Hanoi or Hue?

Hanoi has no beach to speak of. The sea lies hours away around Ha Long or Sam Son, so in the city swimming means a hotel pool or a water park by West Lake.

Hue is not a beach town either, but the sand is close enough for an outing. Thuan An lies about 15km away at the river mouth, plain but easy, and Lang Co, a little over an hour south between lagoon and sea, makes a far prettier day. Swimming works from spring through summer and stops once the autumn rains roughen the water.

In both cities people eat on low stools at stalls that make one dish, but Hanoi offers more and does it better. Pho and bun cha were born here, and around them come banh cuon, cha ca fried at the table, a whole coffee culture of slow drip and egg coffee, and the early-evening bia hoi ritual. There is also a layer of upscale and French-influenced cooking when you want a change.

Hue's cooking is spicier and more delicate, shaped by the royal kitchens: bun bo Hue with its chilli and lemongrass, then a string of small rice cakes and com hen with river clams. Its Buddhist vegetarian tradition is a real plus, but beyond local dishes the choice thins out quickly.

Hue has the edge for sightseeing because its heritage hangs together as one story. The walled Citadel with the Ngo Mon gate and the Forbidden Purple City, part restored and part ruin, and the royal tombs of Tu Duc, Minh Mang and Khai Dinh in the hills make two or three days of genuinely memorable visits.

Hanoi's history is spread more thinly over more periods. The Old Quarter's guild streets, the Temple of Literature, the French Quarter and the political sights of Ba Dinh reward wandering, and its museums are stronger, with the Museum of Ethnology and Hoa Lo prison telling the country's story better than anything in Hue.

Hanoi is plainly the livelier choice after dark, even if it is not a late city. Pavement beer drinking starts in the late afternoon, the lanes around Ta Hien fill with loud bar crowds by nine, and at weekends the streets round Hoan Kiem become a long traffic-free promenade. Rooftops and West Lake's craft-beer bars add variety, though most places close around midnight.

Hue's evenings amount to a handful of backpacker bars on the south bank, local beer spots with ice in the glass and a stroll past the night market by the Truong Tien bridge. There are almost no clubs, and the town sleeps early.

Neither city is a great outdoors base, but the green is in different places. Hanoi itself is flat and built-up, its nature limited to lake paths, and its fine landscapes, the limestone towers of Ninh Binh or the Ba Vi hills, need a drive of a couple of hours.

Hue has gentler country right on its edge: pine hills, rice fields to cycle through, the vast Tam Giang lagoon and Bach Ma's forest and waterfalls about an hour away. Its catch is the autumn floods, which put most of it out of reach for months.

The choice of outings is about as broad from each city, but the themes differ. From Hanoi, days out lean towards rural scenery and craft: the karst and caves of Ninh Binh with the old capital at Hoa Lu, the Perfume Pagoda by rowing boat, and villages making ceramics, silk and lacquer. Ha Long Bay is the famous one, though it works better overnight.

From Hue, trips run along the coast and through war history: the tunnels and bridges of the old Demilitarised Zone to the north, and the Hai Van Pass and Lang Co to the south. Hoi An is usually a place to move on to rather than a return trip.

Neither city is easy with children, and for different reasons. Hanoi has more to entertain them, with the water puppets, a zoo and water parks, but its motorbike traffic and blocked pavements make every outing with a pushchair hard work.

Hue is calmer on the street and its riverside parks and boat rides suit older children, yet there is nothing built for kids at all. It works as a short stop on a longer family trip rather than a base.

Hue is the slightly easier town to move around. Its centre is small and flat, traffic is lighter, and the hotel streets, river and Citadel are a short walk or bike ride apart, though the tombs upriver need a taxi, driver or boat.

Hanoi's main sights are also walkable, but walking there is tiring, with pavements full of parked scooters and a constant stream of motorbikes to cross. The rail lines miss the visitor areas, so most people rely on cheap ride-hailing cars and motorbike taxis.

Hanoi gives shoppers far more. The Old Quarter still runs whole streets of silk, tin, bamboo or votive paper, Hang Gai is the place for embroidery and made-to-measure clothing, and the weekend night market stretches up to Dong Xuan. Lacquerware, Bat Trang ceramics and textiles from the northern hills are the buys.

Hue's shopping centres on the Dong Ba market hall, plus a few distinctive local things: conical hats with poems hidden in the leaves, sesame candy and incense from Thuy Xuan. There is no fashion or design scene.

Both are exceptionally cheap, and a street meal, a beer and a comfortable room cost very little in either. Where the money goes differs. In Hanoi the extras are international hotels, imported wine and Ha Long Bay cruises; in Hue it is the entry tickets to the Imperial City and the separate tombs, which add up over a few days, and the staged royal dinners.

Hanoi offers the fuller evening programme. Water puppetry by Hoan Kiem Lake plays several times a day, the colonial Opera House hosts the national symphony orchestra, ballet and opera, and ca tru sung poetry and a long-running jazz scene add something more intimate.

Hue's performances look back to the court: nha nhac royal music in the Citadel and ca Hue songs on dragon boats drifting along the Perfume River with floating lanterns. Both are lovely but made for visitors, and outside the Hue Festival there is little else.

For unwinding the two come out even, but the calm comes from different sources. Hanoi offers cheap massage and foot treatment on almost every Old Quarter street, but the city itself is noisy, and real quiet means West Lake or the lakes at dawn.

Hue's restfulness lies in the town itself, with its pagodas, Kim Long garden houses and silent evenings, and the Thanh Tan hot springs about an hour away add a day of soaking in pools and mud baths.