Liverpool or York?

Liverpool at least has the sea on its doorstep. Merseyrail runs straight out to the Gormley figures standing on the sands at Crosby and to the pine-backed dunes at Formby, and West Kirby's walled marine lake is the one place where a dip is easy whatever the tide. The shore is for wind and long walks, though, because the tide goes out a very long way and soft mud makes stretches of it unsafe.

York is inland, so any beach is a full day out. Scarborough's two sandy bays are about an hour away by train, and Filey and Whitby lie further on. In both cities the coast is a change of scene and not a reason to come.

Liverpool offers more range. Alongside the local stew, scouse, it has a long-established Chinatown under its great arch, the independent cafés and international kitchens of Bold Street and the street-food halls of the Baltic Triangle. Victorian gin palaces add atmosphere.

York is more traditional and more limited. It is good for afternoon tea and fat rascals in old tearooms, real ale from Yorkshire breweries and modern British cooking with local game, but international food is thin and the streets around the Minster lean towards tourist fare.

York comes out ahead because so much history is packed into so small an area. The Minster's medieval glass, a walk along the walls, Jorvik built over a Viking street and the abbey ruins in the Museum Gardens are all within a twenty-minute walk of each other, and the National Railway Museum adds a world-class collection.

Liverpool tells a different and more recent story, that of a great Atlantic port. It is best seen at the Albert Dock's maritime and slavery museums, the Three Graces at the Pier Head and the Pre-Raphaelites in the Walker. Its two cathedrals are 20th-century buildings, where York's is medieval.

The gap is wide here. Liverpool is built for going out: Concert Square, Seel Street and Wood Street fill up at weekends, the Baltic Triangle's warehouses run late electronic nights, and Lark Lane has easygoing local bars. Students keep weeknights busy too.

York's evenings revolve around its centuries-old inns on Micklegate, Stonegate and the riverside. A crawl round them is a real pleasure, but there is little else, and anyone wanting a proper club night takes the train to Leeds. Both cities draw stag and hen groups at weekends.

York has the better countryside within reach. The North York Moors begin about 40km away, turn purple with heather in late summer and end in sea cliffs at Robin Hood's Bay. The Dales, with their limestone scars and waterfalls, are about an hour west. In the city itself there are riverside paths and the open grass of the Strays, but you need a car for most of the wider landscape.

Liverpool's outdoors is flatter and closer to the coast. It has Sefton Park's lake and palm house, the breezy Mersey promenade, red squirrels in the Formby pinewoods and the Wirral Way out to the wading birds of the Dee estuary. Hills mean a two-hour drive.

York is the stronger base. Durham's cathedral and castle are under an hour away by train, and Harrogate, Leeds, Beverley and Scarborough are all close. By road it is easy to reach Castle Howard, Fountains Abbey, Rievaulx, Whitby and the steam railway from Pickering, though for many of the abbeys and houses you need a car or a coach tour.

Liverpool's outings are fewer. Roman Chester is the best of them and Manchester is under an hour away, with Port Sunlight and Southport close by. Beyond those, Conwy and Llandudno need a long drive.

Both cities suit families about equally, in different ways. York is history made into an adventure: walking the walls, the locomotive hall at the Railway Museum, Jorvik and gory ghost walks, all in a compact, largely car-free centre.

Liverpool offers science and animals. The World Museum has dinosaurs, an aquarium room and a planetarium, the ferry crossing is a simple treat, and Chester Zoo and Knowsley Safari Park make bigger days out. Plan around its loud weekend nights.

Both cities are easy to see on foot. York is flatter and tighter: nearly everything lies inside or just outside the walls and much of it is pedestrianised. Its station is a rail hub for the rest of the north, although country buses are sparse.

Liverpool spreads a little further, and Hope Street and the university quarter sit on a hill. Merseyrail and the ferry reach the coast and the Wirral more easily than York's buses reach the moors, but to get to Sefton Park or Anfield you need a bus or a taxi.

Liverpool is the better place for practical shopping. Liverpool ONE gathers the major chains and department stores in one open-air district, and Bold Street adds vintage clothes and record shops. Beatles and football souvenirs are what most visitors take home.

York's appeal is the setting: independent bookshops, jewellers and antiques dealers in the medieval lanes of Stonegate and Petergate. The Shambles is crowded with souvenir and wizard-themed shops, and the Christmas markets are a reason to visit in December. Neither city has much luxury fashion.

Your money goes further in Liverpool. Hotel rooms are generally cheaper, except on match weekends and around the Grand National, and the maritime, slavery, world and Walker collections are all free, so a full day of sightseeing costs very little.

York costs more, mainly because rooms inside or near the walls are in heavy demand at weekends, on race days and at Christmas. The Minster, Jorvik and the castle museums charge for entry, though the walls, the Museum Gardens and the Railway Museum are free. Staying midweek or just outside the centre makes a real difference.

Liverpool is far ahead. Music is part of its identity: bands play most nights around Mathew Street and Seel Street, the Cavern cellar draws visitors from all over the world, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has a full season on Hope Street. The Everyman and the Playhouse produce their own theatre.

York offers smaller pleasures. The Theatre Royal is one of England's oldest playhouses, early music is played in a medieval church, and choral evensong at the Minster is free. The Mystery Plays are revived from time to time on wagons in the streets, but the city has no orchestra of note and big touring shows go to Leeds.

York is the better choice for a restful break, mostly because Harrogate is half an hour away by train. The Royal Baths there still have a Victorian Turkish bath with tiled hot rooms and plunge pools. In York itself, an early walk on the walls, the Museum Gardens and a long afternoon tea set a gentle pace.

Liverpool has hotel spas but nothing like Harrogate, and the centre is loud at weekends. For a quieter stay, base yourself on the Wirral or the coast and keep the city for day visits.