Limerick or Cork?

Cork is better placed for the sea. Small sandy coves at Myrtleville and Fountainstown lie on the edge of the harbour about half an hour away, and Inchydoney's long strand is within an hour. Limerick sits on the tidal Shannon, and its nearest sand is at Kilkee, Lahinch and Ballybunion, an hour or more away by car.

Those Clare and Kerry beaches are wide surf beaches, better for wetsuits and boards than for a paddle. The water off both coasts stays cool even in late summer, so for either city a beach is a sunny-day outing, not a reason to choose it.

Cork is the stronger city for eating. The English Market sits in the centre and is open through the week, selling West Cork farmhouse cheese, smoked fish, spiced beef and oddities such as drisheen. The restaurants buy from the same suppliers, and Kinsale's seafood is half an hour away.

Limerick draws on the same kind of Munster farmland, with its own tradition of cured ham, but its Milk Market really comes alive only at weekends. The city has a few ambitious restaurants, gastropubs and student takeaways, and a meal there is usually good but seldom one you remember.

There is little to choose between them, and either takes a day or two. Cork's sights are spread out: the Shandon steeple, where visitors can ring the bells, the Gothic Revival St Fin Barre's, Irish painting at the Crawford and the nineteenth-century cells of the City Gaol.

Limerick's history is older and more concentrated. King John's Castle and St Mary's Cathedral, founded in 1168, stand within a few minutes' walk of each other on King's Island. The Hunt Museum's medieval objects and the Georgian terraces of Newtown Pery round out the visit.

Both are pub cities first, and a night out is much the same in each. Cork's old wood-panelled bars off Patrick Street are where you are most likely to find music in a back room, and the centre is busiest from Thursday to Saturday.

Limerick's pubs have snugs and open fires, and a few of its clubs stay open into the early hours at weekends. Its three colleges keep weeknights in term busier than you might expect, and a Munster match at Thomond Park fills every bar in town.

The landscapes are equally good but different in kind. Cork's is coastal: sailing and kayaking in the harbour, cliff walks at Ballycotton and the Old Head of Kinsale, then the inlets and islands of West Cork.

Limerick looks inland and north. You can kayak and sail on Lough Derg, walk the hills in the Galtees and ride the mountain-bike trails at Ballyhoura. The Burren's limestone and the Cliffs of Moher are about an hour and a quarter away. Almost all of it needs a car.

Both cities make good bases. The real difference is how you travel. From Cork the train runs to Cobh, the Titanic's last port of call, and the same eastern line reaches Fota House and the Midleton distillery. Kinsale and Blarney are short bus rides away.

Limerick's nearby outings are Bunratty's castle and folk park, the thatched village of Adare and the stone circle at Lough Gur. It also puts Galway and the Clare coast within range. Most of these mean driving or a coach tour.

Cork gives children more to do. Its best outing is Fota Wildlife Park on a harbour island, reached by train, and Blackrock Castle's observatory is a good choice for a rainy day.

In Limerick, King John's Castle, with its siege displays and battlements, is the main draw in town. Bunratty Folk Park adds farm animals and old cottages a short drive away. With no zoo or aquarium nearby, families tend to stay a night or two and move on.

Cork is slightly easier without a car, mainly because its suburban rail line serves Fota, Cobh and Midleton. On foot, Cork's island centre is easy, but the north side climbs steeply to Shandon.

Limerick's centre is flat, and you can walk from the castle to the Georgian Quarter in well under half an hour. The station is central, with trains to Galway and Ennis. Rural buses are sparse, though, so most visitors pick up a car at Shannon Airport.

Cork has more for a browsing afternoon. The Huguenot Quarter and the streets off Princes Street have independent shops, and Irish knitwear, crafts and whiskey are easy to find. The English Market is the place to buy cheese to take home.

Limerick's shopping is mostly high-street, along O'Connell Street and in a large suburban centre. Its most interesting stop is the Milk Market, with secondhand and craft stalls. Limerick lace is part of the city's history but hard to buy.

Neither city is cheap, as both share Ireland's high prices for eating out and drinking. Limerick has a small edge on rooms, which are reasonable for Western Europe outside big rugby weekends. In Cork, hotels are costly for its size, especially at summer weekends and during festivals.

Transport changes the sums. A Cork stay can rely on trains, while exploring from Limerick usually means hiring a car, and that can wipe out what you save on the hotel.

Both cities do well for their size, and they are strong in different ways. Cork's set pieces are the Opera House, the Victorian Everyman and the long-running jazz festival at the end of October. On ordinary nights, the pub sessions are where the music is.

Limerick's strength is a steadier classical programme. The Irish Chamber Orchestra is based at the University Concert Hall, and the university's Irish music school feeds a good session scene. Anyone after opera has to go to Dublin.

Neither city is a place to rest, and in both, wellness in town comes down to a hotel spa. Cork's local habit is cold-water swimming in the harbour coves, and there is a resort spa out on Fota Island.

Limerick's better options are outside the city: country-house spas around Adare and Lough Derg, and hot seaweed baths in the Atlantic seaside towns about an hour away.