Hamburg or Maastricht?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Hamburg at least has sand. The Elbe beaches at Oevelgoenne and Blankenese are for watching ships go by rather than swimming, and the Baltic resorts of Travemuende and Timmendorfer Strand are about an hour away when you want proper bathing.

Maastricht is deep inland, and the North Sea is a long day's journey away. Its swimming happens in old gravel-pit lakes along the Maas, which are fine for a hot afternoon and no more.

Both cities eat well, in quite different ways. Hamburg eats like a port: fish rolls on the Landungsbruecken piers, Labskaus and Finkenwerder plaice, a wide international range and a long coffee-roasting tradition.

Maastricht's range is narrower but more indulgent, with Limburg sweet-sour stew, vlaai tart, Belgian beer and local white wine, eaten on terraces on the Vrijthof. Go to Hamburg for variety and snacks on the move, and to Maastricht for long, unhurried meals.

The two are evenly matched on sights but feel very different. Hamburg's heritage is mercantile and was largely rebuilt after the war: the UNESCO-listed Speicherstadt warehouses and Chilehaus, the Elbphilharmonie and a Kunsthalle strong on Caspar David Friedrich.

Maastricht kept the medieval fabric that Hamburg lost. It has two Romanesque basilicas, stretches of city wall, the Helpoort gate, a bridge that has crossed the Maas since the 13th century and the tunnels of the Sint-Pietersberg. Hamburg has the bigger museums, and Maastricht the more intact old town.

Hamburg is by far the bigger night out. The Reeperbahn, the Schanzenviertel and clubs in bunkers and harbour venues keep going until dawn, because bars have no fixed closing time.

Maastricht's evenings are spent with Belgian beer in brown cafés and on the squares. They are lively at weekends during the university term, but there is little clubbing. Carnival is the exception, when the whole city parties in the streets around the clock.

Maastricht has the more varied countryside close by, because here the land actually rises. The marl cliffs and reserves of the Sint-Pietersberg start at the edge of the city, and the sunken lanes and short climbs of the Heuvelland lie to the east.

Hamburg is flat, and its outdoors is about water: sailing and paddling on the Alster, canoeing into the northern canals, the Elbe path to Blankenese and cycling through the orchards of the Altes Land. Pick Hamburg to be on the water and Maastricht to walk in hills.

Both make good bases, but Maastricht's border position gives it more variety. Aachen, Liège, Tongeren and Valkenburg are all within about half an hour, and Cologne, Brussels and Leuven make longer days out, so you can visit three countries and hear three languages.

Hamburg's outings are strong but more alike: the brick Gothic Hanseatic towns of Luebeck, Lueneburg, Bremen and Wismar, plus Schwerin's lakeside castle and the Baltic resorts in summer.

Hamburg is much the easier choice with children, because the big attractions are in the city itself. There is Miniatur Wunderland, Tierpark Hagenbeck and its aquarium, the old Elbe tunnel and the museum ships, and two theme parks are about an hour away.

Maastricht is safe, small and easy with a buggy, but in the city there is little beyond the Sint-Pietersberg tunnel tour. The caves, cable car and fairy-tale park are out in Valkenburg, and most of the city's own pleasures suit adults more.

Both are easy without a car, at different scales. Hamburg covers far more ground but makes it simple, with the U-Bahn, S-Bahn and harbour ferries on one ticket and the airport on the S-Bahn.

Maastricht hardly needs transport at all. Its centre is about a fifteen-minute walk on cobbles from end to end, and bikes do the rest. The weak point is the countryside, where regional buses run but a car or bike makes exploring much easier.

Hamburg has the deeper shopping, with luxury labels on Neuer Wall, covered arcades for wet days, the Alsterhaus on the water, and vintage and streetwear in the Karolinenviertel.

Maastricht is smaller but more charming to browse. It has designer boutiques in the restored old houses of the Stokstraat quarter, independent shops in Wyck and a weekly market on the Markt.

Neither is cheap, and costs come out about the same. Hamburg is expensive by German standards, with hotel prices rising during trade fairs. A day ticket and the free waterfront sights help balance it.

Maastricht runs at Dutch prices, and weekend rooms are in demand. Its walkable centre means you spend almost nothing on transport, and staying from Sunday to Thursday saves the most.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Hamburg has the Elbphilharmonie and the Laeiszhalle, a historic State Opera, an internationally known ballet and leading drama at the Schauspielhaus and the Thalia. It also has a cluster of musical theatres and the St Pauli club circuit where the Beatles started out.

Maastricht's stage life centres on the theatre on the Vrijthof, with a regional orchestra and opera company, plus church concerts and jazz cafés. The open-air summer concerts on the Vrijthof are its big draw, but next to Hamburg it is a provincial scene.

Maastricht is better placed for a restful break, because thermal water is close by. There is the spa above Valkenburg with views over the hills, Aachen's baths, and Spa itself within an hour.

Hamburg has no springs, but it shares the German sauna habit, with the art nouveau Holthusenbad and large bath complexes. A boat on the Alster or the Japanese garden in Planten un Blomen are good for a quiet few hours.