Ghent or Luxembourg?

Neither is a beach destination, but Ghent at least has a sea within reach. Ostend is about an hour away by train, and the coastal tram links a string of wide, sandy resorts, even if the North Sea stays cool and often windy. In town, the Blaarmeersen lake has a sandy shore for hot days.

Luxembourg has no coast at all. Swimming there means lakes: the Upper Sûre reservoir an hour to the north and the Remerschen ponds in the Moselle valley. Both are warmer than the North Sea in high summer, but they make an afternoon out, not a beach trip.

Ghent eats better day to day. With waterzooi, beef stewed in dark beer, frites in paper cones and a long vegetarian habit, it is easy to eat well without planning. The beer cafés around the Vrijdagmarkt are a reason to linger in themselves.

Luxembourg is strongest at the two ends. It has a serious fine-dining tier aimed at well-paid professionals, and Moselle Riesling and crémant are poured by the glass everywhere. In between, casual eating is thin and the local dishes are few, so wine lovers will be happier here than beer lovers or grazers.

Ghent carries more cultural weight. The van Eyck brothers' Ghent Altarpiece in St Bavo's is one of the founding works of European painting. Around it, the Graslei quays, the Gravensteen and the line of towers seen from St Michael's Bridge form a medieval centre that is still lived in, backed by the Museum of Fine Arts, SMAK and STAM.

In Luxembourg the setting is the attraction more than the collections: the UNESCO-listed fortress, the Bock casemates and the view down from the Chemin de la Corniche to the Grund. MUDAM and the national museum are worth a visit, but nothing there draws visitors the way the altarpiece does.

Ghent is the clear winner after dark, thanks to its university. The Overpoort's student bars run late in term time, and the old cafés of the Oudburg suit a long night over strong beer. In July the Gentse Feesten takes over the centre for ten days.

Going out in Luxembourg is limited to a few pockets: the Rives de Clausen, the riverside pubs of the Grund and Hollerich. It peaks on Thursday and Friday, before many residents leave for the weekend.

Here Luxembourg pulls ahead. Wooded gorges cut through the city centre itself, and the mossy rock passages of the Müllerthal are about half an hour away. Further out, the Ardennes offer hill walking and the Moselle offers cycling past vineyards, best of all in autumn.

The land around Ghent is flat and farmed. It is pleasant for riverside rides along the Leie to Sint-Martens-Latem and for birdwatching in the Bourgoyen-Ossemeersen wetland, but there is nothing to climb and no scenery to rival Little Switzerland.

Both make good bases, but Ghent has more within a short ride. Bruges is under half an hour away, Brussels about the same and Antwerp under an hour. Mechelen, Leuven, Ypres and Lille are all close enough for a day, so a week of outings is easy to fill.

Luxembourg's advantage is variety across borders. Roman Trier and Gothic Metz are each under an hour by train, and Vianden's castle, Echternach and the Moselle wine villages fill the days nearer home. The choice covers three countries, but there are fewer great cities within reach, and they are further apart.

Both are safe, calm and easy with children, and neither will fill a long school vacation. What differs is the kind of outing. Ghent's car-free centre, the Gravensteen and canal boat trips suit small children, though cobbles make pushchairs hard work.

In Luxembourg, lifts and a funicular make buggies easier to handle, and the casemate tunnels feel like an adventure. The Parc Merveilleux at Bettembourg is a rare place built for families, and older children can scramble through the Müllerthal.

Both are easy to get around, in different ways. Ghent is flat and compact, made for walking and above all for cycling, with trams from Gent-Sint-Pieters and frequent trains to the rest of Flanders.

Luxembourg is built on several levels, so public lifts and a funicular do the climbing. Trams, buses and trains are free across the whole country, which makes it especially simple to reach Vianden or the Moselle without a car.

Ghent is the more enjoyable place to browse. There is independent fashion and design on the Serpentstraat, vintage around the Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat and weekend flea and flower markets, with cuberdons, mustard and beer to take home.

Luxembourg leans the other way. Luxury and premium brands line the Grand-Rue, malls sit on the city's edges, and Villeroy & Boch porcelain and Moselle crémant are the standout buys. It serves designer shoppers better, but Ghent has more character and more chances of a find.

Neither is cheap, but Ghent is the gentler on the wallet. Sit-down meals with beer add up, but frites stands and set lunches help. Hotel rooms are moderately priced except during the Gentse Feesten, and several churches, St Bavo's among them, are free to enter.

Luxembourg costs noticeably more. Its hotels are aimed at business travellers, and eating out costs well above the Western European norm. Free public transport, free museums and reasonably priced wine by the glass help, and some visitors stay in Trier or Metz and come in by train for the day.

Ghent has the stronger home-grown scene. NTGent's theatre is known well beyond Belgium, the opera house is home to half of the Flemish national company, and early music at De Bijloke, a medieval hospital, is a real draw. Much of the theatre is in Dutch, though.

Luxembourg's Philharmonie is a fine hall with its own orchestra and regular visits from touring soloists. The Grand Théâtre programmes work in French, German and English, which helps visitors, but most of what plays there has been brought in from elsewhere.

Luxembourg has the edge, thanks to Mondorf-les-Bains, a thermal spa about half an hour away. A warm mineral spring feeds its pools and saunas, set in a landscaped park. Quiet evenings and walks in the Pétrusse valley add to the calm.

Ghent has no bathing culture beyond a few saunas and hotel spas. Its restfulness comes instead from the beguinage gardens, walks along the Leie and the Coupure, and long afternoons on café terraces once the day-trippers have left.