Glasgow or St Andrews?

Neither is a place for swimming, but St Andrews has much better sand, and it is right in town. West Sands runs long and wide below the dunes and links, East Sands is sheltered for families, and Castle Sands sits under the cliffs, all within walking distance of the cathedral.

From Glasgow, the coast means an hour on the train to Largs, Troon or Ayr. There the appeal is a stroll along the promenade with views to Arran rather than a day on the beach. In both places the water stays cold even in summer, so a sea dip is only for the hardy.

Glasgow has far more range. Its South Asian curry houses, cafés and chip shops with Italian roots, the Finnieston strip of modern Scottish cooking and the small South Side restaurants give you a different neighbourhood for each night, with a long whisky list in the pub afterwards.

St Andrews eats pleasantly but simply. There are cafés, bakeries, a few good restaurants cooking East Neuk crab, lobster and Fife lamb, and the golf hotels' dining rooms. Its high points are the ice cream queues on summer evenings and fish and chips by the harbour in the nearby villages.

Glasgow has more to see and more days to fill. Kelvingrove and the Burrell Collection are major free museums, the Mackintosh buildings give the city a signature of its own, and the cathedral and Necropolis add a medieval layer beneath the Victorian sandstone streets. Plan on two or three days.

St Andrews is smaller but packed close together: the ruined cathedral and St Rule's Tower, the castle's bottle dungeon and siege tunnels, the university quadrangles and the golf heritage around the Old Course. It makes a charming walk through history that a day or two covers.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Glasgow has loud, friendly pubs, polished bars in the Merchant City, late bars around Sauchiehall Street and a respected underground techno and house scene, and nights run hard until the clubs close around 3am.

St Andrews has traditional pubs, golfers' lounges and a few student haunts that only fill up during term. Outside term the town goes quiet early, and anyone wanting a real night out heads to Dundee or Edinburgh.

Glasgow has the bigger landscapes close by. Loch Lomond is under an hour away, with Ben Lomond and Conic Hill above it. The West Highland Way starts in Milngavie on the edge of the city, and Arran's mountains are a ferry ride from the Clyde coast.

St Andrews offers gentler coastal country. The Fife Coastal Path runs past sea stacks and caves, wading birds gather on the Eden estuary and seals haul out by Tentsmuir Forest. It is good for cliff walks, cycling and golf, but for proper hills you need to drive to the Lomond Hills or Perthshire.

Both make good bases, but they face different parts of Scotland. Glasgow's strength is its railway: Edinburgh, Stirling and Linlithgow are each under an hour by train, New Lanark is a short trip south, and ferries from the Clyde coast reach Bute and Arran.

St Andrews is best for eastern Scotland close at hand. The East Neuk harbour villages are half an hour or less away, and Falkland Palace and Dundee's V&A and Discovery are near too. Edinburgh makes a fuller day via Leuchars, and Glamis, Scone and Culross really need a car.

Glasgow gives children more to do, mostly free and mostly indoors, which matters in the rain. There are the trams and tall ship at the Riverside Museum, the Spitfire in Kelvingrove and the Science Centre on the Clyde, plus big parks such as Pollok with its Highland cattle. The steep central streets are hard work with a buggy.

St Andrews is the gentler choice. It is safe and small enough for older children to roam, with sandcastles on East Sands, a small aquarium, the castle tunnels and Craigtoun Park's miniature railway. There is less to fill several days, so it suits a short, calm stay.

Both are easy to get around, but in different ways. Glasgow has a walkable grid centre, a small circular Subway and a large suburban rail network, though bus fares split between several companies can confuse a visitor.

In St Andrews you need no transport at all in town, since the beaches, links, castle and university are a short walk apart. The town has no station, though. Trains leave from Leuchars, about 8km away, and the countryside is far easier by car.

Glasgow is a real shopping city. It has the pedestrian loop of Buchanan, Sauchiehall and Argyle Streets, the Victorian arcades of Princes Square and the Argyll Arcade, vintage and independent shops in the West End and the weekend Barras market in the East End.

St Andrews is an afternoon's browse along its three main streets. It is strongest in golf gear and Old Course souvenirs, with knitwear, cashmere, tartan and bookshops as well. For anything more, people go to Edinburgh.

Glasgow is easier on the wallet. Rooms cost less than in Edinburgh, curry houses and pub lunches keep meals reasonable, and the big civic museums are free. The main extra cost is train fares for day trips.

St Andrews costs more to stay in. Rooms are limited, aimed at golfers and university families, and rise sharply around tournaments and graduation. Walking and buses keep other costs down, but a round on the famous courses is a serious expense, and staying in the East Neuk villages can save money.

Glasgow is far ahead here. Its gig circuit runs from the Barrowland Ballroom through small, famous rooms to the arenas by the river, and Celtic Connections fills the city each winter. Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet and two major orchestras are all based in the city.

St Andrews has the Byre Theatre, choral and chamber concerts in the university's chapel and halls, and the occasional folk session in a pub, most of it during term. For opera or an orchestra, visitors travel to Edinburgh or Dundee.

St Andrews is the better place to slow down, though neither is a spa destination. The unhurried pace, walks on West Sands, quiet evenings and full spas at the golf resorts, open to non-residents, make for a restful few days. The sea dip off East Sands is there for the brave.

Glasgow is loud and energetic by nature. Its Victorian swimming clubs in the West End, with Turkish baths, are mainly for members, so relaxing there usually means a hotel spa or a trip out to the lochs.