Glasgow or Cardiff?

Neither city has a beach of its own, but Cardiff gets you to the sand far more easily. Barry Island's traditional bay and funfair are about half an hour by train, Penarth's pebble shore and pier are next door, and the surf at Porthcawl and the wide Gower sands are a drive away.

Glasgow's nearest sand is in the old Clyde resorts of Largs, Troon and Ayr, about an hour away. The water there is a few degrees colder and the weather less settled. It works for a promenade walk with fish and chips, rarely for a swim.

Glasgow eats better. Its long curry-house tradition, its Italian-run cafés and chip shops, and Finnieston's cooking with west coast seafood, game and Highland beef give it more range. The small restaurants of Shawlands and Strathbungo reward anyone who picks a neighbourhood with care.

Cardiff's best eating is Welsh and homely: Welsh cakes off the griddle in the Victorian market, cawl, and laverbread with cockles. For dinner, the bistros of Pontcanna and Canton and the South Asian and Middle Eastern run along City Road are the places to go. Glasgow's pubs add a deep whisky list that Cardiff's local ales do not match.

The two are broadly level, and both are Victorian cities built on trade, but they show it differently. Cardiff's high points are single set pieces: the castle with its lavish Gothic rooms, the white stone civic centre and the National Museum's Impressionists. St Fagans, where buildings from across Wales have been rebuilt in parkland, tells the story of a whole nation.

In Glasgow the sandstone streets themselves are the sight. Add Mackintosh's buildings, the free Kelvingrove and the Burrell's medieval tapestries and Chinese ceramics, and it suits travellers drawn to art and architecture. The cathedral and the Necropolis also give Glasgow a medieval layer that Cardiff mostly lacks.

Glasgow is the better night out. The Merchant City has cocktail bars, Sauchiehall Street has late bars and student clubs, and Ashton Lane fills with locals. Above all, its basement techno and house nights bring in DJs from across Europe.

Cardiff goes out loudly at weekends, with large groups along St Mary Street and a sea of red on rugby international days. Womanby Street's small alternative bars are its most interesting corner. Clubbing is mainstream and midweek is quiet, so two nights cover it.

The two are close here, and the difference is in the landscape. From Cardiff the big day out is Bannau Brycheiniog, where Pen y Fan gives a half-day walk over open moorland ridges. Nearer to town there is the Taff Trail from Bute Park and the coast path past Penarth's cliffs, but the national park really needs a car.

Glasgow offers lochs and the start of the Highlands. Loch Lomond is about 40 minutes by train, with kayaking and climbs such as Ben Lomond. The West Highland Way begins on the city's edge, and Arran is a ferry ride away. Expect to get wetter than in Wales.

Both make excellent bases, with different kinds of outing. Cardiff's theme is castles: Caerphilly's huge fortress, Castell Coch in the woods, and Chepstow with Tintern Abbey. Bath, Bristol and the Big Pit mining landscape add English cities and industrial history.

Glasgow has Edinburgh under an hour away, plus Stirling's castle and Linlithgow Palace for Scottish royal history. The mill village of New Lanark, Culzean on its clifftop and the island ferries to Bute and Arran give it more sea and scenery in the mix.

The two are equally easy with children, and both lack a zoo, aquarium or theme park. Cardiff has the advantage of being flat. Techniquest, the farm animals at St Fagans, the rowing boats on Roath Park lake and the funfair at Barry Island are all close by and easy with a buggy.

Glasgow's free museums are its strength for families: trams and a tall ship at the Riverside, a Spitfire in Kelvingrove, and the Science Centre on the Clyde. Expect steep streets and more days indoors when it rains.

Both are easy without a car, but they work differently. Cardiff's small, flat, largely pedestrianised centre puts nearly every sight within a few minutes of Central station. Without a metro, you reach the Bay by shuttle train, bus or water taxi.

Glasgow's grid is walkable but climbs steeply to the north. Its little circular Subway is handy for the West End, and a wide suburban rail network covers the rest. Buses run by several companies with separate fares are more confusing for a visitor.

Glasgow is the place to shop. The pedestrian loop of Buchanan, Sauchiehall and Argyle Streets has the big names and department stores. Princes Square adds upmarket fashion, and Byres Road, the Merchant City and the rough-edged Barras market cover vintage clothes, boutiques and curiosities.

Cardiff's appeal lies in its glass-roofed Victorian arcades, with independent record shops, bookshops and vintage stores. Lovespoons, Welsh blankets and slate are easy to find locally. An afternoon is usually enough.

Costs are much the same in both: ordinary British prices for meals and drinks, free national or civic museums, and hotels that jump when a stadium event is on. The difference is in the extras.

Cardiff's train trips to castles and the coast are short and cheap. Glasgow's longer rail journeys to Edinburgh, Stirling or the islands add up, though its curry houses and pub lunches keep meals down.

Glasgow has much more on stage, and live music is its strongest suit. It has the neon-signed Barrowland Ballroom, small rooms where many bands played early shows, folk sessions in pubs and Celtic Connections each winter. Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and two major orchestras make the formal side just as deep.

Cardiff has a solid core in the Wales Millennium Centre with Welsh National Opera, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and student productions at the Royal Welsh College. Womanby Street's grassroots venues and the Welsh choral tradition round it out, but there is less to choose from on a given night.

Neither city is built for unwinding, and in both a spa day means a hotel or day spa. Cardiff's quiet comes from its easy pace: a slow morning in a Pontcanna café, a stroll along the Taff, or a leisure pool at a Bay hotel.

Glasgow's two Victorian swimming clubs, with Turkish baths and plunge pools, are a real curiosity, though they are mainly for members. Most visitors find their calm out by the lochs.