Pittsburgh or Toronto?

Pittsburgh's three rivers are for kayaking and rowing, not swimming. A dip means driving to the small sand beaches of Lake Arthur in Moraine State Park, or two hours north to Presque Isle on Lake Erie.

Toronto at least has beaches inside the city. There is sand at Centre Island, Ward's Island and Hanlan's Point, a short ferry ride out, and a boardwalk shore at Woodbine Beach. Lake Ontario is unreliable even in high summer, though, with sudden cold water and advice against swimming after heavy rain.

Pittsburgh eats from its Central and Eastern European roots: pierogies, haluski and the sandwich with fries packed inside. The Strip District's grocers and fishmongers are the place to start, and there are chef-led kitchens in Lawrenceville and East Liberty. The food is satisfying, but the range is narrow.

Toronto's range is far wider because it comes from so many communities. There is Chinatown on Spadina, Greek food on the Danforth and Portuguese bakeries on Dundas West, with Hakka, Sri Lankan and Persian cooking in the Scarborough and Markham plazas. If your trip is built around eating, Toronto gives you much more to explore.

Pittsburgh has the richer set of sights, built on Carnegie, Frick and Heinz money. There are the Carnegie Museums and the Nationality Rooms in Oakland, and the Warhol and the Mattress Factory on the North Side. Richardson's courthouse and the industrial story at the Heinz History Center keep the city's past in view.

Toronto relies on two large museums: the Royal Ontario Museum and the Art Gallery of Ontario, with its Group of Seven paintings. The CN Tower adds the landmark, but beyond the Distillery District and Casa Loma there is little old fabric.

Both cities go out in bars more than clubs, and both call last orders at 2am. Pittsburgh's evenings centre on Butler Street in Lawrenceville and the student pub crawls of East Carson Street, with game nights in black and gold. It is friendly and unpretentious but small.

Toronto has many more strips to choose from. Ossington and Dundas West have cocktail and wine bars, King West has the dress-up clubs and Church Street is the gay village. In summer, patios across the city add to the choice.

Both cities have wooded ravines running through them, but the land around them differs. Pittsburgh is hilly and cut by rivers, so you can paddle under the downtown bridges. The Laurel Highlands bring Ohiopyle's rafting, waterfalls and autumn colour on the ridges.

Toronto is flat beyond the Scarborough Bluffs and the Islands. The nearest rocky hiking is on the Bruce Trail along the Niagara Escarpment, and wilderness such as Algonquin Park is a weekend trip.

Each city has one standout outing and a short list after it. Pittsburgh's is about architecture: Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob in the Laurel Highlands, with Ligonier's fort and the Flight 93 memorial further on, all by car.

Toronto's is Niagara, where the Falls, Niagara-on-the-Lake and the wineries make one long day, and the train is an option. Theatre-goers also have Stratford's Shakespeare season.

Pittsburgh does well by children. On the North Side alone there are the Science Center's submarine, the Children's Museum and the National Aviary, and Kennywood has classic wooden coasters. The hills and distances, though, make a car almost essential with small children.

Toronto is easier. The aquarium's shark tunnel and the CN Tower's glass floor are side by side downtown, and the ferry to Centreville and the Island beaches makes a whole summer day. Canada's Wonderland adds the big rides.

Pittsburgh's downtown is compact, with the T and the bridges leading over to the North Side. Oakland, Lawrenceville and Shadyside, though, mean commuter buses or ride-hailing over steep hills and river crossings.

Toronto is much simpler to use. It has a flat downtown grid and the underground PATH for winter. Streetcars run along Queen, King and College, and the UP Express runs in from the airport. Trips out to the suburbs are long, but you rarely need a car.

In Pittsburgh, shopping is something to browse rather than a reason to come. There are the Strip District's food stalls and sports kit, independent shops on Butler Street and Walnut Street in Shadyside, and the big brands out in malls you drive to.

Toronto covers every level. Bloor Street through Yorkville has luxury, the Eaton Centre and Yorkdale have the chains, and Ossington and Kensington Market have local designers, vintage and secondhand finds.

Pittsburgh is the cheaper stay. Hotel rooms, even downtown, cost well below Toronto's, and beer and casual meals are fairly priced, although tips and rides between neighbourhoods add up.

Toronto's hotel rooms and sit-down dinners get expensive quickly, and drinks in bars are dear. The relief comes from cheap meals in the immigrant food scene and from free pleasures such as the ravines and the Islands.

Pittsburgh does well for its size. The Symphony plays in Heinz Hall, opera and ballet are at the Benedum Center, and the jazz heritage of the Hill District, where August Wilson set his plays, lives on in smaller clubs.

Toronto works on a bigger scale, with one of the largest English-language theatre scenes. It has the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet at the Four Seasons Centre, and Massey Hall for concerts. Clubs on Queen West and College have indie, jazz, Caribbean and African music most nights.

Neither city has a bathing culture. In Pittsburgh, wellness means hotel and day spas, the warm glasshouses of Phipps Conservatory and, for a proper spa stay, the resort hotels of the Laurel Highlands.

Toronto has a little more to offer. A few Korean-style bathhouses in the suburbs have saunas and hot pools, and Nordic spas with outdoor pools among the trees are a drive away in the countryside.