Philadelphia or Virginia Beach?

Virginia Beach is built on its beach: miles of pale sand along the Oceanfront, a boardwalk behind it, calm bay beaches near First Landing for toddlers, and dunes and beach houses at Sandbridge. In late summer the sea is a degree or two warmer than off New Jersey, and the sand is right outside the door.

Philadelphia has no beach of its own. Swimming means an hour and more by car to Ocean City, Wildwood or Cape May, sitting in weekend traffic with the locals heading down the shore. That works as a day out, but you would not plan a beach vacation around it.

Philadelphia is the much better city for eating. It has the cheesesteak and roast pork sandwich, the stalls of Reading Terminal Market and the Italian Market, and chef-run rooms where you bring your own wine in East Passyunk and Fishtown. Mexican and Vietnamese kitchens add plenty of range.

Virginia Beach has one strong suit, which is seafood. Lynnhaven oysters, blue crab and she-crab soup are best eaten at the dockside places by the inlet. Back on the resort strip it is mostly chains and buffets, and keen eaters end up driving to Norfolk.

These two are far apart. In Philadelphia the country's founding happened within a few blocks: Independence Hall, Carpenters' Hall, Christ Church and the rowhouses of Society Hill. Add the Barnes, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Penn Museum and Eastern State Penitentiary and you have several full days of sightseeing.

Virginia Beach can offer the 1607 landing site at Cape Henry with its old lighthouse, one early colonial brick house and a small art museum. Its best-known landmark is a giant Neptune on the boardwalk, and the serious history is an hour away in Williamsburg.

Neither is a clubbing city, but Philadelphia gives you more nights out with more variety. You can choose between warehouse bars and craft-beer halls in Fishtown, cocktails around Rittenhouse, taverns in East Passyunk and the long-established Gayborhood, and a large student population keeps weekends busy.

Virginia Beach does its drinking on the summer Oceanfront: beach bars, rooftop decks and sports bars full of vacationers and sailors. It is loud and friendly, it fades once the season ends, and for anything with more character people drive to Norfolk.

The two are about level, but the outdoors is a different kind in each. Philadelphia's is woodland and river. Inside Fairmount Park you can walk the creek path through the steep Wissahickon gorge or take the rougher trails above it, and the Schuylkill River Trail runs past Boathouse Row towards Valley Forge. Beyond the city are the Pine Barrens, the Brandywine country and, at the edge of a day's reach, hiking in the Poconos. The country is green and gentle rather than dramatic.

Virginia Beach's outdoors is coast and water on entirely flat land. First Landing has trails through cypress swamp and dunes, and at Back Bay and False Cape you can walk or cycle a long, empty barrier shoreline with waterfowl passing through in winter. You also get the sea itself, with surfing, fishing trips and paddleboarding in the bay inlets.

Philadelphia has the clear advantage because of the train. New York, Baltimore and Washington are each easy to reach without a car, and Amish Lancaster County is an hour away by rail. With a car you can add Gettysburg, Valley Forge and Longwood Gardens.

Virginia Beach has one excellent outing: Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, all about an hour away. Norfolk, Kitty Hawk and Richmond add more, but you need a car for every one of them.

Virginia Beach has a slight lead for children because the whole place is built for family vacations. There is the aquarium with its sea turtles and otters, gentle bay water for toddlers, mini-golf and bikes on the boardwalk, and a big theme park near Williamsburg.

Philadelphia works best with children on rainy or cool days. The Franklin Institute's giant heart, the Please Touch Museum, the dinosaur hall and the country's oldest zoo all keep children busy, and the Liberty Bell makes history easy to grasp for older ones. It cannot offer a beach, though.

This is one of the widest gaps between them. Philadelphia's flat grid lets you walk from Old City to Rittenhouse Square and the Parkway, and subway lines, trolleys and a direct airport train cover the rest. The system is plain but it works.

In Virginia Beach you can do without a car only if you stay at the Oceanfront, using the boardwalk and the summer trolley. Everywhere else is suburban sprawl with slow buses, so getting to Sandbridge, First Landing or Town Center means driving.

Philadelphia gives shoppers more to explore. There are boutiques around Rittenhouse Square, independent shops in Old City and Fishtown, the historic Jewelers' Row, food gifts from Reading Terminal and the huge King of Prussia mall nearby. Pennsylvania's lack of sales tax on clothing also helps.

Virginia Beach shopping is mostly malls, Town Center chains and souvenir T-shirts. Its one real local speciality is surf shops, which have deep roots on the Oceanfront.

Overall costs are much the same, but the savings come in different ways. In Philadelphia the founding sights are free, a cheesesteak makes a cheap lunch and bringing your own wine cuts the cost of dinner, although Center City hotels and the big museums charge full American rates.

Virginia Beach is pricey in summer, especially for weekend rooms and beach houses. Out of season the prices drop sharply, the beach and state parks cost little or nothing, and the main extra expense is a car.

Philadelphia has a serious performing arts scene. The Philadelphia Orchestra plays on the Avenue of the Arts, Opera Philadelphia and the ballet perform at the 1857 Academy of Music, Curtis students give recitals, and the Walnut Street Theatre is the oldest working theatre in the country. Small jazz clubs and indie stages fill out the evenings.

Virginia Beach offers summer rock and country at its amphitheatre and free stages on the boardwalk. For opera or a symphony you have to cross to Norfolk.

Neither place is a wellness destination. Virginia Beach is a little more restful thanks to its slower pace: early mornings on the boardwalk and quiet spring and autumn weeks, though high summer is crowded.

Philadelphia moves fast and has a gruff edge. The calm moments come in Penn's leafy squares or the Wissahickon gorge, and for a proper soak you have to drive out to the Korean-style bathhouses in the suburbs.