Haarlem or Manchester?

Haarlem is much the better of the two for a day on the sand, simply because the coast is so close. Zandvoort is a short train ride away, the dune-backed beach at Bloemendaal aan Zee is an easy bike ride, and pavilions line the strand in summer.

Manchester is inland, and Formby or Blackpool take an hour or more. Neither city suits a swimming vacation, because both seas stay cold. On either coast the beach is for walking and fresh air rather than long swims.

Manchester has the wider choice. Chinatown, the curry houses of Rusholme and the food halls in old Ancoats and Northern Quarter buildings give it a range Haarlem cannot match. Its Victorian pubs and breweries under the railway arches make drinking a real highlight.

Haarlem's eating is smaller and more settled: terraces on the Grote Markt, cosy brown cafés, and herring and kibbeling at the Saturday market. Both cities share a strong craft-beer culture and only a small top tier of fine dining.

Haarlem has the richer and better-preserved heritage. The Grote Kerk of St Bavo, the Frans Hals Museum, Teylers Museum and the hidden hofjes all sit within one intact Golden Age centre, and walking its streets is a sight in itself.

Manchester's story is industrial and Victorian: the neo-Gothic Town Hall, the John Rylands Library, the Castlefield mills and the Science and Industry Museum. It rewards anyone curious about cotton, politics and railways, and most of its collections are free. What it lacks is the feeling of walking through an unbroken old town.

This is where Manchester is strongest. The Northern Quarter's old warehouses are full of cocktail bars, basement dive bars and small DJ rooms. The Gay Village on Canal Street runs late, and in autumn and winter warehouse raves bring in big-name DJs.

Evenings in Haarlem mean terrace drinks and brown cafés around the Grote Markt and Botermarkt. They are sociable but wind down early, and anyone who wants more takes the train to Amsterdam.

Both put real countryside within easy reach, but it is very different. Haarlem's is flat and gentle. The dunes, woods and small lakes of Zuid-Kennemerland start at the edge of town, with wild ponies, tame fallow deer and the spring bulb fields, all best seen by bike.

Manchester offers hills. The Peak District's gritstone edges begin on its eastern fringe, Kinder Scout and Mam Tor are under an hour away by train, and the Lake District is not much further. Expect mud and low cloud, but also the kind of upland walking the Dutch coast cannot give you.

Both make excellent bases, but Haarlem has the edge because its neighbours are so close. Amsterdam is about fifteen minutes away and Leiden about twenty, and The Hague, Delft, Utrecht and Rotterdam are all easy trips. You could fill a week without a long journey.

Manchester's outings are a little further apart. Liverpool and Chester take about an hour and York takes longer. Still, Chatsworth, Buxton and the Lake District add stately homes and hill scenery that Haarlem's list does not have.

Both suit children about equally well, in opposite ways. Haarlem's appeal is outdoors and low-stress: a small centre with few cars, family cycling, and dunes and beach to run on. For a zoo or a science museum, you go to Amsterdam.

Manchester's strengths are indoors: working engines at the Science and Industry Museum, dinosaurs at the Manchester Museum, and the aquarium and snow slope at the Trafford Centre. That suits its rainy weather, though the centre gets rowdy on weekend evenings.

Haarlem is the easier of the two. You can walk across the centre in about twenty minutes, the station sits at its edge, and separate bike paths run all the way to the dunes and the sea.

Manchester's centre is walkable too, and the Metrolink trams reach Salford Quays, Old Trafford and the airport. Crowded trams on event days, a confusing road layout and frequent rain make getting around a little more effort.

The two are close, but they suit different moods. Haarlem is for a gentle afternoon among the independent boutiques, design shops and delicatessens of Gierstraat and Kleine Houtstraat, with flowers and cheese in the square on market days.

Manchester works on a bigger scale, with department stores, designer labels on King Street and the huge Trafford Centre. Its character is in the Northern Quarter, where Afflecks, vintage clothing and record shops can fill a whole day.

Neither city is cheap, but Manchester is easier on the wallet. Free museums, cheap meals in the curry houses and Chinatown, and reasonable weeknight hotel rooms keep costs down, as long as you avoid dates with a home match or a big concert.

Haarlem is priced like the rest of the prosperous Netherlands, with few hotels for the demand and rooms that are small for the money. Market stalls and bakeries help at lunchtime, but train fares and museum tickets add up.

Manchester has one of Britain's deepest music scenes, from back rooms in the Northern Quarter to one of Europe's largest indoor arenas. The Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic play at the Bridgewater Hall, and the Royal Exchange stages theatre in the round inside the old cotton trading hall.

Haarlem is modest by comparison, with the Philharmonie, the Stadsschouwburg and a pop venue near the centre. Its speciality is the organ: regular concerts on St Bavo's great instrument and a long-established international organ festival.

Haarlem is the calmer place to unwind. Its quiet canals and courtyards and the cycle paths through the dunes make for a restful stay, and the Dutch sauna culture brings large day-spa complexes within reach.

Manchester has hotel spas and a few day spas, and its weekends are loud. For a real rest, visitors take the train to the Peak District or the old spa town of Buxton.