Philadelphia or Pittsburgh?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Philadelphia at least has the Atlantic within reach. The wide sands of Ocean City, Wildwood and Cape May on the Jersey Shore make a proper summer swimming day out, as long as you can live with the weekend traffic.

Pittsburgh's options are freshwater and modest: the small reservoir beaches at Lake Arthur, or Presque Isle on Lake Erie, two hours' drive away. They are fine for a hot afternoon with children, but not a reason to come.

Both cities eat heartily and without fuss, but Philadelphia has more on offer. Reading Terminal Market and the Italian Market are worth a visit in their own right, and the cheesesteak and the roast pork sandwich are everyday food rather than something put on for tourists. The bring-your-own-wine dining rooms of East Passyunk and Fishtown give dinner real range.

Pittsburgh's cooking leans towards Central and Eastern Europe, with pierogies and haluski, and the Strip District is a fine market street to graze along. Its chef-led kitchens in Lawrenceville and East Liberty are good, but there are fewer of them and less variety.

Philadelphia's sights carry national weight: Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, the Georgian streets of Society Hill, and museums led by the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Together they fill four or five days with no trouble.

Pittsburgh has fewer sights, but they are distinctive, from the Andy Warhol Museum and the Mattress Factory's installations to the Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning. Its finest sight is the view of bridges and rivers from Mount Washington, which takes an afternoon rather than days.

Philadelphia gives you more range in an evening. Fishtown has converted warehouses and dive bars, Rittenhouse Square draws a cocktail crowd and East Passyunk has its corner taverns. The Gayborhood is one of the country's older LGBTQ+ districts, and all the university students keep weekends busy.

Pittsburgh's nights are smaller and more tied to sport. They split between Lawrenceville's breweries and cocktail bars and the loud student strip of East Carson Street, and on game nights the bars fill with fans in black and gold. In both cities the club scene is thin and last call is at 2am, so expect bars rather than dancing.

Here Pittsburgh has the edge. Its steep wooded hills run right down to the neighbourhoods. A drive away in the Laurel Highlands, Ohiopyle has whitewater rafting and waterfalls, and the Great Allegheny Passage cycle trail starts in the city itself.

Philadelphia has plenty of green space, but it is gentler. The Wissahickon gorge in Fairmount Park and the Schuylkill River Trail past Boathouse Row are lovely for a run or a ride, and the Pine Barrens and Brandywine country are pleasant rather than dramatic.

Day trips are Philadelphia's biggest advantage. Fast trains put New York, Baltimore and Washington each within about two hours. Amish Lancaster County, Princeton and Longwood Gardens in the Brandywine Valley are all close, so a week can include several very different days out.

Pittsburgh has one outstanding outing, Fallingwater, which pairs well with Kentuck Knob and Ligonier, and there is also the Flight 93 memorial. Beyond those the choice runs out quickly, and you need a car for nearly all of it.

Both cities are good with children, and the real difference is how they are laid out. Philadelphia's flat, compact centre keeps the Franklin Institute's giant heart, the Please Touch Museum and the Liberty Bell close together, which is easy on small legs and pushchairs.

Pittsburgh has just as much to do, with the Carnegie Science Center's submarine, the National Aviary and Kennywood's wooden roller coasters. Its hills and spread, though, mean days with small children go more smoothly with a car.

Philadelphia is much the easier city to get around without a car. William Penn's flat grid links Old City, Rittenhouse Square and the Parkway museums on foot, and SEPTA, basic as it is, adds subway lines and a direct train to the airport.

In Pittsburgh only downtown, the North Side and the Strip are easy to walk, with the T and the inclines as useful extras. Oakland, Lawrenceville and Shadyside lie across hills and rivers and are served by slow buses, so most visitors use ride-hailing in the evenings.

Philadelphia is better for shopping, though neither city is known for fashion. Walnut Street around Rittenhouse Square has brands and boutiques side by side, Jewelers' Row is one of the country's oldest diamond districts, and the huge King of Prussia mall is half an hour out.

Pittsburgh is more for browsing than buying. The Strip District's stalls and Lawrenceville's vintage and design shops are fun, but the big-brand shopping is in suburban malls you need a car to reach.

Pittsburgh is a little cheaper to stay in. Its hotel rooms, downtown included, cost well below coastal rates, and casual meals and beer around the Strip are fairly priced. Rides between its hilly neighbourhoods and the big game weekends eat into those savings.

Philadelphia costs more for a bed and a sit-down dinner, but it has savings of its own. The founding sights are free, a cheesesteak makes a cheap lunch, and bringing your own wine to a restaurant cuts the bill.

Classical music is where Philadelphia pulls ahead. The Philadelphia Orchestra plays on the Avenue of the Arts, opera and ballet fill the ornate 1857 Academy of Music, and Curtis Institute students give regular recitals. Theatre adds a second strand: the Walnut Street Theatre is the oldest working theatre in the country, and resident companies stage plays all season.

Pittsburgh keeps its stages together in the downtown Cultural District. The Symphony plays in gilded Heinz Hall, and the restored Benedum Center hosts opera, ballet and touring Broadway, so a night out is easy to plan. What belongs only to Pittsburgh is August Wilson, who set most of his plays in the Hill District and gave the city a place of its own in American drama.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, so in both of them relaxing means a hotel spa or a quiet green corner. In Philadelphia that means Penn's leafy squares and the courtyards of Society Hill, with Korean-style bathhouses out in the suburbs. Pittsburgh has the warm glasshouses of Phipps Conservatory and, for a proper spa stay, the resort hotels of the Laurel Highlands.