Haarlem or Rotterdam?

Neither city is a beach destination. Both share the same cool, windy North Sea, which most people walk beside rather than swim in. The difference is the trip there. From Haarlem, Zandvoort is a short train ride away, or you can cycle through the dunes to quieter Bloemendaal aan Zee, so a spare afternoon at the beach is easy to fit in.

Rotterdam's beach is Hoek van Holland. It takes the best part of an hour by metro, but the huge ships passing just offshore make it a beach unlike any other.

Rotterdam has the more varied and interesting food. As a port city it has food from many places, including Surinamese, Cape Verdean, Moroccan and Indonesian kitchens, with the Markthal and the Binnenrotte market as easy places to graze. The terraces in Katendrecht look out over the water.

Haarlem's food is comfortable and well made rather than adventurous: bistros and brown cafés around the Grote Markt, and herring and kibbeling at the Saturday market. Both cities have good craft beer, and Haarlem's goes back to centuries of brewing.

The two are about equal for sightseeing, but in opposite ways. Haarlem kept its old centre. You walk among gabled houses, hidden hofjes and the vast Grote Kerk of St Bavo, then see Frans Hals portraits and the 18th-century oval room at Teylers.

Rotterdam lost its old centre in 1940 and is now a place to look at modern buildings. Highlights are the Erasmus Bridge, the Cube Houses, the mirrored Depot Boijmans and the view from the Euromast. Its older history survives mainly in Delfshaven and on the SS Rotterdam.

Rotterdam is clearly the better night out. Bars line the Witte de Withstraat and the Oude Haven, and as the city where gabber began, its warehouse techno and house nights draw people from across the country.

Haarlem's evenings are spent on café terraces around the Grote Markt and the Botermarkt. They are friendly and mostly over well before dawn, and anyone wanting a club usually takes the train to Amsterdam.

Haarlem has the better countryside close at hand. Zuid-Kennemerland National Park starts at the western edge of town, with dunes, pine and oak woods, small lakes, Highland cattle and wild ponies. Next door, the water-supply dunes are known for their tame fallow deer, and in spring the bulb fields turn the land into stripes of colour.

Rotterdam's outdoors is mostly man-made: the lake and woods of the Kralingse Bos, and bike rides along dykes. The Biesbosch, with its tidal creeks for canoeing and birdwatching, is the best outing, about forty minutes away.

Both are excellent bases for exploring by train. What differs is which places are closest. From Haarlem, Amsterdam and Leiden are only minutes away, and Alkmaar, Zaanse Schans and Keukenhof make easy trips north and south.

From Rotterdam, Delft, The Hague, Gouda, Dordrecht and the Kinderdijk windmills, reached by water bus, are the near ones. It also has Antwerp about an hour south, and Bruges or Ghent are possible on a long day.

Rotterdam gives children more to do. Diergaarde Blijdorp, with its large ocean section, is one of the best zoos in the country. The Maritime Museum has a harbour play area, and boat tours and water taxis add some excitement.

Haarlem is easy and safe for children, with a car-free centre, fossils at Teylers and dunes to run in. However, it has nothing built especially for children, so families often end up taking the train to Amsterdam's zoo.

Both are easy without a car. Haarlem is easiest on foot: the flat old centre takes about twenty minutes to cross, the station is at its edge, and bike paths run out to the dunes and the beach.

Rotterdam's postwar centre is wider and windier, with long walks between sights. Its metro, trams and river water buses do the work, and the metro even reaches the beach.

Haarlem's shopping happens in its narrow lanes. Gierstraat, Kleine Houtstraat and Schagchelstraat, south and west of the Grote Markt, are lined with small fashion boutiques, interior shops, bookshops and delicatessens, and the chains stay on the Grote Houtstraat. It suits an unhurried afternoon of browsing, with flowers and cheese on the square on market days.

Rotterdam does the high street better. The Lijnbaan, one of Europe's first pedestrian shopping streets, connects to the sunken Beurstraverse and the Bijenkorf department store, so the big brands are only a short walk apart. The Meent and Nieuwe Binnenweg add vintage, record and design shops. Neither city is the place for luxury labels.

Rotterdam is the somewhat cheaper base, mainly because of its hotels. There are plenty of rooms, many in business districts that empty at weekends, and the city is not crowded with tourists. Haarlem's few hotels fill early in tulip season and summer, and the rooms are often small for what they cost.

Eating out costs about the same in both. In each city, markets and snack counters keep lunch reasonable, such as Haarlem's bakeries or Rotterdam's Markthal stalls and Surinamese shops.

Rotterdam has the bigger music scene. The Rotterdam Philharmonic plays a full season at De Doelen, small jazz venues benefit from the conservatory, and the North Sea Jazz Festival fills a long weekend every July.

Haarlem's programme is good for a small city, with the Philharmonie and the Stadsschouwburg. Its real speciality is the organ: concerts on St Bavo's great Müller instrument and a long-running international organ festival.

Neither city has thermal baths, and both rely on the Dutch habit of large sauna complexes on their outskirts, where the sauna areas are usually textile-free. What differs is the pace. Haarlem's quiet canals and almshouse courtyards at night are relaxing in themselves.

Rotterdam is a brisk, practical port city. To unwind there, people head to the Kralingse Bos or a terrace by the water.