Jaipur or Mumbai?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Mumbai at least has a shoreline. Juhu and Girgaum Chowpatty are broad sands for a sunset stroll, kite-flying and snacks, even if the water is too murky for swimming, and the cleaner Alibaug coast is a ferry ride across the harbour.

Jaipur sits far inland in Rajasthan with no lake for swimming, so the only water is a hotel pool. In both cities the pool is the realistic place to swim, but in Jaipur it is the only option.

Jaipur's kitchen is regional and focused: dal baati churma, laal maas and ker sangri, kachori breakfasts along MI Road and syrup-soaked ghevar from the sweet counters around Johari Bazaar. It is largely vegetarian, drink is mostly confined to hotels, and there is little beyond Rajasthani cooking.

Mumbai offers more range at every level. Street carts sell vada pav and pav bhaji, the Irani cafés of Fort and Colaba serve berry pulao, and Malvani and Konkani kitchens bring seafood in coconut and kokum that an inland city cannot match. Add Parsi and Gujarati cooking and a modern restaurant tier in Bandra and Lower Parel, and it is the better city to eat in.

Jaipur's sights are denser and more singular. The 1727 grid of the Pink City, the City Palace, the Hawa Mahal and the stone instruments of Jantar Mantar sit a short distance apart, and Amber, Jaigarh and Nahargarh forts crown the ridges above. It is a coherent set of royal Rajput buildings that three days covers well.

Mumbai's strength is the British port city: the Gothic Revival railway terminus, the Victorian and Art Deco facades facing each other across the Oval Maidan, and strong sculpture and miniature collections in the museums near Kala Ghoda. It is impressive, but the sights are scattered along a long city and take more effort to string together.

Mumbai has a proper night out: cocktail bars and gastropubs in Bandra and Khar, clubs in the old mill compounds of Lower Parel, and the long-running bar strip in Colaba. Closing comes early for a city this size and the districts are far apart, but there is a choice.

Jaipur's evenings mostly end after a rooftop dinner facing the floodlit forts. Hotel bars and a few lounges in C-Scheme are the extent of it, so anyone wanting more than a drink with dinner will feel the difference.

Mumbai has more green within reach. Sanjay Gandhi National Park brings forest, trails and the Kanheri caves into the northern suburbs, flamingos feed on the Sewri mudflats in winter, and the Western Ghats around Lonavala and Matheran turn lush for monsoon hiking.

Jaipur's landscape is drier and lower, Aravalli scrub hills with wide views from Nahargarh. Its standout is the leopard safari at Jhalana on the city edge, a real draw, but beyond that and balloon flights the options are thinner and mostly confined to the cool months.

Jaipur has the better spread of outings. Chand Baori at Abhaneri, the painted palace at Samode, Bhangarh's ruins and the block-printing villages of Sanganer and Bagru are all manageable, and Pushkar, Ajmer and the Taj Mahal at Agra can be done as long days.

From Mumbai, Elephanta Island and its carved Shiva caves is a superb boat ride from the Gateway of India, and the Buddhist cave halls at Karla and Bhaja reward a longer outing. After that, slow roads out of the city and the distance to Ajanta and Ellora keep most visitors to one or two trips.

Neither city is easy with children, but Mumbai gives a little more to do. The Nehru Science Centre is a proper indoor outing, and the harbour ferries, the Byculla zoo and ice cream on Chowpatty sands fill a day, with water parks further out.

Jaipur's appeal is narrower and suits older children: ramparts and secret passages at the forts, puppet shows and a leopard safari. In both, traffic and broken pavements wear families down, so a driver and a hotel pool help, and Jaipur is only comfortable in the cool season.

Mumbai at least has a rail backbone: the suburban trains run fast up the long city, if crushingly full at rush hour, and the metro adds calmer lines. The Fort, Kala Ghoda and Colaba area is pleasant on foot, though road traffic can still turn short hops into an hour.

Jaipur relies almost entirely on rickshaws, ride-hailing and a car with driver, since its short metro line misses the sights. The Pink City's bazaars are walkable in principle, but cows, traffic and missing pavements slow every step, and Amber lies about 11km out.

Jaipur is the place to buy things made locally. Each bazaar has its trade, silver and gems on Johari Bazaar, lac bangles in Maniharon ka Rasta, quilts in Bapu Bazaar, while block prints, blue pottery and rugs come from workshops around the city. Watch for commission-driven shop visits and gem scams.

Mumbai's shopping is broader but less distinctive. Crawford Market, the gold of Zaveri Bazaar and the antiques of Chor Bazaar make good browsing, Colaba Causeway and Linking Road suit cheap clothes, and air-conditioned malls hold the international luxury labels.

Jaipur is cheaper almost across the board, including the simple guesthouses that make up most of a budget stay. Only the palace hotels, foreigners' monument fees and alcohol push costs up.

In Mumbai the street food, trains and taxis are just as easy on the wallet, but accommodation is the catch: good rooms in the south and the better suburbs cost far more than elsewhere in India. A hotel-based stay with cocktails can approach Western prices, which is rarely the case in Jaipur.

Where Jaipur offers folk performance on a hotel terrace, Mumbai has a concert and theatre calendar worth booking ahead. Jaipur's own traditions are Kalbeliya dance, string puppetry, Rajasthani folk music and its school of Kathak, seen mostly as dinner shows in hotels and at the village-style venues on the city edge. Jawahar Kala Kendra and Ravindra Manch add the odd play or recital, mostly in Hindi or without words. It adds colour to an evening, but you would not plan a trip around it.

Mumbai's National Centre for the Performing Arts at Nariman Point is home to the Symphony Orchestra of India and runs a steady programme of Hindustani music, jazz and dance. Prithvi Theatre in Juhu is the heart of Hindi and English drama, and Marathi plays fill halls in Dadar. Much of it is aimed at residents, but a visitor can still have a proper night at the theatre or a concert.

In both cities, calm comes from your hotel rather than from the streets, but Jaipur makes it easier because the stay itself can be the retreat. Heritage havelis and palace hotels have shaded courtyards, gardens and pools, often with Ayurvedic massage and yoga, and they shut out the heat and noise of the old city.

In Mumbai, that means the large spa of a luxury hotel or a yoga studio in Bandra. The quiet moments outside are an early walk along Marine Drive or Bandra's Bandstand, or a seat beside the Banganga Tank. Otherwise the humidity and crowds are hard to escape, and people who want a real rest leave for Lonavala or the Konkan coast.