Helsinki or Oslo?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Oslo makes more of its short swimming season. Ferries run to the rocky shores and small coves of Hovedøya and Langøyene, there are swimming spots on Bygdøy, and you can dive off the harbour boardwalks at Sørenga. The metro also reaches Sognsvann, a forest lake. The fjord is sheltered and a little warmer.

Helsinki has more sand, at Hietaniemi and on island beaches such as Pihlajasaari. The brackish Baltic is cooler, though, and the wind often takes the edge off a summer swim.

The two cities are broadly level for food, and both are expensive, but the strengths differ. Helsinki is better for traditional dishes such as salmon soup, Baltic herring and Karelian pies, and the Old Market Hall and the late-summer harbour stalls let you try them in one go.

Oslo's best moments are at either end of the scale. At the top are Nordic tasting menus, and at the simple end are prawns eaten on the quay and some of Europe's best light-roast specialty coffee. Everyday eating in between is fairly ordinary in both cities.

Oslo is the stronger choice for museums. Munch's work, including The Scream, the Fram and Kon-Tiki exploration museums on Bygdøy and the sculpture park at Vigeland are each worth planning a day around.

Helsinki's appeal is more about architecture, and you see most of it by walking: Engel's Neoclassical Senate Square, the Jugend streets of Katajanokka and Eira, and Aalto's modernism. Suomenlinna, the island fortress, adds a UNESCO site. Both cities fill two or three days.

Nights out are about equal, and neither city is worth travelling to for clubs. In Helsinki, the place to go is Kallio, with its no-frills bars and karaoke rooms. Oslo's evenings are more polished, with craft beer, natural wine and cocktails around Grünerløkka and Youngstorget. In both, summer nights move out onto the waterfront terraces, and drinks are painfully expensive.

Oslo is far ahead here. A metro ride takes you to Holmenkollen and Sognsvann, where the huge Nordmarka forest begins, with marked trails and lakes in summer and floodlit ski tracks and downhill slopes in winter. The fjord islands add kayaking and coastal walks.

Helsinki's outdoors is flat and gentle: skerries reached by ferry, the long forest strip of Central Park and Nuuksio National Park, under an hour away by bus. It is lovely for a picnic or a cycle along the shore, but you need Oslo for hills and real skiing.

Helsinki has the better day trips, mainly because Tallinn's medieval old town is about two hours away by fast ferry. Closer to home, Porvoo's wooden riverside storehouses and Turku's castle and cathedral round out the list.

Oslo's outings are pleasant but more low-key. The best are the star-shaped fortress town of Fredrikstad, white wooden Drøbak by boat and the Olympic ski jumps at Lillehammer. The famous western fjords are too far for a day.

Both cities are safe and easy with a pram, but Helsinki has the headline attractions. Linnanmäki amusement park sits on a hill in the city, the zoo has its own island and Heureka is a short train ride north. In winter, swimming halls and libraries with play areas fill the dark afternoons.

Oslo's best family days are at the Bygdøy museums, where children can board the polar ship Fram, and sledding near Holmenkollen. There is no big zoo or theme park in the city, though, and costs mount faster.

Both are compact and easy to get around, with walkable centres, trams and ferries on a single ticket, and fast trains to the airport. The difference is in where the metro takes you. Helsinki's single line mostly serves the suburbs, while Oslo's lines climb straight into the forested hills, which makes ski tracks and lakes as easy to reach as a museum.

Helsinki is the more rewarding city for shopping because it has its own design tradition to sell. You can buy printed textiles, Aalto glass and modernist furniture in the studios of the Design District, along the Esplanadi and at Stockmann, and the Hietalahti flea market adds bargain hunting in summer.

Oslo has neater streets for shopping but less depth. There are chains on Karl Johans gate, Nordic brands at Steen & Strøm and vintage shops in Grünerløkka. Its best buys are patterned knitwear and outdoor clothing, and there are few markets.

Both are expensive, but Oslo is the harder city on a budget. Meals, coffee, alcohol and hotels there cost more than almost anywhere in Europe. Helsinki is still well above the European norm, but lunch menus and market food make it easier to manage.

In both cities the free things are among the best: the Opera House roof and Vigeland Park in Oslo, and the shoreline and the churches in Helsinki. A transport pass that includes the island ferries saves money in either.

The two are evenly matched, so choose by taste. Helsinki is the place for orchestral music: the Music Centre is home to two orchestras, the Sibelius tradition is strong, and the city has a lively rock and metal club circuit. The Helsinki Festival fills the end of summer.

Oslo's highlight is a performance under the oak ceiling of the harbour Opera House, and it has a long jazz tradition and the August festival in Tøyen park. In both cities, most plays are performed in the local language.

Both cities share the routine of a sauna followed by a plunge into the sea, even in winter, but Helsinki offers more of it. You can choose between old wood-heated public saunas in working districts like Kallio, modern seaside complexes and the 1920s Yrjönkatu swimming hall with its own sauna rituals.

Oslo's floating saunas by the Opera House and at Sørenga are social and easy to join, but that is most of what's on offer, and spa hotels are few and costly.