Kilkenny or Limerick?

Neither is a place for a beach trip, and from both the coast is about an hour's drive. Kilkenny's nearest shore is the gentler south coast, where Tramore and the coves of the Copper Coast suit a scenic walk more than a swim. Limerick reaches the Atlantic at Kilkee, Lahinch and Ballybunion, wide sandy beaches with real surf, so it is the better pick if you are bringing a wetsuit or a board.

You will eat equally well in the two, but the character is different. Kilkenny's strengths are drink and heritage: three centuries of brewing beside St Francis Abbey, firelit pubs on High Street and Parliament Street, and the best cooking in country-house kitchens outside town.

Limerick's food life centres on the Milk Market in the old Victorian market yard, which is busiest at weekends, and on the city's long tradition of cured ham. Its student population also brings more cafés and international takeaways than Kilkenny's narrow choice.

Kilkenny has the stronger set of sights, and they fit together as a whole. The castle stands at one end of the Medieval Mile and St Canice's and its round tower at the other, with Rothe House, the Black Abbey and the steep narrow slips in between.

Limerick has King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral on King's Island, and the Hunt Museum is a real draw if you love medieval objects. Around them, though, the city feels less of a piece, and the Georgian terraces of Newtown Pery are pleasant rather than memorable.

Limerick offers the fuller night out. Students from three colleges keep the pubs busy even on weeknights in term, there are more late bars and a few clubs open into the early hours, and a Munster match at Thomond Park fills the whole city.

Kilkenny's evenings are about old pubs with snugs and open fires. They are crowded at weekends with wedding and birthday groups but quiet midweek and out of season, and there is only one small nightclub for later.

Limerick has far better country within reach. Lough Derg around Killaloe is under an hour away for kayaking and sailing, the Galtees and Ballyhoura give proper hill walking and mountain biking, and the limestone of the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher are among the finest scenery in Ireland.

Kilkenny's outdoors is softer: the Nore Valley Way through Thomastown and Inistioge, modest climbs on Brandon Hill and in the Blackstairs, and forest trails on the Castlecomer plateau. For anything wilder you have to drive an hour to the Comeraghs.

Both make good touring bases, and both have the Rock of Cashel about an hour away. The difference is the direction. Kilkenny opens up the monastic southeast: Jerpoint Abbey and Kells Priory nearby, Waterford's Viking quarter, and Glendalough in reach.

Limerick looks west and south, and its best outings are closer. Bunratty and Adare are each about twenty minutes away, Lough Gur and Ennis are easy half-days, and Galway and Cork both work as longer day trips.

Families will find the two much alike: safe, easy, and without a zoo, aquarium or theme park. Kilkenny's outings lean active, with the castle lawns and playground, tree-top courses and zip lines in the forest park near Castlecomer, and Dunmore Cave. Limerick's lean towards history you can step into, from the siege displays and battlements at King John's Castle to the old village and farm animals at Bunratty Folk Park.

Both centres are easy on foot, and in both you need a car for the countryside. Kilkenny is the smaller walk, with nearly everything on or just off a single kilometre, and a station on the Dublin to Waterford line. Limerick adds city buses out to the university and more train routes, to Ennis and Galway as well as Dublin, and Shannon Airport about twenty-five minutes away is a handy place to collect a hire car.

Neither is worth a trip for shopping, but they suit different shoppers. Kilkenny is about craft and design: pottery, glass, jewellery and woollens in the old castle stables, plus studio makers around the county and independent shops along High Street. Limerick is more practical, with high-street chains on O'Connell Street and a large suburban shopping centre. Its stalls at the Milk Market are the most characterful stop, and the city's famous lace is hard to find for sale.

Limerick is a little easier on the budget. Its hotel rooms are reasonable for Western Europe, and they only climb in high summer and on big rugby weekends.

Kilkenny's central rooms get noticeably dearer at weekends and during festivals, so a midweek B&B on the edge of town is the way to save. In both, meals and pints cost Irish prices, and the hire car for exploring the county is the biggest extra cost.

The two are evenly matched, but the timing is different. Kilkenny depends on its calendar: the August arts festival with concerts in St Canice's, a comedy festival in early summer and a roots music weekend in May. Outside those weeks there is mostly pub music and one small theatre.

Limerick has a steadier programme all year. The Irish Chamber Orchestra and the University Concert Hall are based at the university, and the Lime Tree Theatre and the Belltable stage drama and dance in town. The university's Irish music department also feeds the pub sessions.

Kilkenny is the better place to slow down. Country-house hotels with pools and spas stand in parkland on the edge of town, and the river villages are quieter still, so you can stay away from the noisy weekend centre.

Limerick offers little more than a hotel spa and a walk by the river. The restful options lie further out, in the spa hotels around Adare and Lough Derg or the hot seaweed baths of the Atlantic towns about an hour away.