Galway or Liverpool?

Neither is a place to come for a swim, but Galway at least has a swimming culture right in town. Salthill's promenade starts a short walk from the centre, the Blackrock diving tower draws hardy regulars all year, and Silver Strand offers a sheltered cove.

Liverpool's shore is broader and more striking, with Gormley's iron figures at Crosby and the pine-backed dunes at Formby, but it is a train ride out. There the tide retreats a long way and soft mud and currents make swimming unwise, so it is a beach for walks and sunsets.

The two eat about as well as each other, in different ways. Galway's strength is its produce: Galway Bay oysters, mussels and chowder, Connemara lamb and Burren cheese, best found at the Saturday market by St Nicholas', plus a small, ambitious fine-dining tier, though the range is narrow and prices are high.

Liverpool has less fine dining but more variety. Beyond scouse with pickled red cabbage, there is a long-standing Chinatown, small international kitchens along Bold Street and the street-food halls of the Baltic Triangle, all of it easier on the pocket.

Liverpool has much more to see. The Three Graces at the Pier Head, the Grade I listed warehouses of the Royal Albert Dock with the Maritime and International Slavery museums, the Walker Art Gallery and the two 20th-century cathedrals on Hope Street easily fill two or three days.

Galway's heritage takes an afternoon on foot: the Spanish Arch, Lynch's Castle on Shop Street, St Nicholas' Collegiate Church and the City Museum. Its charm lies in the lanes of the Latin Quarter and the walk past the Claddagh rather than in major collections.

Liverpool goes later and offers more choice. Concert Square and Seel Street fill with bars and clubs at weekends, the Baltic Triangle's warehouses run late electronic nights, and many evenings end well after 2am.

Galway is a pub town first and last, and a very good one: snugs, open fires and student crowds keep the centre loud even midweek. Clubs are few and most nights finish by the early hours, though race week at Ballybrit turns the town raucous for days. Stag and hen groups are part of the weekend in both.

Galway is far stronger here. Connemara's bogs, lakes and the Twelve Bens lie about an hour west, the bare limestone of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher are across the bay, and Lough Corrib runs north from the city itself for kayaking and fishing.

Liverpool is flat, and its outdoors is gentler: Sefton Park and its palm house, the Mersey promenade, red squirrels in Formby's pinewoods and the Wirral Way out to the Dee estuary. Real mountains are around two hours away in North Wales or the Lake District.

Liverpool has the easier and broader list, much of it by train. Chester's Roman walls and Rows are about 45 minutes away and Manchester under an hour, with Port Sunlight and Southport closer still and Conwy's castle a longer day by car.

Galway's outings are more dramatic but scattered: Dún Aonghasa on Inis Mór, Kylemore Abbey, Cong and Clonmacnoise. They are mostly single sites and villages reached by ferry, coach tour or hired car, with only Ennis and Limerick on the railway.

Liverpool is the easier city with children. The free World Museum has dinosaurs, an aquarium room and a planetarium, the Museum of Liverpool has a play gallery, the Mersey ferry is a simple treat, and Chester Zoo and Knowsley Safari Park are close by.

Galway is safe and welcoming but has little made for children beyond Salthill's aquarium, playgrounds and summer funfair, and the buskers on Shop Street. Wet days are the real problem there, with few indoor options to fall back on.

Both have centres made for walking, but Liverpool connects better beyond them. Its docks, Ropewalks and cathedrals lie within about 2km of one another, and Merseyrail runs often to Crosby, Formby, Southport and the Wirral, though Sefton Park and Anfield need a bus or taxi.

Galway's pedestrian spine from Eyre Square to the Spanish Arch takes only minutes, and the prom to Salthill is a pleasant half-hour walk. The difficulty is the west: Connemara, the Burren and the Aran ferry mean coaches, tours or driving on narrow, winding roads.

Along its single pedestrian street from Eyre Square to Quay Street, Galway offers the craft tradition Liverpool lacks. Claddagh rings are made in the city where they began, Aran knitwear hangs in shop after shop, and the bookshops, music shops and Saturday market stalls reward a slow browse. Beyond that there is one shopping centre for the chains, and much of Quay Street leans towards souvenirs.

For a proper day of shopping, though, Liverpool goes much further. Liverpool ONE spreads the major British chains and department stores across open-air streets towards the docks, Bold Street adds vintage clothes, records and independent boutiques, and the Baltic Triangle has small makers' studios. Its souvenirs run to Beatles memorabilia and football shirts.

Liverpool is clearly the cheaper stay. Its hotels cost noticeably less than Britain's most visited cities for most of the year, and free entry to the maritime, slavery, world and Walker collections keeps sightseeing cheap, though big match weekends and the Grand National push rooms up.

Galway has too few rooms for its visitors, and they become very expensive in summer and at weekends, with the arts festival and race week booked out months ahead. The walkable streets and free pub music help, but tours and car hire for the west soon add up.

Galway's stage is narrower but deeply rooted. Traditional sessions with fiddles and bodhráns fill Latin Quarter pubs most nights, Druid, founded here in 1975, is one of Ireland's leading theatre companies, An Taibhdhearc performs in Irish, and the July arts festival takes over the town. Classical music is only occasional.

For a music lover, Liverpool offers more on every front. Live bands play most nights around Mathew Street, Seel Street and the Baltic Triangle, the Cavern's cellar draws pilgrims, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic plays a full season in its art deco hall on Hope Street, and the Everyman and Playhouse make their own theatre while the Empire takes the big touring shows.

Galway has the slight edge, because the sea gives it a real way to reset. Cold-water swims at Blackrock, windy walks on the Salthill prom and traditional seaweed baths along the west coast within a drive all help, and true quiet is close at hand in Connemara or on the Aran Islands. The centre itself gets loud on summer nights.

Liverpool has no bathing culture at all, so calm comes from slower things: Sefton Park, an unhurried crossing of the Mersey or an afternoon in the free galleries, with hotel and day spas around the docks. Weekend nights in the centre are loud, and a restful stay means moving out to the Wirral or the coast.