Inverness or London?

Neither city is a beach destination, and the difference is in the kind of shore on offer. From Inverness, Nairn's long sands and the spit at Chanonry Point make a breezy afternoon out, and you are more likely to see a dolphin than to swim in the cold firth.

London has no shore of its own. Brighton's pebbles and the sandier Kent coast are a train ride away, and the city's real swimming is in fresh water, in the lidos and the Hampstead Heath ponds.

Inverness cooks its own larder well: langoustines, Moray Firth seafood, venison and Cullen skink, with whisky bars as the real draw. Choice thins out quickly, though, and a few nights will take you through the better tables.

London offers eating on a different scale, from the curry houses of Brick Lane and the restaurants of Chinatown to the Turkish grills of Green Lanes, Borough Market and a large fine-dining scene. A trip built around food belongs in London, even if Inverness gives a truer taste of Highland produce.

Inverness has its castle on the bluff, the cathedral across the Ness and a compact museum with Pictish stones. Its most powerful site, the Culloden battlefield, lies outside town, and a day or two covers it all.

London is in another league. The British Museum, the National Gallery, the V&A and both Tates are mostly free to enter, alongside the Tower, Westminster Abbey and St Paul's. A week there barely scratches the surface.

An evening in Inverness means a slow dram in a wood-panelled bar around Church Street, and on weeknights the town is quiet before midnight. London has whole districts for going out, from Soho's late bars to the clubs of Shoreditch, Hackney and Dalston and the big venues of Brixton, with a long, loud weekend. Anyone after more than a night in the pub should choose London.

This is where Inverness has the clear advantage. Loch Ness begins twenty minutes away, Glen Affric's pine forest and the Cairngorms are about an hour off, and Torridon and the road to Skye are within two hours. This is real mountain and loch country.

London is green for a capital, with deer in Richmond Park, the views from Hampstead Heath and the gardens at Kew, and the Chilterns and South Downs are about an hour away by train. The walking is gentle, on good footpaths and with no mountains, so it makes a pleasant day out rather than a reason to come.

Outings from Inverness are mostly to single sites: Urquhart Castle, Cawdor, the Clava Cairns, the Speyside distilleries and, on a long day, Eilean Donan. Most are far easier by car or on a tour.

London's rail hub puts Oxford, Cambridge, Bath, Windsor, Canterbury and Brighton each within an easy day, all without a car. A week can mix college quadrangles, Roman baths, cathedrals and the seaside, a range Inverness cannot offer.

Inverness is the calmer place to manage with children, with the Ness Islands footbridges, the Aquadome pool and boat trips on Loch Ness. Its bigger draws, such as the Highland Wildlife Park, need a drive, and the weather often pushes plans indoors.

London fills far more days. The Natural History and Science Museums are free, there is the pirate-ship playground in Kensington Gardens and the zoo in Regent's Park, and Legoland and the Harry Potter studio tour are beyond the city. The trade-off is long distances, crowds when schools are out and Tube stairs with a buggy.

You can walk the compact centre of Inverness end to end in twenty minutes, and its scenic rail lines run to Kyle of Lochalsh and Thurso. But the glens and castles lie down single-track roads, so most visitors hire a car or book tours.

London is the opposite. The Tube, the Elizabeth line, the buses and the Thames riverboats all run on one contactless card, so you never need a car, though journeys across the city take time and rush hour is packed.

Shopping in Inverness takes an hour or two: the Victorian Market, a specialist whisky shop, and tartan, tweed and Celtic silver to take home. London is a destination in its own right, with luxury houses on Bond Street, tailoring on Savile Row, historic department stores and markets from Portobello Road to Columbia Road. For a trip built around shopping, choose London.

Inverness is the cheaper of the two, but not a bargain. Rooms are the main expense: the town is the gateway to Loch Ness and Highland touring, its small stock fills quickly, and summer rates climb steeply, so booking well ahead for July and August matters more than anything else. On top of the room come car hire or guided tours, paid distillery visits and meals that cost what they do anywhere in Britain.

London costs more at nearly every turn, from small, expensive central hotel rooms to pub rounds and theatre seats. Planning still pays off. Contactless fares are capped each day, a room further out on a good Tube or rail line cuts the biggest bill, and eating at the markets or in South Asian and Turkish cafés costs far less than dinner in the centre.

Eden Court on the Ness brings in touring theatre, dance and concerts, but the more distinctive Inverness evening is a fiddle and accordion session in a pub. London is one of the world's great theatre cities, with the West End, the National Theatre, the Globe, the Royal Opera House, five major orchestras and the Proms.

For a trip built around shows or concerts, London has no real competitor. What Inverness offers instead is traditional Highland music in an informal setting.

Neither city is made for a spa break. Inverness has country-house hotel spas around Loch Ness and the sauna at the Aquadome, and its real tonic is the slow pace and the long summer evenings.

London gives the bather more choice: Victorian Turkish baths in Bayswater and at Ironmonger Row, full spas in the grand Mayfair hotels and cold dips in the Hampstead ponds. Bath's thermal spa is also within a day trip, though the city itself is fast and crowded.