on Shop Street. A wet day there can be hard to fill.

Both centres are compact and easy to walk. Beyond the centre, Dublin is better connected: two Luas lines, the DART along the bay and a single tap-on card, although the airport depends on slow buses.

In Galway, everything from Eyre Square to the Spanish Arch takes minutes on foot. The west beyond it, including Connemara, the Burren and the Aran ferry at Rossaveal, means coaches or driving on narrow, winding roads.

Dublin has more shops and a wider range. It has Grafton Street with Brown Thomas, the Georgian arcade of the Powerscourt Townhouse, chain stores on Henry Street, and design and craft shops around Drury Street.

Galway's shopping runs along one pedestrian street from Eyre Square to Quay Street. Its strength is independent bookshops and music shops, plus the Claddagh ring, sold in the town where it began. Towards the river, the shops lean more towards souvenirs.

Both are expensive by European standards, but Galway is a little easier on the budget. Dublin's hotel rooms are among the priciest in Europe, budget options are thin, and big matches and concerts push prices higher still.

Galway's rooms are expensive all year too, because there are few of them for the number of visitors. They climb further at weekends, in summer and during the arts festival and race week. As for savings, Dublin has free national museums and a free gallery, and staying along a DART or Luas line cuts the room bill. In Galway, the walkable streets and the free entertainment in the pubs help, but coach tours and car hire for the wider region soon add up.

Dublin has the larger stage. The Abbey, the national theatre, and the Gate are joined by large houses for musicals, the National Concert Hall for the symphony orchestra, and arenas that host touring bands.

Galway is smaller but has its own character. Druid is one of Ireland's leading theatre companies, An Taibhdhearc performs in Irish, Latin Quarter sessions run almost every night, and the July arts festival brings street spectacle. It has little classical music.

Neither city has a bathing culture beyond the cold sea, so the two are about equal here. In Dublin the ritual is a dip at the Forty Foot or Seapoint followed by a seafront sauna, and calm comes from walks in Phoenix Park or around the Georgian squares.

Galway has traditional seaweed baths along the west coast within a drive, and country-house spas in Connemara. For real quiet, stay out on the Aran Islands rather than in the noisy centre.