Montreal or Salem, Massachusetts?

Neither is a beach destination, but Salem comes out ahead because ocean sand is close by. The long dunes of Crane Beach in Ipswich, Singing Beach and Devereux Beach line the North Shore, and Salem Willows and Winter Island give harbour paddling in town. The Gulf of Maine stays cold, so expect a brisk swim rather than a long soak.

Montreal swims inland. There is the supervised lake beach on Île Notre-Dame, a small river beach in Verdun and Oka's shore about an hour west. The water is a little warmer, but it is a lake, not the sea, and it gets crowded on hot weekends.

Food is a reason to travel to Montreal in a way it is not for Salem. Montreal has wood-fired Mile End bagels, hand-cut smoked meat, poutine and spring sugar-shack feasts. There is Québécois bistro cooking with game and local cheeses, and the Jean-Talon and Atwater markets. Portuguese, Haitian, Lebanese and Vietnamese kitchens add more range again.

Salem offers good New England seaside eating: chowder, fried clams, lobster rolls and North Shore oysters. The choice is small, and there is no market culture. Many visitors keep their best meals for a day in Boston.

The two are broadly level, and each fills about two days, but the history is of a different kind. Montreal has the heritage of a large city. There are the grey-stone streets of Old Montreal and the deep blue interior of Notre-Dame Basilica. Saint Joseph's Oratory sits on the mountainside, and you can trace the city from its archaeological beginnings at Pointe-à-Callière to the Expo 67 Biosphere. The Museum of Fine Arts heads a broad range of museums.

Salem's story is more focused. It runs from the witch trials of 1692 to the seafaring wealth that followed, seen in the maritime park's wharves and custom house and in the Federal mansions of Chestnut Street. The Peabody Essex Museum, with its Chinese merchant's house rebuilt inside, matches anything in Montreal for a single visit.

Montreal is one of North America's late cities. Cocktail bars, dives and clubs run along Boulevard Saint-Laurent, Mile End has wine bars, and the Village has a long-established gay scene. In summer there are terrace nights and outdoor electronic parties on Île Sainte-Hélène.

Salem offers a taproom pint or a cocktail in an old building, and then bed. October crowds make the town livelier, but it never becomes a late scene. A proper night out means taking the train to Boston.

Montreal has more variety and more drama. You can walk Mount Royal's trails right beside downtown, cycle the Lachine Canal or surf a river wave below the rapids. Within about an hour and a half you reach the lakes and ski slopes of the Laurentians, and winter brings snowshoeing and cross-country skiing.

Salem's outdoors is coastal and gentle. There are granite headlands at Marblehead and Cape Ann, sea kayaking among the harbour islands, birding on Plum Island and whale-watching boats from Gloucester. These are things Montreal cannot offer, but there are no hills or mountains within easy reach.

Day trips are Salem's strongest suit. Boston is about half an hour away by train, Marblehead is almost next door, and the same rail line runs to Gloucester and Rockport. Lexington and Concord, Newburyport and Portsmouth all make easy outings, so a stay can take in a lot of New England.

Montreal's best outing is Ottawa, about two hours away by train, along with the villages and cider routes of the Eastern Townships. Distances are longer, and Quebec City is really an overnight trip rather than a day out.

Montreal has much more for children. The Biodome, Insectarium and Botanical Garden are grouped together at the Olympic Park, the Old Port has the Science Centre and winter skating, and there is the Expo-era amusement park. Families are welcome in cafés too, though winter cold makes outings tiring.

Salem's flat, safe centre is easy with children, and older ones enjoy the tall ship and the Salem Willows arcade. There is little made for younger children, though, and the hanging stories can be grim for them.

Montreal is easier to get around. Its compact central districts can be walked or cycled on separated lanes, a simple four-line metro reaches the Olympic Park and the islands, and in winter the underground passages keep you out of the snow.

Salem is a twenty-minute town on foot, with the train to Boston close to the centre. Once you leave the rail line, buses are sparse, and Crane Beach or Concord is far easier with a car.

For browsing, Montreal gives you far more ground to cover, though neither city is worth the trip for shopping alone. Rue Sainte-Catherine has the chains and department stores, many linked to the underground passages, and the Golden Square Mile around Ogilvy covers the luxury end. Mile End, the Plateau and Saint-Henri are the better afternoons, with Quebec designers, vintage clothing and record shops. Maple products, ice cider and Inuit art make good things to take home.

Salem's shops are a curiosity rather than a shopping street. Essex Street sells tarot, crystals, spell books and Halloween souvenirs, and the antique dealers and the Peabody Essex Museum shop add a little quality. There is no fashion to speak of.

Neither is cheap, but Montreal is easier on the budget. Its hotels cost about what you would expect in a North American city, much of its best food is casual, and many festival concerts are free. Winter is the cheapest time to stay, apart from Christmas and New Year.

Salem has few beds at Boston-area rates, and in October rooms are very hard to find, so many visitors stay further out. Walking and the train keep daily costs down, but Salem costs more for somewhere to sleep.

Montreal's symphony, opera and Les Grands Ballets all share one downtown complex, Place des Arts. Salem visitors who want any of these take the train to Boston and catch a late service back. Montreal adds a large French-language theatre scene and a real speciality in contemporary circus, with the National Circus School and TOHU. In summer the jazz festival fills the Quartier des Spectacles with free concerts.

In Salem the choice is a small professional theatre company, the odd concert or talk at the Peabody Essex Museum, and witch-trial re-enactments in October. It is pleasant enough for one evening, but there is little to plan a trip around.

Bathing is a ritual in Montreal, and locals keep it up all year. The Nordic circuit takes you from hot pools and saunas to a cold plunge and a rest by the fire, either on Nuns' Island or on a converted ferry in the Old Port with the skyline in view. Bigger forest spas sit by the rivers of the Laurentians, about an hour north. In summer the city's easy pace carries on in Parc La Fontaine.

Salem has nothing like that circuit. Its offer is a handful of day spas and massage rooms, and the town's spiritual side adds readings and meditation rather than any bathing culture. Its calm is quiet and costs nothing: a slow walk past the Chestnut Street mansions or along the harbour. You only get that outside October, when Halloween crowds fill the streets.