Dublin or Glasgow?

Neither city is a place for warm-water beach days, but Dublin has far more coast to enjoy. Sandy strands such as Dollymount, Sandymount and Killiney are on the DART line around the bay. Its year-round swimmers at the Forty Foot and Seapoint make a cold dip a real local experience you can join.

Glasgow has no beach of its own. The nearest sand is at Largs, Troon or Ayr, about an hour away by train, and these trips are more about promenades, views to Arran and fish and chips than about swimming.

Dublin's best cooking is in the modern bistros of Dublin 2 and Dublin 8, built on very good Irish produce: Atlantic shellfish, grass-fed lamb and farmhouse cheese. The drink often outshines the plates, from stout poured slowly in a Victorian pub to whiskey tastings, and meals cost a lot for what you get.

Glasgow's strength comes from the people who settled there: long-established curry houses and the cafés, ice cream parlours and chip shops that Italian families built up. Finnieston does modern Scottish cooking with west coast seafood, and the South Side has neighbourhood bakeries and small restaurants. The centre is full of chains, so in Glasgow it pays to choose your neighbourhood before you choose a table.

The two cities offer about the same amount of sightseeing, but from different eras. Dublin is Georgian and literary. Its sights sit close together: the Book of Kells and the Long Room, the Chester Beatty Library, two medieval cathedrals and Kilmainham Gaol, with the story of independence running through them.

Glasgow is a Victorian city of sandstone and trade. Its standouts are the huge free collections at Kelvingrove and the Burrell, along with the buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, which are found nowhere else. Its sights are more spread out, so visiting them takes more travel across the city.

Both are excellent for going out, but they mean different things by it. A Dublin night is pints and talk in old pubs with snugs and coal fires, or younger bars on Camden and Wexford Streets. Most venues close not long after the pubs, so there is very little clubbing.

Glasgow goes further. On top of its loud, friendly pubs, it has a respected underground techno and house scene in basement clubs that keep going until around 3am. It is the better choice for anyone who wants to dance as well as drink.

Glasgow has the edge for serious outdoor days because the Highlands begin so close by. Loch Lomond is about 40 minutes away, with Ben Lomond and Conic Hill to climb. The West Highland Way starts on the city's edge, and Arran's rugged hills are a ferry ride away.

Dublin's outdoors is gentler and nearer the sea: the cliff path at Howth, the coastal walk from Bray to Greystones, deer in Phoenix Park, and the rounded granite hills of Wicklow. These are lovely walks, but it is softer country than Glasgow's.

Dublin's day trips go further back in time, while Glasgow's are easier to reach by train. From Dublin you can see the passage tombs of Newgrange and Knowth, which are older than the pyramids, the Hill of Tara, and the monastic round tower at Glendalough. Most of these rural sites are much simpler with a tour or a hire car, though Kilkenny and Belfast are comfortable by rail.

From Glasgow, Edinburgh and Stirling are each under an hour by train, Linlithgow Palace is on the Edinburgh line, and New Lanark is about an hour south. Ferries add Bute and Arran, and Culzean Castle adds the Ayrshire cliffs, so you can fill a week without ever hiring a car.

Children are well looked after in both cities, so the choice depends on what your family enjoys. Dublin has a zoo inside Phoenix Park, Viking displays at Dublinia, and a theme park about half an hour away. Its compact, flat centre is easy going with a buggy.

Glasgow has no zoo or theme park in town. It makes up for this with free, hands-on museums: trams and a tall ship at the Riverside, a Spitfire at Kelvingrove, and the Science Centre. Its steep central streets and heavier rain mean planning more indoor days.

In Dublin a single tap-on card covers the trams, the DART and the buses. In Glasgow the buses are run by several companies with separate fares, which can confuse a first-time visitor. Dublin's flat centre is a pleasant walk from end to end, and the DART runs along the bay to Howth, Dalkey and Bray. There is no metro, though, so the airport and outer districts depend on buses that get stuck in traffic.

Glasgow's centre is a grid, but some streets climb steeply to the north. The Subway is a single small loop serving the West End and Govan, and the real workhorse is the suburban rail network from Central and Queen Street, which reaches the South Side, the coast and most day trips.

Glasgow is clearly the bigger place to shop. The pedestrian loop of Buchanan, Sauchiehall and Argyle Streets is far larger than anything in Dublin, Princes Square and the Argyll Arcade add Victorian arcades, and the West End and the Barras market bring vintage clothes and old-fashioned character.

Dublin's shopping centres on Grafton Street and the Powerscourt Townhouse. It is better for things to take home than for fashion: Aran knitwear, linen, tweed and whiskey, which Glasgow tends to leave to the Highlands.

Glasgow is considerably cheaper. Its hotel rooms cost less, curry houses and pub lunches keep meals reasonable, and nearly all its major museums are free, so the main extra cost is rail fares for day trips.

Dublin is one of the more expensive cities in Europe to stay in. Rooms near the centre are the biggest strain, and pub rounds add up quickly. Free national museums and staying near a tram or DART stop outside the centre help, but only partly.

Glasgow has the deeper scene, above all for live music. It has one of Britain's strongest gig circuits, from the Barrowland Ballroom to small rooms where many bands began, and Celtic Connections in winter. Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and two national orchestras are also based in the city.

Dublin's strength is theatre. The Abbey and the Gate stage Irish drama, and on most nights you can find a traditional session in a pub. Opera is the gap, since Dublin has no permanent opera house, and that is exactly where Glasgow is strong.

Neither is a city for a relaxing spa break, and both mostly rely on hotel spas. Dublin's one real ritual is outdoors: a cold sea dip at the Forty Foot or Seapoint, often followed by a seafront sauna. Glasgow's equivalent is indoors, at its Victorian swimming clubs with Turkish baths, though these are mainly for members.

For real calm, Dublin offers quiet Georgian squares and the villages along the bay, while from Glasgow people head out to the lochs.