Lofoten or Tromso?

Neither is a swimming destination, but in Lofoten the beaches are a real part of the trip. Haukland, Uttakleiv, Ramberg and Skagsanden have pale sand under the peaks, and the walk over to Kvalvika makes a day of it. The late-summer sea is a few degrees warmer than Tromso's, enough for a bracing dip after a sauna.

Tromso has little to match this. Telegrafbukta is a small strip on the island that only fills on rare warm afternoons, and the better sand is out at Sommaroy, about an hour's drive away.

Both cook from the same Arctic larder, with skrei cod in late winter, stockfish and fish soup, and in neither is the food a reason to come. The difference is in the setting. Lofoten's places to eat are scattered through the fishing villages, with the most choice in Svolvær and Henningsvær, and many visitors buy fish off the quay to cook in their cabin.

Tromso keeps its better tables together on the old harbour quays and adds king crab, reindeer and a few more ambitious kitchens. A nineteenth-century brewery sits at the heart of its drinking life, so eating out night after night is easier to arrange.

Lofoten has more heritage to see, because its fishing history is all around you. There are rorbuer on stilts in every harbour, the preserved trading post at Nusfjord and the fishery and stockfish museums at Å. The reconstructed chieftain's longhouse at Borg is the most substantial sight in the islands.

Tromso's sights are fewer and fit into a day or two: the Arctic Cathedral across the bridge, the Polar Museum on Amundsen and Nansen, and Tromso Museum on Sami culture. Beyond these the centre is mostly modern, with only a few streets of painted wooden houses.

This is one of the clearest differences between the two. In Lofoten an evening out is a beer at a harbour pub in Svolvær or a drink on a quay in Henningsvær, and there are no clubs at all.

Tromso has a university and a proper weekend scene along Storgata and the harbour, with cocktail bars and a couple of dance floors that stay open late. It is still small, and quiet midweek.

Lofoten's scenery is right beside the road. A wall of granite peaks rises straight out of the sea, with white bays at their feet, and short, steep climbs such as Reinebringen above Reine and Ryten above Kvalvika give huge views for a few hours' effort. Summer adds climbing on the Svolvær granite, sea kayaking among the skerries and cold-water surfing at Unstad, and in late winter ski touring runs down to the shore.

Tromso is the better base for guided winter trips into the wild. Aurora tours drive inland to find clear skies, orcas and humpbacks feed in the fjords, and there is dog and reindeer sledding, with the Lyngen Alps about two hours away. Closer in, the Fjellheisen cable car lifts you to a ridge above the town, and in summer Tromsdalstinden makes a fine hike under the midnight sun.

Neither offers much beyond its own landscape, but Lofoten has more places to go, because driving the island chain is the outing. You can visit Henningsvær on its skerries, Svolvær and Kabelvåg, or Reine and Hamnøy, and ferries run to the seabird islands of Værøy and Røst. The villages do start to look alike after two or three.

From Tromso the realistic outings are fewer: Sommaroy about an hour away, the old trading post at Hillesoy, and the coastal hamlets of Kvaloya and Senja. Most visitors book another fjord or aurora trip instead.

Both are safe and calm places to bring children, and in both it is the outdoors that children remember. Tromso is the easier base, with the Polaria aquarium, a science centre, a walkable centre, and husky rides and reindeer feeding. Midwinter there brings hard cold and aurora tours that run late into the night.

Lofoten suits an active family moving slowly along the islands, with rock pools at Ramberg and Haukland, fishing off the quays and the Viking longhouse at Borg. The price is long hours in the car, and the famous hikes are too steep and exposed for small children.

Tromso is far easier without a car. You can cross the centre on foot in a quarter of an hour, buses run to the airport and the mainland, and tours pick you up for the fjords and aurora spots. The catch is icy, steep streets in winter.

Lofoten more or less requires a hire car. The E10 takes about two hours from Svolvær to Å, buses are sparse, and in summer the single-lane bridges and full trailhead car parks slow you down. Even reaching the islands takes planning, whether by small airport, the ferry from Bodø or a coastal ship.

Neither is a place to go shopping, and what differs is what you bring home. In Lofoten it is art and craft: paintings and photographs from the galleries in Henningsvær and Svolvær, and glass and ceramics from the villages. Tromso's Storgata is more practical, good for thermal layers and outdoor gear alongside knitwear and Sami crafts.

Both charge full Norwegian prices, and neither suits a tight budget. The costs fall in different places. In Lofoten it is car hire, fuel and scarce cabins, though the landscape is free and most rooms have a kitchen.

In Tromso the paid excursions add up quickly: whale safaris, dog sledding and aurora tours. Self-catering and hunting for the lights yourself in the hills above town both help keep costs down.

Tromso has a real cultural season, if a small one. The Arctic Philharmonic and the Halogaland Theatre perform through the year, the Northern Lights Festival brings music in midwinter, a film festival fills the cinemas each January, and there are midnight concerts in the Arctic Cathedral in summer.

Lofoten has nothing comparable. Its live music comes in summer, with small festivals and concerts in churches and old fish-processing buildings, and for most of the year there is little to go to.

Both relax the Norwegian way, with saunas, some of them floating in the harbour, followed by a plunge into cold water, and neither has thermal baths. Lofoten's calm is more complete, a rorbu cabin over the water and nothing to hurry for. Tromso adds a large swimming hall with warm pools for dark afternoons, but a stay there tends to fill up with early excursions and late aurora trips.