Gothenburg or Hamburg?

Neither city is a beach destination, but in Gothenburg you can actually swim in town. There are smooth rocks and small coves at Askim and Saltholmen and on islands such as Brännö and Vrångö, all reached by tram and ferry, and the water is clean.

Hamburg's Elbe beaches at Övelgönne are for watching ships, not swimming, because the river's currents make it unsafe. For proper sea bathing you need a day trip of about an hour to the Baltic at Travemünde. In both places the water stays cool even in a good summer.

Both are port cities that live on fish, but they eat it differently. Gothenburg's strength is its fresh shellfish: langoustines, oysters and autumn lobster from Bohuslän, sold at Feskekôrka and Stora Saluhallen and served in a fine-dining scene built on the same catch. Add the cardamom buns of Haga and it has the better food of the two.

Hamburg's port food is plainer and heartier. Think a fish roll eaten on the Landungsbrücken piers, Labskaus and Franzbrötchen for breakfast. Its strength is range rather than produce, with Portuguese and Turkish cooking near the harbour and plenty of coffee roasteries.

Hamburg offers much more to see. The red-brick Speicherstadt and the Chilehaus are on the UNESCO list, the Elbphilharmonie rises above them, and the Kunsthalle has a serious collection running up to Caspar David Friedrich. The war left gaps in the old city, so sightseeing here means moving from district to district.

Gothenburg's sights are smaller and more intimate: Dutch-planned canals, the wooden houses of Haga, the Nordic paintings in the Museum of Art and the East India Company building. Two days covers them comfortably.

Hamburg is far the better place for a night out. The Reeperbahn's neon, music clubs and cabaret, the crowded pavement bars of the Schanzenviertel and the lack of fixed closing times mean nights can end at the harbour at dawn.

Gothenburg is friendly but finishes early. Its best evenings are in the student pubs and cocktail bars around Järntorget and Andra Långgatan, the club scene is small, and on weeknights the city goes quiet.

Gothenburg has the wilder setting. Its southern archipelago of bare granite, heather and small harbours begins at the edge of the city, the rocky Bohuslän coast runs north, and the Delsjön lakes add forest walks to the east.

Hamburg's outdoors is gentler and centred on fresh water: paddleboards on the Alster, canoes in the northern canals and orchard cycling in the Altes Land. The Lüneburg Heath is about an hour away. The wooded bank at Blankenese is as close as it gets to hills.

Hamburg is the better base for day trips. Within about an hour by train you can reach Lübeck, Lüneburg, Bremen and Schwerin, a run of brick Gothic and Hanseatic towns that need no car.

From Gothenburg the outings follow the coast. Marstrand and Varberg are easy, but the fishing villages and the Tanum rock carvings are much simpler with a hire car. Capital cities are out of reach for a return trip.

Both cities work well with children, and Gothenburg is a little easier. Liseberg, Scandinavia's largest amusement park, and the Universeum rainforest are a short walk from the centre. Slottsskogen's animal park costs nothing, and buggies roll straight onto trams.

Hamburg answers with Miniatur Wunderland, Hagenbeck's moated enclosures and a walk through the old Elbe tunnel, but its big theme parks are an hour out of town.

Both are easy without a car, but they move you in different ways. Gothenburg relies on trams, with a compact flat centre and Scandinavia's largest tram network, which slows down where the lines meet in the centre.

Hamburg has a full U-Bahn and S-Bahn network, with a direct train link to the airport, and its centre is equally walkable. In both cities the same ticket covers the ferries, which reach the islands in Gothenburg and cross the harbour in Hamburg.

Hamburg is the stronger shopping city. Luxury labels line Neuer Wall, covered arcades link the streets around the Jungfernstieg on wet days, and the Alsterhaus anchors it all. The Karolinenviertel adds vintage and streetwear.

Gothenburg has no luxury tier. Its best browsing is in independent boutiques, record shops and second-hand stores in Haga, Majorna and Linnéstaden, and it is a good place to buy Scandinavian design and knitwear.

Both are expensive, and the gap between them is small. Where you spend differs. In Gothenburg, drinks in bars are what hurt most. Weekday set lunches and the transport ticket, which includes the island ferries, are the usual ways to save.

In Hamburg, hotels cost the most, especially during trade fairs and on summer weekends. Fish rolls, bakeries and free sights such as the Elbphilharmonie plaza help balance that.

Here Hamburg is well ahead. The Elbphilharmonie's main hall is world famous, and the State Opera, the Hamburg Ballet and the Thalia Theater are leading companies. St Pauli's small rock clubs, where the Beatles started out, host the Reeperbahn Festival every autumn.

Gothenburg has a solid programme on a smaller scale. The national orchestra plays at Konserthuset, the harbour-side opera house has a well-regarded dance company, and Way Out West brings big acts to Slottsskogen in August.

Neither has thermal springs, and both rely on the sauna. In Gothenburg that means a sauna followed by a plunge from a bathing jetty into the sea, even in winter.

Hamburg's version is indoors, in large sauna landscapes and the art nouveau Holthusenbad. For calm, Gothenburg offers a ferry to the islands, and Hamburg a boat on the Alster or the Japanese garden in Planten un Blomen.