Hamburg or Berlin?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Berlin offers far more swimming. Wannsee's long sandy lido, the Müggelsee and the forest lakes such as Schlachtensee are a short S-Bahn ride away, and they reach about 20-23°C in July and August.

Hamburg's Elbe sands at Oevelgönne are for watching container ships rather than swimming, because the currents and ship wash make the river unsafe. Its advantage is the sea. The Baltic at Travemünde is about an hour away, while Berlin's is three, though the water there is cooler.

Berlin's strength is range. Decades of Turkish migration fill Kreuzberg and Neukölln with grill houses and bakeries, Vietnamese and Korean cooking are everywhere, and market halls host street-food evenings. It is casual, cheap and good.

Hamburg eats like the port it is. Its specialities are herring and shrimp rolls on the Landungsbrücken piers, Labskaus, eel soup and the cinnamon Franzbrötchen for breakfast. It is more distinctive but narrower, and meals cost more.

Berlin is in another league for sightseeing. Museum Island alone holds the Pergamon collections and the bust of Nefertiti, the Gemäldegalerie ranks among Europe's great picture galleries, and the Wall Memorial, the Topography of Terror and the Holocaust memorial tell twentieth-century history at the places where it happened.

Hamburg's appeal is its merchant waterfront. The Speicherstadt warehouses and the ship-shaped Chilehaus form a UNESCO site, and the Kunsthalle's Caspar David Friedrich paintings are worth a morning. It makes for a rewarding day or two of districts and harbour walks, rather than a week of museums.

Berlin is where people fly in for the clubs. Techno runs in former power stations and warehouses from Saturday night into Monday, behind strict doors, and Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg add endless Kneipen and canal-side drinking.

Hamburg's night out is louder, rougher and more bar-led. The neon Reeperbahn draws stag parties and locals alike, the Schanzenviertel's pavement bars are packed, and evenings often end at dawn at the harbour. It is great fun, but the clubbing is not on Berlin's scale.

Both are flat, green cities where the outdoors means water and parks, and there is little to choose between them. Berlin's version is woodland and open space: the Grunewald forest, the Havel lakes and the old Tempelhof runways for cycling and skating. The Wall Trail loops round the former West Berlin for a day or two on a bike.

Hamburg puts you on the water. You can sail and paddle on the Alster, canoe through the northern canals and climb Blankenese's steep lanes above the Elbe. The Altes Land orchards flower white in spring, and the heather of Lüneburg Heath is about an hour south.

Both make good bases, but the themes differ. From Berlin, the trips are about palaces and ideas: Sanssouci in Potsdam, Wittenberg's Reformation sites, the Bauhaus in Dessau and a long day to baroque Dresden.

From Hamburg, the trips are about brick Gothic Hanseatic towns. Lübeck and its Holstentor are under an hour away, crooked Lüneburg is closer still, and Bremen, Schwerin's lakeside castle and Wismar follow. The Baltic resorts make an easy summer extra.

Children are well looked after in either city. The difference is the kind of day out. Berlin's days with children centre on animals and big museums: the Zoologischer Garten and its aquarium, the leafy Tierpark in the east, the towering dinosaur at the Natural History Museum and the trains and planes of the Museum of Technology. There is no big theme park, and some of the memorials are heavy going for young ones.

Hamburg's draws are more playful. Miniatur Wunderland has model airports and harbours, Hagenbeck has its bar-free enclosures and the old Elbe tunnel takes you on foot under the river. The Heide Park and Hansa-Park theme parks are each about an hour away. It rains more, so keep an indoor plan for every day.

Berlin is a city you cross by train every day. Hamburg is smaller, and there the trains matter most for getting out of town. Neither needs a car. Mitte, Kreuzberg, Prenzlauer Berg and Charlottenburg are separate centres, so the S-Bahn Ring, the U-Bahn and the trams of the former East become part of every outing, all on one ticket. Trains run through the night at weekends, and the wide, flat streets and bike lanes make cycling an easy way to link districts.

Hamburg's strength is its links outwards. The airport is on the S-Bahn, and the main station is the rail hub for northern Germany, so arriving and setting off on day trips is simple. Cycling is flat here too, but frequent rain and wind make it less dependable than in Berlin.

The two are broadly level but cater to different tastes. Berlin is for rummaging: Sunday flea markets at Mauerpark and Boxhagener Platz for vinyl and East German curios, and vintage and record shops in Kreuzberg and Prenzlauer Berg. KaDeWe's food hall is a sight in itself.

Hamburg shops like a wealthy merchant city. It has luxury labels on Neuer Wall, covered arcades for wet days and the Alsterhaus by the water. Tea, coffee and maritime goods make better things to take home than anything Berlin offers.

Berlin goes noticeably further for the money. Hotels are cheaper than in most big capitals, and döner stands, Vietnamese canteens and corner Kneipen make daily eating easy.

Hamburg is one of Germany's dearer cities, with higher room rates and HafenCity restaurants priced for local wealth. The savings come from free sights such as the Elbphilharmonie plaza and the Speicherstadt, and from harbour ferries on the day ticket.

Berlin has the deeper programme. It has three opera houses, the Berlin Philharmonic in Scharoun's Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus and famous theatres such as the Berliner Ensemble. Add the jazz cellars and experimental venues, and you will find something on every night.

Hamburg is still a serious music city. A concert at the Elbphilharmonie is a highlight of any trip, the Hamburg Ballet has an international name, and the large musical theatres include some reached by boat. The Beatles' old Reeperbahn still feeds a lively circuit of small rock clubs.

Berlin is the better place to unwind. Its large sauna complexes offer the full German ritual of infusions and quiet rooms, the columned Stadtbad Neukölln is a memorable place to swim, and Brandenburg's thermal resorts are about an hour away.

Hamburg offers the art nouveau Holthusenbad and hotel spas. Its calm comes more from the outdoors: a boat ride on the Alster or the Japanese garden in Planten un Blomen.