Manchester or The Hague?

Manchester has no beach of its own. The coast at Formby or Blackpool is an hour or more away by train and works as an outing for sea air, not swimming. In The Hague the sea is part of the city: Scheveningen's wide sand, pier and summer pavilions are a short tram ride from the centre, and Kijkduin offers a quieter stretch backed by dunes.

Neither city is a place for a swimming vacation, since the Irish Sea and the North Sea both stay cold. But only The Hague lets you spend a warm afternoon on the sand without planning a day trip around it.

The two are evenly matched, and both are better for range than for a cuisine of their own. Manchester's strengths are Chinatown, the curry houses of Rusholme and the food halls in old Ancoats mills. Its drinking is better than its eating, with Victorian pubs and breweries under the railway arches.

The Hague's speciality is Indonesian cooking, from a full rijsttafel to simple plates of rendang, a legacy of its families from the former Dutch East Indies. It also has seafood by Scheveningen harbour and herring from street carts in early summer. If you are coming for the pubs and beer, choose Manchester. If you are coming for rijsttafel and the seafront, choose The Hague.

The Hague has the sights that people travel specially to see. The Mauritshuis holds Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Rembrandt's Anatomy Lesson, and the Kunstmuseum has the world's largest Mondrian collection. Around them sit the medieval Binnenhof, the Peace Palace and the Panorama Mesdag.

Manchester's sights are good but more specialised. They tell the story of the first industrial city through the Science and Industry Museum, the mills of Ancoats and Castlefield and the neo-Gothic Town Hall. Many of its galleries are free, but none of its sights is famous around the world the way the Dutch Golden Age paintings are.

This is where the gap between the two is widest. Manchester's nights are shaped by its dance-music history. The old textile warehouses of the Northern Quarter are full of dive bars and small DJ rooms, the Gay Village on Canal Street is one of Europe's oldest, and term-time students keep the city busy during the week.

The Hague goes to bed earlier. Civil servants fill the terraces on the Plein, the Grote Markt is busy at weekends, and in summer the beach pavilions at Scheveningen turn into places for sundowners and dancing. There are only a handful of clubs, and serious clubbers head to Rotterdam or Amsterdam.

Manchester has the edge because it has hills. The gritstone edges and moors of the Peak District start on the city's eastern fringe, and Kinder Scout and Mam Tor are under an hour away by train. Heaton Park and the canal towpaths cover gentler walks closer in.

The Hague is entirely flat, but its outdoors has the sea. It has the dunes and woods of Meijendel, the old Haagse Bos forest almost in the centre, and cycle paths along the coast. When the wind picks up there is kitesurfing too. Come here for beach walks and dune cycling, and go to Manchester for moorland climbs, with waterproofs packed.

Both cities are excellent bases, but The Hague's day trips are closer together. Delft and Leiden are about a quarter of an hour away, Gouda and Rotterdam take less than half an hour, and Amsterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht are all under an hour. Kinderdijk's windmills and the spring bulb fields are close as well.

Manchester's trips involve a little more travel but cover more variety. There is Liverpool's waterfront, Roman Chester, York's Minster across the Pennines, and Chatsworth and Buxton in the Peak District. Even the Lake District is close enough for a day out.

The Hague makes family days easier. Madurodam's miniature Netherlands, the sea aquarium and sandy beach at Scheveningen, and Museon are all inside the city. The streets are calm, flat and easy with a pushchair.

Manchester relies on indoor attractions, many of them free. There are working engines at the Science and Industry Museum, dinosaurs at the Manchester Museum, and an aquarium and a real-snow slope out at the Trafford Centre. But Chester Zoo and the big theme parks mean a day's travel, and the centre gets rowdy on weekend nights.

Both centres are compact and flat enough to walk. Manchester's yellow Metrolink trams reach Salford Quays, Old Trafford and the airport, but rain and the crowds when big events are on make it less smooth.

The Hague is easier to get around because of bicycles. It has separate cycle lanes almost everywhere and dune paths along the coast, and frequent trams run out to Scheveningen. Its two stations put Delft and Rotterdam within suburban reach.

Manchester has more choice. There are high-street names around Market Street, designer labels on King Street, the enormous Trafford Centre, and in the Northern Quarter, record shops, vintage clothing and the many floors of stalls at Afflecks.

The Hague's shopping is smaller and more refined. Antique dealers, galleries and boutiques line the Denneweg and Noordeinde, and the 1880s Passage arcade is pleasant to walk through. Its most memorable stop is the huge open-air Haagse Markt, piled with fabrics and spices.

Neither city is cheap, but Manchester costs somewhat less. Its curry houses and Chinatown make cheap meals easy to find, and its free museums save a good deal over a stay. The main risk is hotel prices jumping on football match days and for big concerts.

The Hague charges full Northern European prices, and seafront hotels at Scheveningen cost more in summer. Since weekday business travel fills its central hotels, weekends there are better value. Indonesian and Surinamese cafés, picnics from the market and a hired bike help keep costs down.

Manchester offers more for an evening out at a performance. It has a deep gig circuit from Northern Quarter back rooms up to a huge arena, two major orchestras at the Bridgewater Hall, and the Royal Exchange, a theatre-in-the-round set inside the old cotton trading hall.

The Hague has one standout: Nederlands Dans Theater, one of the world's leading contemporary dance companies, performing in its home city. Beyond that, the Residentie Orkest is solid, but much of the drama is in Dutch, which limits theatre for most visitors.

Manchester has very little for a restful stay. Hotel spas and a few day spas in the centre are about all it offers, and Victoria Baths, the grand Edwardian swimming hall, is toured as heritage rather than swum in. To slow down properly you have to leave the city. Buxton, about an hour away by train, is an old spa town built around its warm spring, with a Georgian crescent and Peak District hills all around.

The Hague is better mainly because of its Dutch sauna culture. Several large wellness complexes in and around the city are designed for a full day's visit, with a series of saunas and steam rooms, cold plunge pools, outdoor gardens and massage. Be aware that nudity is the rule in most of them. The city's quiet also helps: embassy streets and residential quarters stay peaceful after dark. The Kurhaus at Scheveningen is a reminder of the old bathing resort, though none of the historic baths is still in use.