San Diego or Los Angeles?

Both have more than 100km of Pacific shore and the same cool water, so the difference lies in the beaches themselves. San Diego's are kinder to swimmers and paddlers. Coronado's wide, flat strand, the gentle surf at La Jolla Shores and the sheltered water of Mission Bay suit children and weaker swimmers, and the sea is a touch warmer in late summer.

Los Angeles has the more famous beach culture: the Malibu coves at El Matador and Zuma, the Venice boardwalk and the volleyball nets of the South Bay. But its shore is better for surfing, cycling and people-watching than for a long swim.

Los Angeles is the bigger food city by a distance. Its strength is the range of its immigrant kitchens: Korean barbecue in Koreatown, regional Chinese in the San Gabriel Valley and Oaxacan cooking in Mid-City, with Thai, Armenian, Ethiopian and Persian food beyond and a serious chef scene on top.

San Diego eats more simply, and well: Baja fish tacos, the California burrito and late-opening taco shops, with the Asian kitchens of Convoy Street for variety. Its real speciality is craft beer, with taprooms in North Park and Miramar pouring West Coast IPAs.

Los Angeles has the stronger art circuit: the Getty Center and Getty Villa, LACMA, the Broad and the Huntington's library and gardens. Hollywood's old movie palaces and the Walt Disney Concert Hall add to it. Seeing it all means long drives across the basin.

San Diego keeps most of its museums together in Balboa Park, so one day covers them, and adds the USS Midway, the adobe buildings of Old Town and the first of California's missions. It shows more early history than Los Angeles does, but little of it is first rank.

Nights out are bigger and more varied in Los Angeles. There are Hollywood clubs with guest lists, the gay strip on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, rooftop bars downtown in old bank buildings, and dive bars in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

San Diego's going-out is concentrated in the Gaslamp Quarter and the student bars of Pacific Beach, with taprooms in North Park and the gay scene in Hillcrest. Much of the city is quiet well before the 2am last call that both cities share.

Both are outdoor cities in almost every month, with surfing, kayaking and winter whale watching along the coast, so the difference is the terrain. Los Angeles has real mountains close by: Griffith Park and the Hollywood Hills inside the city, the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu and the San Gabriels rising above 3,000m with winter snow. Boats also run out to the Channel Islands.

San Diego's outdoors is more coastal and changes faster over a short distance. There are the bluffs of Torrey Pines, the sea lions and sea caves at La Jolla Cove and the tide pools at Cabrillo. About an hour inland come the oak and pine forests of the Cuyamacas, with the Anza-Borrego desert beyond.

Neither list is rich in history, and the two overlap at Temecula wine country, Laguna Beach and Mission San Juan Capistrano. From Los Angeles the best day out is Santa Barbara and its mission, with Catalina by ferry and quiet Ojai inland.

San Diego's advantage is the border. Tijuana is a trolley ride and a short walk away, and Mexico's Valle de Guadalupe vineyards are about two hours south. The North County beach towns are an easy train ride.

Both are excellent with children, but San Diego is the more complete family destination. The San Diego Zoo and its Safari Park, SeaWorld on Mission Bay and Legoland for younger children give it a run of headline days. The calm Mission Bay beaches and the lawns of Balboa Park fill the gaps.

Los Angeles has Disneyland in Anaheim, Universal Studios, the La Brea Tar Pits and the space shuttle at the California Science Center. Every outing there means more time on the freeway across a bigger basin.

Neither is easy without a car, but San Diego asks less of you. Downtown, the Gaslamp, Little Italy and the waterfront are close together, and the trolley runs on to Old Town and the border.

Los Angeles is far more spread out. Hollywood, downtown, Santa Monica and Pasadena are separate trips, Metro rail reaches only some of them, and traffic shapes every day. In both cities the beaches and big attractions need a hire car or ride-hailing.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Los Angeles has a shopping street for almost every taste: Rodeo Drive for luxury, Melrose for streetwear and vintage, Abbot Kinney for independent labels, and the Rose Bowl flea market for serious vintage hunting.

San Diego is mostly malls, led by Fashion Valley and the outlet centre at the border, with some boutiques in Little Italy, North Park and La Jolla. Its most local buys are Mexican crafts in Old Town and surf gear.

Both are expensive, with costly hotels near the coast, tax and tip on every meal, and a hire car to run. In Los Angeles the extra costs are theme park tickets and covering long distances, while in San Diego the admissions to the zoo, SeaWorld and Legoland add up quickly. Each has cheap pleasures: taco trucks, Koreatown and the Getty's free collections in Los Angeles, and taco shops, taprooms and the Balboa Park gardens in San Diego.

Los Angeles is a major music city. The Philharmonic plays at the Walt Disney Concert Hall and, in summer, at the Hollywood Bowl. LA Opera is at the Music Center, there are rock rooms on the Sunset Strip, and its comedy and improv theatres are among the best anywhere.

San Diego's strength is theatre: the Old Globe and La Jolla Playhouse have both sent shows to Broadway. Its symphony plays outdoors by the bay in summer. These make good evenings out, but not a reason to travel.

Los Angeles has the more distinctive offer in the Koreatown bathhouses, with hot and cold pools, body scrubs and heated floors open late, alongside the spas of Beverly Hills and yoga everywhere. San Diego has no bathing tradition, and its calm comes from resort spas in La Jolla and Coronado, the yoga culture of Encinitas and slow beach-town mornings. Day to day, San Diego feels the more restful of the two, while people in Los Angeles head out to Ojai or Palm Springs for real quiet.