Helsinki or Tallinn?

Both cities face the same shallow, brackish gulf, so the swimming is equally brief: a few warm weeks in midsummer and a cool, windy day never far off. Neither is a beach destination.

The difference is in the setting. Helsinki's sandy Hietaniemi sits just west of the centre, and small island beaches like Pihlajasaari turn a swim into a boat trip. Tallinn's Pirita is a longer stretch of sand backed by pine forest at the river mouth, reached simply by bus.

The two cities eat at much the same level, with Nordic and Baltic produce at the heart of both: fish, rye, berries and forest mushrooms. Helsinki's strengths are the Old Market Hall by the South Harbour, salmon soup and Karelian pies, and a café habit built on coffee and cinnamon buns.

Tallinn's best cooking hides in small kitchens in Telliskivi, Rotermann and Kalamaja rather than inside the walls, where medieval-themed menus aim at tour groups. The Baltic Station Market is its answer to Helsinki's market hall, and craft beer plays a bigger part in eating out than it does across the water.

Tallinn has the stronger sightseeing, because its whole Old Town is the sight: Hanseatic walls and towers, the Gothic Town Hall, and Toompea hill with Alexander Nevsky Cathedral looking down over red roofs. Kadriorg's baroque palace, KUMU and the Seaplane Harbour round it out well beyond the walls.

Helsinki rewards a different kind of interest. Its story is told through architecture, from Engel's Senate Square and the Jugend streets of Katajanokka and Eira to Aalto's Finlandia Hall and the rock church, with the Suomenlinna sea fortress and the Ateneum adding depth. It suits design lovers more than those after a picture-book old town.

Helsinki offers a little more after dark. Kallio's unpretentious bars and karaoke rooms, a few serious clubs and weekend hours well past 2am give it more range, and summer terraces by the water stretch the nights out, though drinks are expensive.

Tallinn's scene is smaller and splits in two: cellar pubs and cocktail bars in the Old Town that draw groups from abroad, and craft beer bars in Telliskivi and Kalamaja with a younger local crowd. A couple of nights covers it.

Both are flat, green coastal cities with a national park about an hour away, so the outdoors is broadly level. What differs is the scenery. Helsinki's is a seascape of granite islands and skerries, good for kayaking and picnics, with Central Park's forest reaching into town and Nuuksio's lakes and pine trails nearby.

Tallinn's outings lean towards the land: the limestone cliffs of the klint at Rannamõisa, the Keila-Joa waterfall, and Lahemaa's boulder-strewn peninsulas. The boardwalks across raised bogs such as Viru show a landscape Helsinki has no equivalent of.

Each city's best day out is the other, two hours apart on the fast ferries, so a visitor to either can easily see both. Beyond that the choice is similar in size.

From Helsinki, Porvoo's wooden riverside storehouses, Turku's castle and the craft village of Fiskars are all comfortable by bus or train. From Tallinn, the Lahemaa manor houses, Rakvere's ruined castle and Haapsalu fill a day, while Tartu and Pärnu are far enough to deserve a night.

Helsinki is the more rewarding city with children. Linnanmäki amusement park sits right in town, the zoo has its own island, Heureka is a short train ride away, and buggies ride the trams as a matter of course. Suomenlinna's tunnels and the summer ferries add easy adventure.

Tallinn is calm and safe too, and the Seaplane Harbour with its submarine is a real highlight, as are Proto and the open-air museum's windmills. But there is no theme park, and the Old Town's cobbles and climbs are tiring with a pushchair.

Helsinki is the smoother city to move through. Trams, a metro line, commuter trains and the island ferries all run on one ticket, the centre is walkable, and the airport is half an hour by train.

Tallinn is compact enough that the Old Town, Rotermann, Telliskivi and Kalamaja are all close on foot, but the steep cobbles and the climb to Toompea wear on the legs. Trams and buses cover the outer sights, and the airport sits unusually close to the centre.

Helsinki is the better place to shop, because Finnish design is made and sold there: printed textiles, Aalto glass, ceramics and modernist furniture, spread across the Design District, the Esplanadi and the century-old Stockmann store.

Tallinn is more about crafts and souvenirs. The workshops of St Catherine's Passage sell glass, leather and knitwear among plenty of amber shops, and Telliskivi and Rotermann have small studios for Estonian designers. Neither city has real luxury shopping.

Tallinn is the cheaper of the two, though less so than its Eastern Bloc past would suggest, as central prices sit near the Western European average. Hotels are fair outside summer, museums and transport are cheap, and lunch menus beyond the walls keep meals affordable.

Helsinki is dearer on almost every count, and alcohol especially. Its free pleasures, the shoreline, islands and churches, and its lunch menus are what keep a budget in check.

Helsinki has the deeper classical scene. The Music Centre is home to two major orchestras, the National Opera and Ballet plays by Töölö Bay, and the Helsinki Festival at the end of summer fills the city. A strong rock and metal club circuit adds a louder side.

Tallinn's strength is the voice. Organ and choral concerts in Old Town churches, frequent performances of Arvo Pärt and the national Song Festival every few years give it something distinct, alongside opera and ballet at the Estonia Theatre. In both cities, most theatre is in the local language.

Sauna culture runs through both, but Helsinki makes far more of it for a visitor. Old wood-heated public saunas, seaside complexes where bathers plunge into the Baltic even in ice, and the 1920s Yrjönkatu swimming hall make it a reason to go in itself.

Tallinn has neighbourhood saunas in Kalamaja, seaside cold plunges and spa hotels near the harbour, which are enjoyable rather than special. For a traditional smoke sauna you have to head into the countryside.