Lisbon or Montevideo?

Both cities give you a beach day rather than a beach vacation, but in very different ways. Lisbon has no sand in the city itself. You take the train out to the surf at Carcavelos and the calmer bays at Cascais, or cross the river to Costa da Caparica, and the water is cold, clear Atlantic.

Montevideo's beaches line the Rambla right in town, from Pocitos to Carrasco, and the estuary is pleasantly warm in January. The drawback is the water itself, which is often brown with silt and sometimes closed to swimmers after heavy rain.

Lisbon offers more variety and better everyday eating: grilled fish and bacalhau in family tascas, clams and prawns in seafood halls, warm custard tarts at every counter and good wine poured cheaply from several regions.

Montevideo's cooking centres on one thing, beef from the wood-fired parrilla, at its best in the Mercado del Puerto with a chivito or a glass of Tannat. Beyond meat and Italian-influenced dishes there is little range, so the cooking gets repetitive over a longer stay in a way Lisbon's does not.

Lisbon has landmarks of real historical weight, including the Manueline Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, the Baixa rebuilt after 1755, and the castle above Alfama. Its museums are also stronger, with the Gulbenkian's broad collection and the National Tile Museum.

Montevideo's sights are pleasant and full of character rather than major. The Palacio Salvo, the Teatro Solís, the Torres García museum and the Andes crash museum fill two or three days, and parts of the Ciudad Vieja look neglected.

Lisbon is the livelier night out. Bairro Alto's lanes fill with crowds drinking on the street at weekends, Cais do Sodré keeps going later, and the warehouse clubs by the river run until morning.

Montevideo keeps similarly late hours but on a smaller scale, with pubs in Pocitos, students in Cordón and a few bars in the Ciudad Vieja. Weeknights are quiet, and in summer much of the party crowd leaves for the coastal resorts.

This is where the two differ most. Lisbon has the Monsanto forest inside the city and, close by, the misty Sintra hills, the cliffs and dunes at Guincho, the limestone ridges of Arrábida and dolphins in the Sado estuary, along with year-round surf at Ericeira.

Montevideo's outdoor life is mostly the Rambla, more than 20km of waterfront for evening walks, runs and bike rides, plus some leafy parks. Beyond the city the land is flat, and the nearest gentle hills are a long drive away.

Lisbon has an unusually rich choice of days out. Sintra's palaces are a short train ride away, Cascais and Mafra are nearby, and Roman Évora and the UNESCO monasteries at Alcobaça, Batalha and Tomar are all within a day's return.

Montevideo has fewer options, and they are further away. Colonia del Sacramento is the highlight, and Punta del Este and Piriápolis are along the coast, but most of these take a long day. The Canelones wineries are the easy short trip.

Lisbon has the bigger attractions for children: the Oceanário, the science centre and the cable car at Parque das Nações, as well as rides on trams and funiculars. Its hills, stairways and slippery pavements make pushchairs hard work.

Montevideo has no major aquarium or science museum, so days with children revolve around scooters on the flat Rambla, the shallow city beaches and the little amusement park in Parque Rodó. It is gentler on the legs but has fewer highlights.

Lisbon has the better network. A clear metro, suburban trains to Sintra and Cascais, river ferries and the historic trams all run on one card, and most sights are within walking distance. The catch is the climbing, on steep streets and stairways.

Montevideo is the opposite. The centre is flat and easy on foot, but the city stretches far along the shore, and with buses as the only public transport, which newcomers find confusing, visitors often end up taking taxis between the old town and Pocitos.

Lisbon gives shoppers far more. There are the luxury houses on Avenida da Liberdade, old-established shops in Chiado, designers in Príncipe Real, and a long list of things worth carrying home, from azulejo tiles and cork to tinned sardines and port.

Montevideo's best shopping is the Sunday sprawl of Tristán Narvaja and crafts such as leather, knitwear and mate gourds. Beyond that it is mostly malls, and imported goods are expensive.

Lisbon is the cheaper of the two day to day. Tasca lunches, house wine, coffee and transport all cost little, although central rooms are priced like other southern European capitals.

Montevideo surprises many visitors by charging roughly Southern European prices across the board, and hotels in Pocitos are expensive in summer. Steak dinners, set lunches, buses and free museums help, but it is not a budget city.

The two are broadly level, each with its own music rooted in local neighbourhoods. In Lisbon this is fado, sung every night in Alfama and Mouraria, and the formal season is led by the Gulbenkian orchestra and the São Carlos opera house.

Montevideo's highlight is seasonal: the month-long Carnaval of murga troupes and candombe drumming, along with tango all year round and opera and ballet at the Teatro Solís and the SODRE. Outside summer there is less on.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and spa treatments mean hotel wellness floors in both. The difference is where you find calm. Lisbon's old quarters are noisy and crowded, so a restful stay means sleeping out on the Cascais coast or in the Sintra hills. In Montevideo the city itself is quiet, and sunsets with mate on the Rambla walls are rest enough.