Inverness or Liverpool?

Neither city is for swimming. The Moray Firth and the Irish Sea both stay cold, and locals in both places go to the shore to walk rather than swim. The beaches themselves are where they differ. From Inverness you drive out to Nairn's long sands or the spit at Chanonry Point, where dolphins are the draw. Liverpool's beaches are on Merseyrail, with Gormley's iron figures at Crosby and Formby's pine-backed dunes, though the tide there goes a very long way out over soft mud.

Inverness cooks from the Highland larder: langoustines, venison, smoked salmon and local cheese, done well at a few restaurants along the river. Its malt whisky lists are the real pleasure. It is a small town, though, and the choice runs out after a few nights.

Liverpool has more range for a longer stay. There is scouse in the pubs, a long-standing Chinatown, the independent kitchens of Bold Street and the street-food halls of the Baltic Triangle. Neither city is known for fine dining. In Inverness the draw is the local produce, and in Liverpool it is the variety and the pubs.

Liverpool has far more to see. The Three Graces at the Pier Head, the Royal Albert Dock with its maritime and slavery museums, the Pre-Raphaelites in the Walker and the two cathedrals linked by Hope Street fill two or three days, all on foot.

Inverness has its red sandstone castle above the Ness, a cathedral and a compact museum of Highland and Pictish history, which together take about a morning. Its most important site, Culloden battlefield, is out of town, and most of the region's history means getting in a car.

These are very different evenings. In Inverness a night out means the pubs around Church Street and the riverside, and whisky bars where a slow dram is the whole point. Most visitors turn in early before a day in the glens.

Liverpool goes on late. The bars and clubs of Concert Square and Seel Street fill with stag and hen groups at weekends, the Baltic Triangle warehouses host electronic nights, and students keep weeknights busy in term time. Anyone who wants to dance past 2am should choose Liverpool.

Inverness is one of the best outdoor bases in Britain. Loch Ness begins twenty minutes south, and Glen Affric's Caledonian pinewoods and the Cairngorm plateau around Aviemore are about an hour away. Torridon and the road towards Skye are within reach on a long day.

Liverpool's nature is gentler and flat. It has Sefton Park and its palm house, the long promenade along the Mersey, red squirrels in Formby's pinewoods and the Wirral Way out to the wading birds of the Dee estuary. For real mountains you need two hours to reach North Wales or the Lake District.

Liverpool's day trips are to other towns. Roman Chester and Manchester's museums are each under an hour by train, Port Sunlight and Southport's pier are closer still, and walled Conwy and Llandudno make a longer day. From Inverness the trips are to single sites rather than towns: Urquhart Castle, Cawdor, Fort George, the Clava Cairns and the Speyside distilleries, with no other city in range.

Liverpool's outings are also simpler to manage, since most run by train. From Inverness, nearly everything is easier by car or on a tour.

Both cities work well with children, but in different ways. Inverness offers the outdoors: boat trips on Loch Ness to hunt for the monster, dolphins at Chanonry Point, the polar bears and snow leopards at the Highland Wildlife Park, and the Aquadome for wet days. Liverpool is a city of free museums with dinosaurs and a planetarium, plus the Mersey ferry and Chester Zoo under an hour away.

The things to plan around differ too. In Inverness it is the weather and the driving, and in Liverpool it is the noisy centre on weekend nights.

Both centres are compact and walkable, but Liverpool's transport goes further. Merseyrail trains run often to Crosby, Formby, Southport and the Wirral, and a ferry crosses the river, so you rarely need a car. Hope Street's hill is the only real climb.

Inverness has a central station with scenic lines to Kyle of Lochalsh and Thurso, and buses to Culloden and along Loch Ness. The glens, castles and distilleries, though, lie down single-track roads with few services, so most visitors hire a car or book tours.

Liverpool is the better place to shop. Liverpool ONE gathers the big chains and department stores in open-air streets, while Bold Street and the Baltic Triangle add vintage clothes, records and makers' studios.

Inverness takes an hour or two: the Victorian Market arcade, the high street and a second-hand bookshop in a former church. What it does offer is distinctly Highland, with tartan, tweed, Celtic silver and specialist whisky shops. Liverpool's souvenirs are mostly Beatles and football.

Your money goes further in Liverpool. For most of the year its hotels cost less than in Britain's most visited cities, and its major museums and galleries are free, so a day of sightseeing costs little.

In Inverness, rooms are scarce and expensive in summer, and car hire, tours and distillery visits add up, although walking in the landscape costs nothing. Timing helps in both cities: visit Inverness in the shoulder seasons or winter, and avoid match weekends, the Grand National and big concerts in Liverpool.

Liverpool has much the fuller programme. Bands play most nights around Mathew Street and Seel Street, the Cavern Club draws music pilgrims, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic plays a full season in its art deco hall, and the Everyman and the Playhouse produce their own theatre.

Inverness has Eden Court on the riverbank for touring shows and pantomime, but its real strength is traditional. Fiddle and accordion sessions run in its pubs, and Gaelic song turns up at festivals and the Highland Games. Neither city has its own opera company.

Neither city is a spa destination, but Inverness is the more restful of the two. It has country-house hotel spas around Loch Ness, the sauna at the Aquadome and the easy pace of a quiet riverside town with long summer evenings. Liverpool relies on hotel and day spas and on walks in Sefton Park, and its loud weekend nights work against a quiet break.