London or St Andrews?

Neither city is a beach destination, but the two are different. London has no shore of its own. Its nearest seaside is Brighton's pebble beach, about an hour away by train, and the city's real swimming is done in fresh water at the lidos and the Hampstead Heath ponds.

St Andrews has sand right at the edge of town: West Sands with its dunes, sheltered East Sands by the harbour, and little Castle Sands below the cliffs. The North Sea is colder than the Channel, though, so its beaches are better for walking and kite flying than for swimming.

London is far ahead here. The city's strength is the cooking of its communities, from Brick Lane curry houses and Chinatown to the Turkish grills of Green Lanes and Caribbean kitchens south of the river. On top of that come Borough Market, a large fine-dining scene and the rituals of the Sunday roast and afternoon tea.

St Andrews offers good Scottish produce, such as East Neuk crab, Fife lamb and harbourside fish and chips down the coast, plus a well-loved ice cream habit. The choice is small, though, and quiet outside term time, so food is a pleasant part of a visit rather than a reason to go.

London's collections are among the deepest anywhere, and the British Museum, the National Gallery, the V&A and the Tates cost nothing to enter. Around them are a thousand years of landmarks, from the Tower and Westminster Abbey to Wren's St Paul's and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. A week only begins to cover them.

St Andrews tells one medieval story in a small space. You can climb St Rule's Tower above the ruined cathedral and crawl through the castle's siege tunnels. Then walk past the quadrangles and St Salvator's Chapel of a university founded in 1413. Golf adds its own heritage at the Swilcan Bridge and the British Golf Museum, but the whole town fits into a day or two.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. In London, a night out means picking a district: Soho for late cocktail bars and the gay scene, the east for warehouse parties and clubs, Brixton and Peckham for big venues and rooftops. Behind all of these sit thousands of pubs.

In St Andrews, evenings mean a pint in a traditional bar or a golf lounge. In term time the students liven up a few places, but in summer the town is quiet. Anyone after a club night takes the bus to Dundee or Edinburgh.

The two are roughly level, but the outdoors means different things in each. London's green space is mostly parkland: Hampstead Heath's views over the skyline, the deer and ancient oaks of Richmond Park, Kew's gardens, and the gentle chalk downs an hour away by train.

St Andrews has wilder coast close at hand. The Fife Coastal Path passes sea stacks and caves, wading birds gather on the Eden estuary, and seals haul out at Tentsmuir. There are links courses all around, and the Lomond Hills are close enough for proper hill walking if you have a car.

London has the edge because it sits at the centre of the rail network. Oxford, Cambridge and Windsor are about an hour away, and Bath, Canterbury, Brighton and Stonehenge are all easy days out without a car.

St Andrews is a better base than its size suggests. The East Neuk harbours, Falkland Palace and Dundee are all close, and Edinburgh makes a full day out. The castles and abbeys further inland, such as Glamis, Stirling and Scone, are much easier with a car than by bus.

London gives children far more to do. The dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum, the Science Museum's hands-on galleries and the Young V&A are all free. On top of that come the Diana Memorial Playground, the zoo, and Legoland and the Harry Potter studio tour outside the city. The trade-off is long distances, stairs at Tube stations and crowds in the school vacations.

St Andrews is the gentler choice, small and safe enough for older children to roam a little. It offers rock pools on East Sands, the castle siege tunnels, Craigtoun Park's miniature railway and the putting green by the Old Course. It suits a few relaxed days rather than a packed itinerary.

London's transport reaches almost everywhere. The Underground, the Elizabeth line, buses and riverboats can all be paid for with one contactless card, so you never need a car. The cost is time, because the city is huge and the Tube is packed at rush hour.

St Andrews is the opposite: everything in town is a short walk, from the cathedral to the Old Course. Things only get harder beyond the town. The nearest station is Leuchars, about 8km away, and the countryside is far easier to see with a car.

London is one of the world's great shopping cities. It has luxury houses on Bond Street, bespoke tailoring on Savile Row, department stores such as Liberty and Harrods, and markets from Portobello Road to Columbia Road.

Shopping in St Andrews fills an afternoon on its three main streets. Golf gear and Old Course souvenirs are the speciality, alongside cashmere, tartan and independent bookshops. Serious shoppers go to Edinburgh.

Neither is cheap, but London is clearly the more expensive. Central hotel rooms are small and costly, and meals, rounds of drinks and theatre tickets add up. The free national museums and parks are the big saving, and so is staying further out along a Tube line.

St Andrews is easier on the budget day to day. Meals cost about the UK average, and walking and buses keep transport cheap. Rooms are limited and jump in price around tournaments and graduation, though, and a round on the famous courses is a big expense.

The gap is enormous here. In London you can choose between a West End musical, a new play at the Royal Court and Shakespeare at the Globe on the same evening, and small fringe rooms above pubs add more. Opera and ballet play at Covent Garden and the Coliseum, the city has five major orchestras, and the Proms fill the Royal Albert Hall each summer. The programme is year-round, and it is a reason to plan a trip around the evenings.

St Andrews has the Byre Theatre, choral and chamber concerts in the university's halls and chapel during term, and folk sessions in some pubs. The programme is modest and goes quiet in the summer break. For opera or an orchestra, you need to go to Edinburgh or Dundee.

Neither city is a spa destination, and they relax you in different ways. London has bathing heritage, with surviving Victorian and Edwardian Turkish baths in Bayswater and Islington and spas in the grand hotels, but the city's pace is fast. Bath's thermal waters are a day trip away.

St Andrews has no public baths, but the town is calmer. Long walks on West Sands, sea air, quiet evenings and the golf resorts' hotel spas make up for it, and the hardy can join the locals' cold sea dips off East Sands.