Halifax or Portland, Maine?

Neither city is a beach destination, and in both the Atlantic stays bracing even in August. The difference is in how you use the shore. Portland's sand is closer, with Crescent Beach and Higgins Beach a short drive away and Old Orchard Beach offering a classic resort with a pier and arcades.

Halifax's beaches are a longer drive and wilder: Crystal Crescent's pale sand among granite, the long sweep of Martinique Beach and surf at Lawrencetown. Its real advantage for swimmers is the supervised lakes inside the city, such as Chocolate Lake and Lake Banook, which warm up far more than the sea.

Portland is the better place to eat, and for many visitors meals are the trip. Oysters from the Damariscotta River, steamers at harbour shacks, farm-to-table cooking, potato-flour doughnuts and a brewery quarter in East Bayside give it a depth that is unusual for a city of its size.

Halifax eats well on seafood too, with Digby scallops, lobster and fried haddock on the waterfront, plus the donair as a late-night local speciality. The Saturday Seaport Farmers' Market and Annapolis Valley ciders are good extras. Beyond that its restaurants thin out quickly, and serious dining is limited.

Halifax has more to see and a clearer story to tell. The star-shaped Citadel, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, the Immigration Museum at Pier 21 and the Titanic graves at Fairview Lawn all draw on its role as a naval port and arrival point for newcomers to Canada.

Portland's appeal lies more in its streetscape. The Old Port's brick warehouses, rebuilt after the fire of 1866, are the main sight, with the Winslow Homer collection at the Portland Museum of Art, Victoria Mansion and Portland Head Light alongside. It is pleasing but slighter, and fills a day where Halifax fills two.

Both are bar towns with no club scene, but Halifax keeps going longer. Students from several universities fill the pubs and patios around Argyle and Grafton Streets on weekends, and Gottingen Street adds smaller cocktail bars.

Portland's evenings centre on the Old Port bars along Fore and Wharf Streets and early-evening taprooms, and they wind down at 1am last orders. It suits good drinks after dinner. Halifax is the place for a longer night out.

The outdoors is equally good in both, and in both it is shaped by the sea. Halifax's landscape is rawer: granite barrens at Peggy's Cove and Polly's Cove, the Blue Mountain-Birch Cove lakes on the city edge, old forts on McNabs Island, and Kejimkujik National Park inland.

Portland's version is gentler and more on the water. Island ferries to Peaks and Chebeague, schooner sails and whale-watching cruises leave from the harbour. It also has the advantage of real mountains, with the White Mountains about two hours away, whereas Halifax has no hills to speak of.

Halifax has the stronger day trips. Lunenburg's UNESCO-listed painted waterfront, Mahone Bay's three churches, the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove and the Acadian landscape of Grand Pré offer a mix of history and scenery that Portland's coast cannot quite match.

Portland's options form a chain of pleasant harbour towns: Kennebunkport, the Marginal Way at Ogunquit, colonial Portsmouth, shipbuilding Bath and the windjammers at Camden. They are charming rather than memorable. In both cases a car makes almost everything possible.

Both are small, relaxed places to bring children, and neither has a zoo, a notable aquarium or a theme park nearby. What differs is the age they suit best. Halifax works well for older children, with kilted soldiers firing the noon gun, the Titanic displays and the hands-on Discovery Centre.

Portland is better for younger ones. It has the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine, tide pools at Fort Williams Park and the amusement pier at Old Orchard Beach. In either city, a ferry ride is one of the easiest treats.

The cities work in much the same way: a walkable, steep core by the harbour, slow buses beyond it and a hired car for the coast. Halifax's distinctive asset is the Dartmouth ferry, the oldest saltwater passenger service in North America, but the city has no rail link worth using.

Portland's ferries go further, out to the Casco Bay islands, and a train to Boston leaves from the edge of town. This makes it easy to arrive without a car or to combine Portland with a city stay.

Both offer small-scale, independent shopping with no luxury labels. The difference is Freeport. Portland's Old Port boutiques are backed by a whole town of outlets around the L.L.Bean flagship twenty minutes away, which is a real draw for outdoor gear.

Halifax is more about crafts. You can find Nova Scotian pewter, pottery, tartan and maple at the market and in galleries, plus independent shops in the rebuilt Edwardian Hydrostone.

Neither is cheap, but Portland is the more expensive. Its peninsula hotels charge big-city rates in July, August and on foliage weekends, and its restaurant culture tempts you into costly meals.

Halifax is somewhat easier on the wallet, although summer rooms are still dear and tax and tipping add up. In both, travelling outside peak season brings the biggest savings, and in both a hire car takes a large share of the budget.

Halifax has the richer music scene, and it is mostly informal. Fiddle, Celtic and East Coast songs play in downtown pubs most nights, alongside a strong local songwriting scene, Symphony Nova Scotia, Neptune Theatre and a long-running summer jazz festival.

Portland offers a steady but more formal calendar: the Portland Symphony at Merrill Auditorium, professional theatre at Portland Stage and touring bands at the State Theatre. It makes for a good evening out, but you will hear less live music by chance.

Neither city is a spa destination. Both offer mainly hotel and day spas, and their real comfort lies in a slow pace by the water. In Halifax that means the Victorian Public Gardens and a cold lake swim on a summer afternoon. Portland offers a ferry out to a quiet Casco Bay island, a dusk walk on the Eastern Promenade and the occasional waterfront sauna.