Paris or Vienna?

Neither city has a coast, but Vienna's summer bathing is the more real of the two. The Danube Island gives about 20km of grassy banks and free swimming spots, the warmer Alte Donau is lined with old lidos like the Gänsehäufel, and the Neusiedler See is an hour away for lake bathing and sailing.

In Paris, swimming means sand laid on the riverbanks in summer, the Bassin de la Villette and handsome Art Deco public pools. Real sea is the cool Channel at Deauville and Trouville, two hours by train.

Paris is the stronger city for eating by a wide margin, because of its range. Neighbourhood boulangeries and cheese shops, the Marché d'Aligre, inventive neo-bistros, haute cuisine and the immigrant cooking of Belleville and the 13th mean a week of meals never repeats itself.

Vienna has a distinct cuisine of its own, with schnitzel, Tafelspitz and Sachertorte in wood-panelled Beisl taverns, and wine poured at Heuriger taverns in Grinzing and Nussdorf, where the grapes grow inside the city limits. Once you step outside those classics, the international and street-food choice is thin.

Both are great sightseeing capitals, but Paris has more of it, and more at the very top. Vienna's major collections fit comfortably into a week, while in Paris the Louvre on its own can take several days. Behind it come the Impressionists at the Musée d'Orsay, Monet's water lilies at the Orangerie and the Rodin, Picasso and Cluny museums, a second rank deeper than most capitals' first. The Gothic glass of the Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame and Haussmann's cream-stone boulevards make the walk between sights part of the visit.

Vienna feels more imperial and is easier to take in. The Hofburg, Schönbrunn and the Ringstrasse show the whole Habsburg capital, the Kunsthistorisches Museum has its Bruegels and the Belvedere has Klimt's The Kiss. Its turn-of-the-century art is a sight in its own right, with the gilded Secession, Otto Wagner's stations and Schiele at the Leopold. In Paris, Art Nouveau shows up mostly in details such as the old metro entrances.

Paris has much the bigger night out. Terraces and wine bars lead into the crowded bars of Oberkampf, the Canal Saint-Martin and Belleville, South Pigalle adds cocktail bars, and clubs play house and techno until dawn, though doors can be selective and drinks are expensive.

Vienna's evenings are gentler: the bars under the Gürtel arches, the Bermuda Triangle in the old town, deckchairs along the Danube Canal, or wine at a Heuriger. Its club scene is small, and what it has that Paris lacks is the winter ball season in the palaces.

Vienna has more open country close at hand. Trails climb from the city through vineyards to the Kahlenberg, the beech-covered Vienna Woods roll away to the west, the Donau-Auen national park protects wild floodplain forest, and the Rax and Schneeberg give real Alpine plateaus about 90 minutes out.

Paris offers parks and woods instead: the Buttes-Chaumont, the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, and the forest of Fontainebleau with its climbing boulders, forty minutes by train. It suits gentle walking and cycling rather than hills.

Paris has the longer and grander list. Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Chartres and Giverny are all close, and fast trains put Reims and the Champagne houses, Rouen and the Loire châteaux within a day, so a long stay never runs out of excursions.

Vienna's strength is its position. Bratislava is about an hour away by train or Danube boat, Brno is easy, and the Wachau valley with Melk abbey and Dürnstein makes a lovely day on the river. The spa town of Baden and the Esterházy palace at Eisenstadt are short, quieter trips.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Paris has the big-ticket days out, Disneyland Paris and Parc Astérix, along with the Cité des Sciences, but daily life is tiring, with stairs at many metro stations, small hotel rooms and long queues.

Vienna is the easier city to be in with a pushchair, with trams that take prams, playgrounds everywhere and a calm feel. Schönbrunn Zoo, the Prater rides and the aquarium in a wartime flak tower cover the fun.

Both are easy, and both reward walking. Paris is the bigger walk, with the river linking the Marais, Saint-Germain and the Eiffel Tower, and a metro so dense a station is always near, but its long corridors, stairs and metro-to-RER changes take some learning.

Vienna's old town inside the Ring is smaller and largely pedestrian, and trams circle it. One ticket covers the U-Bahn, trams and buses, and the U-Bahn runs all night at weekends.

Paris is in another league here. The couture flagships on Avenue Montaigne, Galeries Lafayette and Le Bon Marché, the Marais designers, the covered passages, the vast Saint-Ouen flea market and the bouquinistes on the Seine make shopping a reason to travel in itself.

Vienna is smaller and more about craft. Luxury houses line the Kohlmarkt and Graben, but the things worth taking home are Augarten porcelain, crystal, Loden coats and sweets in tins, and the Christmas markets at the Rathaus and Schönbrunn are a winter draw.

Neither is cheap, but Vienna costs less. Its hotels are fair for a capital outside ball season and the Christmas market weeks, and set lunches, sausage stands and Heuriger buffets keep everyday eating manageable.

In Paris, the small, costly hotel room is the biggest expense, and terrace drinks add up fast. Picnics by the river, bakery lunches, the free collections of the city-run museums and a room in the outer arrondissements take the edge off.

Vienna has the edge for music. The State Opera stages a different work most nights, the Musikverein and Konzerthaus run full programmes, and the Volksoper, Theater an der Wien and Vienna Boys' Choir add more. Cheap standing places open it all to anyone.

Paris is broader rather than deeper. It has the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille and the Philharmonie for classical music, but also jazz cellars on the rue des Lombards, cabaret in Pigalle and rock in old music halls. In both cities, most spoken theatre is not in English.

Vienna is the better place to slow down. Warm springs feed the pools and saunas of Therme Wien in Oberlaa, the Amalienbad is an ornate Art Deco bath, and Baden's sulphur springs are half an hour away, while the city's unhurried rhythm does the rest.

Paris offers less: the tiled steam rooms of the Grande Mosquée hammam, hotel spas and an hour in the Luxembourg gardens. Its pace is fast and its streets loud, so rest comes in small doses.