Nicosia or Tbilisi?

Neither city is on the sea, but Nicosia is much closer to it. Larnaca's town beach and the coast around Kyrenia are each about 45 minutes away, so a swim makes an easy day out, as long as you have a car.

From Tbilisi the Black Sea is about five hours away, which makes it a separate trip. In the summer heat, locals cool off at the Tbilisi Sea reservoir, Lisi Lake, Turtle Lake or a pool, none of which is worth planning a trip around.

Tbilisi is the better place to eat. Nicosia's long meze, charcoal souvla and halloumi are good, and crossing to Bandabulya adds Turkish Cypriot grills and pastries, but the cooking is familiar Eastern Mediterranean fare.

Georgian food is more of a discovery, with walnut sauces, pomegranate, soup dumplings and shoti bread hot from clay ovens. The wine stands out even more: amber qvevri wines from Kakheti beat what Nicosia offers, which is Commandaria and the Troodos labels. Both cities have little choice beyond their own cuisine.

The two are well matched, each worth two or three days of walking. Neither has a single sight of world fame. Nicosia's draw is history in layers: Venetian bastions, the Lusignan cathedral that became the Selimiye Mosque, Ottoman caravanserais, and a Green Line that turns one stroll into a visit to two halves of a capital. The Cyprus Museum's antiquities are the main collection.

Tbilisi is more about texture than layers. It has carved wooden balconies under Narikala, sixth-century churches, the Art Nouveau entrance halls of Sololaki, and Colchian gold and Pirosmani's paintings in its museums.

Tbilisi is the clear choice for going out. Its techno clubs in old Soviet and industrial buildings draw dancers from across Europe and run until well after dawn at weekends. Before that, there are wine bars in Sololaki and courtyard bars near Marjanishvili.

In Nicosia an evening means drinks on the pavements around Faneromeni and Ledra Street, which only get busy towards midnight, and then a few lounge bars outside the walls. It is friendly and local, but the island's bigger clubs are on the coast.

The two are close, but the scenery differs in reach. In Nicosia the plain is flat and green space is mostly the moat gardens. The walking starts on the Kyrenia ridge or among the pine forests of the Troodos, about an hour away, which offer cool air in summer.

Tbilisi has hills right in the city: a funicular to Mtatsminda and trails from Turtle Lake into a forested national park. Beyond that is the Greater Caucasus, with Gudauri about two hours north and Kazbegi best done with a night away.

Both are excellent bases, and the outings differ in kind. From Nicosia you can cover most of an island. There are crusader castles and Bellapais abbey above Kyrenia, Roman Salamis beside walled Famagusta, the painted Troodos churches, and seaside towns to the south. A hire car, insured to cross the Green Line, makes it all easy.

Tbilisi's trips lean towards monasteries and wine. Mtskheta is half an hour away, Kakheti's wineries and walled Sighnaghi about two hours, and there is the cave monastery of David Gareja and the rock town of Uplistsikhe. Most visitors go with a driver or a tour.

Tbilisi gives children a little more to do. The funicular ride up to the Ferris wheel on Mtatsminda, the cable car, the zoo and Turtle Lake make easy treats. The catch is steep cobbles, underpasses with stairs and fast traffic, all hard work with a pushchair.

Nicosia has the flatter old town and an equally warm welcome for children at dinner. However, it has no zoo or theme park, the beaches need a car, and midsummer heat makes July and August tiring. Families usually stay on the coast and visit for a day.

Tbilisi is easier to get around without a car. A two-line Soviet metro runs along the main axis, and ride-hailing is cheap enough to cover the hillsides, though crossing big roads often means using an underpass.

Nicosia works well on foot only inside the walls, where the Ledra Street crossing takes you north in minutes. Beyond them the city spreads into car-built suburbs with no rail and few useful buses, so most visitors end up hiring a car and driving on the left.

Neither city is worth a trip for shopping, but you would bring different things home. Nicosia covers the mainstream: high-street chains on Ledra Street, designer brands on Makarios Avenue, and Lefkara lace and pottery at the Handicraft Centre. Across the line, Bandabulya sells spices and copperware.

Tbilisi is better for curios. The Dry Bridge market spreads Soviet badges, cameras and old silver along the river, and there is cloisonné enamel, qvevri wine and chacha to take home, plus a few local designers in Vera.

Tbilisi costs a good deal less. A generous Georgian meal with wine, bakery khachapuri, metro rides and cross-town taxis are all cheap, guesthouses are plentiful, and most churches are free to enter. Prices only approach European levels in boutique hotels and cocktail bars.

In Nicosia, meze and coffee are good value, and meals are cheaper still in the north. Hotel rooms are mid-range, though, and the hire car most visitors need adds a real cost to the trip.

Tbilisi has more to see on stage. You can hear Georgian polyphonic singing in church services, the national ensembles perform athletic folk dance, and the Moorish-style Opera and Ballet Theatre runs a full season. The Gabriadze puppet plays need no translation.

Nicosia's scene is smaller and mostly local. The Cyprus Symphony Orchestra, rebetiko and jazz in the old town bars, and summer concerts in the moat are the best choices for visitors, since most theatre is in Greek.

Tbilisi has the stronger bathing culture. Natural sulphur springs feed the domed bathhouses of Abanotubani, where you rent a private hot pool and get a vigorous kisi scrub in a ritual that is centuries old. Outside the baths, though, the city is loud and steep.

Nicosia's Omeriye Hammam offers steam and massage in a restored 16th-century building, but without hot springs. Its quieter appeal is the slow pace of the old town, with afternoon siestas and shaded squares, and the cool Troodos villages are close by for a proper rest.