Hong Kong or Taipei?

Hong Kong has the easier swimming. Repulse Bay and Deep Water Bay are a short bus ride from Central, Shek O and Big Wave Bay add a village feel, and most gazetted beaches have lifeguards and shark nets in season.

Taipei has no coastline of its own, so a swim means a day out to Baishawan beyond Tamsui or to Fulong, about an hour by train, where rip currents are common and lifeguarded stretches are short. The sea is equally warm in summer at both, but only in Hong Kong can a beach fit into an ordinary afternoon.

Both cities are worth the trip for food alone, but they feed you differently. Hong Kong's strength is Cantonese cooking at its most polished: dim sum in big teahouses, roast goose and char siu, the milk tea and pineapple buns of the cha chaan teng, and acclaimed Chinese and French dining rooms in Central.

Taipei is more about grazing. Raohe, Ningxia and Shilin night markets, soy milk breakfast halls and xiaolongbao houses show a mix of Hokkien, Hakka, mainland and Japanese influences, and the drinking side, from hill-grown oolong to speciality coffee and bubble tea, is richer than Hong Kong's.

Taipei has the deeper sightseeing, mainly thanks to the National Palace Museum, whose imperial jade, bronzes and porcelain merit half a day. Longshan and Bao'an temples, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and the restored shophouses of Dihua Street give it a steady second tier.

Hong Kong's main sight is the cityscape itself, seen from the Peak or the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront, since little of the colonial city survives. M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum in West Kowloon are strong, and Man Mo Temple and the Big Buddha add interest, but there is less history to walk through than in Taipei.

Hong Kong is the livelier and later night out. Crowds drink in the street in Lan Kwai Fong, Soho and Sheung Wan have serious cocktail bars, and Wan Chai keeps going into the early hours, with rooftop bars on both sides of the harbour.

Taipei is calmer and quieter on weeknights. Its cocktail bars in Da'an and Zhongshan are its strongest suit, using local tea and fruit, and Xinyi has the bigger dance clubs that Hong Kong largely lacks. Karaoke and late beer halls feature in both cities.

Both cities have wild country right on the doorstep, but the landscapes differ. Hong Kong's outdoors leans towards the sea: the Dragon's Back above Shek O, the MacLehose Trail, and Sai Kung's hexagonal rock columns, sea caves and islands reached by kayak or boat.

Taipei's is mountain and volcanic. Yangmingshan, with fumaroles and silvergrass slopes, lies inside the city limits, Elephant Mountain rises right behind Xinyi, and the gondola climbs to the Maokong tea terraces. In both, autumn is the season for hiking.

Taipei has more easy outings close at hand. Jiufen's lantern-hung stairways, the sky lanterns along the Pingxi line, Tamsui's fort and Sanxia's carved temple are all short trips, and high-speed rail puts Tainan's old temples and forts within about two hours, with no border to cross.

Hong Kong's star outings are Macau, about an hour away, and Guangzhou by fast train, but both mean passing through immigration. Closer to home, Cheung Chau, Lamma and Tai O's stilt houses make good, simple days out.

Both are safe, clean and easy with children. Hong Kong has the big attractions inside the city, with Disneyland on Lantau and Ocean Park on the island's south side, but family hotel rooms are often very cramped.

Taipei's theme parks are an hour or more out, so days centre instead on the zoo and its pandas, the Maokong gondola next door, the science and astronomy museums and riverside cycle paths, with night market games a favourite for older children.

Hong Kong is the easier city to move around. The MTR is joined by the Star Ferry, the old trams along the north shore and the Mid-Levels escalator, and sights are packed closely together, with covered walkways to help on humid days.

Taipei's MRT is also excellent, clearly signed in English and reaching Beitou, Tamsui and the Maokong gondola. On foot it is harder going, though: neighbourhoods are further apart than they look, and pavements outside the central arcades are uneven and often blocked by parked scooters.

Hong Kong is the stronger shopping city by some distance. Luxury flagships line Central and Canton Road, the malls of Causeway Bay and Admiralty carry everything without sales tax, and the Ladies' Market, the goldfish and bird markets, Sham Shui Po's fabric lanes and the Hollywood Road antique shops make browsing a sight in itself.

Taipei is better for smaller finds than for fashion. Design shops sit in the Huashan and Songshan cultural parks, Dihua Street sells herbs and dried goods, and high-mountain oolong, teaware and Yingge pottery make the best things to take home.

Taipei is much easier on the wallet. Eating costs very little at every level, transport and taxis are cheap, and guesthouses around Zhongshan and Ximending keep accommodation manageable.

Hong Kong's hotels are among Asia's costliest and smallest, and an evening of cocktails or harbour-view dining in Central costs as much as in a major Western city. Living like a local on noodles, dim sum and the Star Ferry helps, but the room bill still makes Hong Kong the far more expensive stay.

Neither city is a performing arts destination, and in both the most rewarding choice is the local tradition. In Hong Kong that means Cantonese opera at the Xiqu Centre or in village bamboo theatres, alongside the Philharmonic at the Cultural Centre.

Taipei offers glove puppetry and Taiwanese opera in Dadaocheng, contemporary dance from Cloud Gate, the National Theater and Concert Hall, and an indie live-house scene around Gongguan that Hong Kong's few jazz bars cannot match.

Taipei is far better for unwinding, because it sits on volcanic ground. Beitou's hot-spring hotels, sulphur pools and open-air public bath are a short MRT ride away, with more rustic springs in Yangmingshan and riverside baths at Wulai.

Hong Kong has no bathing culture and a relentless pace. It makes up for this in part with reflexology parlours, Chinese medicine shops and polished hotel spas, but real calm means leaving for Chi Lin Nunnery's gardens or the car-free lanes of Lamma.