Helsinki or Turku?

Neither city is a beach destination. Both swim in the same brackish Baltic, which is warm enough for only a few weeks of high summer. Where they differ is the setting. Helsinki has Hietaniemi, a sandy city beach close to the centre, and small island beaches such as Pihlajasaari a short boat ride away.

Turku's sand is at Saaronniemi, at the far tip of Ruissalo and a bus ride out. The water there is shallow and the beach is backed by pines, which suits small children. Elsewhere people swim from granite rocks and jetties in the archipelago, and algae can cloud the water late in the summer.

Helsinki has more to choose from. The Old Market Hall has salmon soup, herring and Karelian pies, and above those sits a modern Nordic tier cooking with foraged produce. Coffee and cinnamon buns are part of everyday life in its cafés.

Turku covers the same Nordic ground on a smaller scale. There is smoked fish and dark archipelago bread in the 1896 market hall, a few ambitious kitchens, and summer dining on the boats moored along the Aura. It is good for a relaxed lunch, but you have fewer places to choose from.

Helsinki's sights are broader and more varied. You get Engel's Senate Square, the red-brick Uspenski Cathedral and whole streets of Jugend in Katajanokka and Eira. The modern chapter includes Finlandia Hall and the rock church. Beyond those are the Suomenlinna sea fortress and serious galleries at the Ateneum and Kiasma.

Turku tells an older story. Its medieval cathedral and castle go back to Finland's beginnings, and Luostarinmäki keeps the wooden district that survived the fire of 1827. The museums are pleasant and low-key, and two days are enough for them, where Helsinki can fill three.

Helsinki is the better choice for a night out because it has more of everything and it stays up later. In Kallio, north of the centre, you can wander from one plain, unfussy bar or karaoke room to the next without dressing up. The centre adds cocktail bars and the clubs for dancing, and at weekends many places stay open long after midnight. In summer the waterside terraces carry the evenings on into the light.

Turku's scene is smaller and depends on the students and the season. What it does have is the river. On a light summer evening the terraces and old boats moored along the Aura make an easy night that you can walk between, though there are only a few clubs. Outside term time and the summer it goes much quieter, so it suits a relaxed beer by the water better than a big night out.

Both cities sit in flat landscapes of water, granite and pine, but the emphasis differs. Helsinki pairs its offshore islands with forest. Central Park reaches almost into the centre, and Nuuksio National Park, with its lakes and marked trails, is under an hour away by bus. In a cold winter you can go cross-country skiing too.

Turku is the gateway to the Archipelago Sea. Its strengths are cycling the Archipelago Trail over several days, sailing and hopping between islands, with Ruissalo's old oak forest at the edge of town. This is mainly a landscape for May to September.

Helsinki's big advantage is the ferry to Tallinn, a medieval walled town in another country about two hours across the sea. Porvoo's riverside storehouses are an easy hour away by bus, and Turku's castle and cathedral make a long but workable day by train.

Turku's outings are smaller and closer to home. Wooden Naantali is twenty minutes away, Old Rauma has its UNESCO-listed painted houses, and archipelago villages such as Nagu and Korpo are easier with a car. Helsinki is the same two-hour train ride in reverse, so it is just as long a day from this end.

Helsinki keeps children busy all year. It has the Linnanmäki amusement park on its hill, the zoo on Korkeasaari island, the Heureka science centre and the tunnels of Suomenlinna. When winter drives everyone indoors, there are swimming halls and library play areas.

Turku's big draw is Moomin World on its island at Naantali, which young fans love but which opens mainly in summer. In town there are ships to board at Forum Marinum and animals at the Kurala farm. Both cities are safe and easy with a pushchair, but outside summer Turku has much less for children.

Helsinki has the fuller network. Trams run through the inner districts, and a metro line, commuter trains and island ferries all share one ticket system. The airport is about half an hour away by train.

Turku is simpler and smaller. Its centre along the Aura is easy on foot, and the free Föri ferry takes you across the river. Beyond the centre, buses do all the work, reaching Ruissalo and Naantali, and you need a car only for the outer archipelago.

Helsinki is the place to buy Finnish design at its source. Aalto glass, bold printed textiles and modernist furniture fill the studios and vintage shops of the Design District and the flagship stores along the Esplanadi, and the Hietalahti flea market adds a summer browse.

Turku's choice is that of a regional city: chains, a department store and a handful of shops selling glass and ceramics. Its most distinctive buys are the wool and wooden goods made in the old workshops at Luostarinmäki.

Both cities have Nordic prices, so the difference is one of degree. Turku is somewhat easier on the wallet: hotels are moderately priced outside the summer festival weekends, and the river ferry is free. In Helsinki, summer hotel rates and alcohol cost more.

In both cities, weekday lunch deals and market food are the way to eat well for less. The free pleasures differ: Helsinki has its shoreline, churches and islands, and Turku has walks along the river.

Helsinki has the bigger stage. The Music Centre is home to two major orchestras, the National Opera and Ballet runs a full season by Töölö Bay, and a rock and metal club circuit keeps going through the year.

Turku offers history rather than scale. It has Finland's oldest orchestra, the country's oldest working theatre building on the market square, and summer highlights in the Turku Music Festival and the Ruisrock weekend. Outside those, live music means small gigs and pub stages.

Both cities make the sauna easy to join, but Helsinki gives you much more to choose from. There are old wood-heated public saunas in Kallio, harbourside complexes where bathers plunge into the Baltic even when there is ice on the sea, and the classical Yrjönkatu swimming hall with its own ritual.

Turku's saunas, by the water and in its swimming halls, follow the same routine of heat and then a cold plunge, and Naantali adds a spa tradition a short ride away. It is calm and pleasant, with fewer places to try.