Flåm or Gothenburg?

Neither is a beach destination, but Gothenburg at least gives you a summer swim. Its granite rocks and small coves at Askim, Saltholmen and on the car-free islands such as Styrsö and Vrångö are a tram and ferry ride away, with clear water in July and August.

In Flåm the shoreline is shingle, rock and quay, and snowmelt keeps the fjord cold all summer. Swimming there means a brief plunge from the rocks, usually straight out of the sauna.

Gothenburg is a proper eating city built on the Bohuslän catch: langoustines, oysters, shrimp sandwiches and autumn lobster, seen fresh in Feskekôrka and Stora Saluhallen. Add a serious fine-dining tier and the cardamom-bun fika of Haga, and meals become part of the reason to visit.

Flåm has a handful of hotel restaurants, cafés and a brewery pub around the harbour. Fjord salmon and the goat cheeses of Undredal are worth trying, but choice is thin, especially at night.

Gothenburg gives you a couple of good days of sightseeing: the Museum of Art on Götaplatsen, the City Museum in the old East India Company building, the Röhsska design collection, the canals laid out by Dutch engineers and the wooden houses of Haga beneath Skansen Kronan.

Flåm has only its small railway museum and the painted wooden church of 1670 up the valley. The region's real heritage, such as the Borgund stave church, means leaving the village.

Gothenburg offers a genuine night out, with mainstream clubs along Kungsportsavenyn and a looser mix of student pubs, cocktail bars and dive bars around Järntorget, Linnégatan and Andra Långgatan, busiest at weekends in term time. Flåm has a brewery pub and a couple of hotel bars, and the evening usually ends with a walk by the fjord.

Flåm is the place for dramatic landscape. Mountainsides rise almost sheer from the Aurlandsfjord, the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord narrows to a few hundred metres between cliffs, and the railway climbs to the high plateau at Myrdal. Hiking, kayaking, cycling the Rallarvegen and spotting seals and eagles are all close at hand.

Gothenburg's outdoors is coastal and gentler: bare granite islands with heather and kayaking routes, the Delsjön lakes for woodland walks and canoeing, and sailing as part of everyday life. It makes for pleasant days on the water and in the woods, but with no mountains it cannot match the sheer cliffs and waterfalls of the fjords.

Gothenburg has the wider choice, with towns as well as scenery. Marstrand's fortress island and Varberg's seaside fortress are each about an hour away, Trollhättan's locks make an easy half day, and with a car the fishing villages of Bohuslän and the Bronze Age rock carvings at Tanum come within reach.

From Flåm the outings are small and rural: Undredal, the Viking village at Gudvangen, Borgund stave church through the Lærdal tunnel and the lake town of Voss. Bergen is too far for a comfortable return trip.

Gothenburg is built for children. Liseberg sits a short walk from the centre, Universeum mixes an aquarium, science centre and indoor rainforest for wet days, and the ship museum lets children clamber through a submarine. Trams take buggies easily and restaurants expect families.

Flåm thrills children with its mountain railway, fjord boats and the Viking village at Gudvangen, but there is little else for them, and the hikes suit older children. Summer cruise crowds at the harbour can wear small ones out.

Gothenburg is the easier of the two to get around. Flåm itself takes ten minutes to cross on foot, and the railway, fjord boats and buses link it to Myrdal, Gudvangen and Voss. Services thin out after summer, though, so connections take planning, and reaching Stegastein or the stave churches is far simpler by car, on tunnelled, narrow roads.

In Gothenburg the flat centre is quick to walk, and one ticket covers Scandinavia's largest tram network, the buses, the river ferries and the boats out to the archipelago. You need a car only for the remote fishing villages up the coast.

Gothenburg offers real browsing: Nordic fashion labels along Kungsgatan, chains in Nordstan, and independent boutiques, vintage and record shops in Haga, Linnéstaden and Majorna. Flåm's shopping is limited to souvenir shops by the station selling trolls, knitwear, outdoor clothing and goat cheese to day visitors.

Neither is cheap, but Flåm is the harder on the wallet. Norwegian food and alcohol prices meet a tiny village with few rooms, and the railway and boat trips add up. Cabins, the campsite and the supermarket are the main savings, along with free hiking.

Gothenburg leaves more room to manage. The weekday set lunch, the transport ticket that includes the island ferries, and picnics on the rocks keep a stay reasonable by Scandinavian standards.

Gothenburg has a full cultural calendar. The national symphony orchestra plays in the Konserthuset on Götaplatsen, GöteborgsOperan stages opera and well-regarded contemporary dance, and indie and metal bands play the venues around Järntorget, with Way Out West filling Slottsskogen in August. Flåm has no stage at all beyond the odd musician in the pub, and Bergen is the nearest place for a concert.

Both offer the Nordic routine of sauna and cold water, so the difference lies in setting. Flåm's calm comes from its silence once the day visitors leave, with a floating sauna on the fjord and long summer evenings by the water, though midday in summer can feel crowded.

Gothenburg spreads its calm around town: sea plunges from jetties, the municipal pools and saunas of Valhallabadet, quiet parks, unhurried fika and ferry rides out to the islands.