Gold Coast or Sydney?

Both are first-rate beach destinations, and the difference is one of shape. The Gold Coast has one long, almost continuous line of golden sand from Main Beach to Coolangatta, with the sheltered point beaches at Rainbow Bay and Kirra and the calm Broadwater for gentle swims. Its sea is a few degrees warmer, so swimming carries on all year.

Sydney's beaches are separate bays between sandstone headlands, from Bondi and Bronte to Manly and the Northern Beaches. It also has something the Gold Coast lacks: quiet harbour coves such as Camp Cove and Nielsen Park, with flat water and fig-tree shade. Its water is cooler, and the most famous sands get crowded on hot weekends.

Sydney is the place to eat well. The Pyrmont fish market and harbour oysters give it a seafood signature. Train rides out to Cabramatta, Lakemba or Harris Park bring Vietnamese, Lebanese and Indian cooking of real quality, and Surry Hills and Potts Point have serious chef-led kitchens.

The Gold Coast eats casually rather than memorably. The best of it is brunch and modern Australian cooking around Burleigh Heads, prawns and Moreton Bay bugs, and fish and chips on the sand. Surfers Paradise leans on chains and tourist menus.

Sydney has the sightseeing, and the Gold Coast has very little. The Opera House and Harbour Bridge are world landmarks, The Rocks keeps the colony's oldest streets, and a run of good museums fills a few days.

On the Gold Coast, the HOTA gallery and the view from SkyPoint are the main things to see. Visitors who want history or museums take the train to Brisbane.

The two are close, but the nights are quite different. The Gold Coast's going-out scene is concentrated on Cavill and Orchid Avenues in Surfers Paradise: big clubs, cheap drinks and young crowds until the small hours. Broadbeach and Burleigh offer calmer wine bars and taprooms.

Sydney is a bar city rather than a club city. It has hidden cocktail bars in CBD laneways, old pubs in The Rocks, Oxford Street's LGBTQ scene and later, more alternative nights in Newtown and Enmore. It suits a varied evening better than a big one.

Both have superb landscapes on the doorstep, but of different kinds. The Gold Coast's draw is the World Heritage rainforest of Springbrook and Lamington, with waterfalls, glow-worms and ancient trees, together with the point breaks at Snapper Rocks and Kirra that surfers travel the world for.

Sydney's nature is woven into the city itself. There are clifftop walks from Bondi to Coogee, bush-covered headlands in the harbour national park, and the wild coast of the Royal National Park to the south. The Blue Mountains add eucalyptus valleys a longer drive west. Whales pass both coasts in winter and spring.

Neither city is surrounded by towns worth a day, so the choice is even. From the Gold Coast, Brisbane is an easy train ride with galleries and South Bank, and Byron Bay lies across the state border.

Sydney's outings lean towards wine and colonial history. There are cellar doors in the Hunter Valley, old guesthouses in Katoomba and Leura, and early buildings in Parramatta and Berrima. Both lists need a car for most trips.

The Gold Coast is built for children in a way Sydney is not. Its theme parks, water parks and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary can fill a week, and resorts with pools and self-catering apartments are everywhere.

Sydney is a good family city too, but its outings are scattered. They include a ferry to Taronga Zoo, the aquarium and ships at Darling Harbour, dinosaurs at the Australian Museum and the old rides of Luna Park. There is no theme-park resort to build a trip around.

Sydney is much easier to get around without a car. Trains, metro, light rail, buses and ferries all take one card, and the harbour ferries to Manly and Watsons Bay are pleasant trips in their own right.

The Gold Coast's G:link light rail covers the strip from Southport to Broadbeach well. Beyond that you rely on buses, and the hinterland rainforest and Byron Bay really need a hire car.

Sydney offers proper city shopping. There are international flagships around Pitt Street Mall, Australian designers in the Victorian galleries of the Queen Victoria Building and the Strand Arcade, and local fashion along Paddington's Oxford Street.

Gold Coast shopping is malls and markets. Pacific Fair and the Harbour Town outlets cover the chains, the beachfront night markets and Carrara add stalls, and surfwear is the one thing worth seeking out.

Neither is cheap, but the Gold Coast is the gentler of the two. Its many vacation apartments keep rooms more reasonable outside school breaks, and cooking for yourself saves a lot, though theme-park tickets and meals out still add up.

Sydney's harbour and beach hotels are costly, and so is dining. Its free coastal walks, beaches and main galleries, together with cheap meals in the Asian food courts, are what keep a stay manageable.

Sydney has a real performing arts scene. At the Opera House, Opera Australia and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra perform almost nightly. Add Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Bangarra's Aboriginal dance and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and the calendar has genuine depth.

On the Gold Coast, the HOTA stages host touring shows, and live music happens mostly in pubs and surf clubs. Locals who want opera or serious theatre drive to Brisbane.

Sydney has the edge, thanks to a bathing ritual of its own. Its ocean pools are cut into the rock from Bondi to Coogee, and Wylie's Baths and McIver's Ladies Baths keep an unhurried, old-fashioned calm. A few Korean-style bathhouses add steam.

The Gold Coast relies on resort day spas and the health retreats of Tamborine Mountain and Currumbin Valley. For a restful stay, base yourself in the slower southern suburbs around Burleigh and Coolangatta, not noisy Surfers Paradise.