Lille or Manchester?

Neither city has a beach, but Lille has slightly the better seaside day. Malo-les-Bains at Dunkirk is about an hour away, and the wide dune beaches of the Opal Coast are within reach, though the North Sea stays cool even in August.

From Manchester the Irish Sea at Formby or Blackpool is a similar distance but colder still, so a visit is about sea air and fish and chips, with swimming best left to an indoor pool.

Lille has the stronger and more distinctive table. Its Flemish heritage shows in the estaminets of Vieux-Lille, with carbonnade cooked in beer, potjevleesch, the cheesy welsh and Maroilles in almost everything, plus Meert's filled waffles and the Wazemmes Sunday market.

Manchester has less of a cuisine of its own, beyond pies and hotpot. What it offers is range: Chinatown, the curry mile in Rusholme, and food halls in the old mills of Ancoats. Both are beer cities at heart, Belgian ales in one, Victorian pubs and railway-arch breweries in the other.

Lille has the bigger cultural draw. The Palais des Beaux-Arts, with Flemish masters, Goya and its relief maps of fortified towns, is a serious museum by any standard, and the Flemish baroque fronts of the Vieille Bourse and Grand Place give the old town real beauty. Vauban's citadel and La Piscine in Roubaix add depth.

Manchester's sights tell one story well: the rise of the first industrial city, in the neo-Gothic Town Hall, the John Rylands Library, the mills of Ancoats and the Science and Industry Museum. It rewards curiosity about industry and politics, but nothing here matches the Palais des Beaux-Arts.

Manchester is the stronger night out by some distance. The Northern Quarter's warehouse bars and DJ rooms, the long-established Gay Village on Canal Street and the big autumn and winter warehouse raves give it the late, music-led scene its dance history is known for.

Lille goes out well for its size, thanks to its students, with cheap bars on Rue Masséna and calmer cellar bars in Vieux-Lille. Its clubs are modest, though, and serious late nights traditionally mean crossing into Belgium.

Manchester has real hill country on its doorstep. The gritstone edges and moorland of the Peak District start at the city's eastern edge, Kinder Scout and Mam Tor are under an hour by train, and Heaton Park is a huge green space within the city. Expect mud and low cloud on the tops.

Lille's surroundings are flat farmland, so outdoor time means level cycling along the Deûle towpaths, a loop of the Citadel park and short walks on the low Monts de Flandre. The Opal Coast cliffs are the only real scenery, and they take a long day.

Both are excellent bases, but Lille's position across a border gives it the edge. Brussels is half an hour away, Ghent and Bruges about an hour, and Paris and even London are close enough for a day, so two countries and several great art cities are in reach. Arras, Amiens and the First World War battlefields round it off.

Manchester's outings stay within northern England, but there are plenty of them: Liverpool, Chester and York by train, and Chatsworth, Buxton and the Lake District towns for countryside days.

Manchester is a little easier with children, largely because so much is indoors and free. The Science and Industry Museum's working engines, the dinosaurs at the Manchester Museum and the aquarium, Lego attraction and snow slope near the Trafford Centre cover rainy days, with Chester Zoo an hour out.

Lille is relaxed but has less on hand. The Citadel park with its small zoo and playgrounds is the main morning out, the Forum des Sciences is a metro ride away, and the bigger draws, Pairi Daiza and the Nausicaá aquarium, need a day trip.

Lille is the easier city to move around. Its flat centre is walkable from end to end, its two main stations sit side by side next to the old town, and the driverless VAL metro and tram reach Roubaix and Tourcoing.

Manchester's centre is also compact, and the Metrolink trams serve Salford Quays, Old Trafford and the airport well. Rain makes walking less pleasant, the trams crowd on event days, and the road layout confuses drivers.

The two are close here, but they shop differently. Manchester is the bigger regional magnet, with department stores, designer labels on King Street, the huge Trafford Centre and the Northern Quarter's record shops, vintage clothing and Afflecks.

Lille is more about independent fashion, design shops and delicatessens in the old streets of Vieux-Lille. Its standout is the Braderie in early September, when the whole city turns into one enormous flea market.

Costs are much alike, comfortable rather than cheap in both. Where you save is different. In Manchester most of the main museums and galleries are free, and curry houses and Chinatown make a cheap meal easy, but hotel rooms jump on football and concert dates.

In Lille, estaminet meals, beer and the metro are fairly priced and museum entry is modest, while rooms rise during the Braderie and the trade fairs.

Lille's programme is dependable, though it is rarely the reason for a trip. The Orchestre National de Lille plays a full season and the Théâtre du Nord is one of France's national theatres. The Opéra de Lille gives the city something Manchester does not have: opera staged by its own house rather than brought in on tour.

For live performance as a whole, though, Manchester is far richer. Its gig circuit runs from back rooms in the Northern Quarter to one of Europe's largest arenas. The Hallé and the BBC Philharmonic both play the Bridgewater Hall, and the Royal Exchange stages theatre in the round inside the old cotton trading hall.

Neither is a place for a restful break, but Lille is the gentler of the two. Its easygoing pace, tea rooms and terraces in Vieux-Lille help, and a real thermal bath at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux is a short train ride away.

Manchester is louder, especially at weekends, and Victoria Baths is heritage to look at rather than water to swim in. Calm here means leaving town for the Peak District or Buxton.