Seattle or San Diego?

For beach time there is no contest. San Diego has around 110km of coast. Coronado has wide sand, Mission Beach and Pacific Beach have a boardwalk crowd, La Jolla Shores has gentle surf and North County has cliff-backed beaches, while Mission Bay's sheltered water suits toddlers. The Pacific here is still cool, comfortable in late summer but wetsuit territory in winter.

Seattle's Alki Beach and Golden Gardens are pretty for a bonfire or a sunset over the Olympics, but Puget Sound is too cold for more than a paddle. Real swimming happens at the lifeguarded lake beaches on Lake Washington and at Green Lake, and only for a short summer window.

The two eat about equally well, but they draw on different waters and a different border. San Diego's best food is casual and leans towards Mexico: Baja fish tacos, carne asada and California burritos from late-night taco shops, with hoppy West Coast IPAs from the breweries of North Park and Miramar.

Seattle's table is colder and more northern, with oysters, Dungeness crab and wild salmon. Pike Place Market is the place to graze, the coffee roasters are serious and Washington wines fill the list. Both cities have a strong Asian strand, along Convoy Street in San Diego and in Seattle's Chinatown-International District.

Neither is a heritage city, and they offer about the same amount of sightseeing. San Diego gathers its museums in the Spanish Colonial Revival halls of Balboa Park. It adds older history in the adobes of Old Town, at the first of California's missions and aboard the USS Midway on the bay.

Seattle's sights are younger and more modern: the Space Needle and Seattle Center from the 1962 World's Fair, Chihuly glass, the Museum of Pop Culture and the Northwest Coast collections at the Burke. Both cities suit aviation fans, but Seattle's Museum of Flight is one of the largest anywhere.

Seattle offers the better night out, mainly because Capitol Hill gives it a real centre. Cocktail bars, dives and dance floors along Pike and Pine streets are busy most nights, and Ballard's taprooms are a looser alternative. San Diego is split between the loud Gaslamp, with its rooftops and party groups, the student bars of Pacific Beach and calmer drinking in North Park and Hillcrest. Neither city has a late night, as both close at 2am.

Both are fine outdoor cities, but Seattle's setting is grander. Mount Rainier's glaciers and meadows, Cascade trails within an hour and the rainforest of the Olympic Peninsula make it real mountain country. There is skiing near Snoqualmie Pass in winter, and orcas are sometimes seen from the ferries.

San Diego's strengths are the sea and the weather all year round. It has the Torrey Pines bluffs, sea lions and kayak caves at La Jolla, tide pools, surf breaks and grey whales passing in winter, with the Laguna Mountains and the Anza-Borrego desert inland. It is the one for outdoor time in winter, when Seattle is grey and wet.

The day trips are about equal in appeal but different in character. San Diego's are shaped by the border: Tijuana by trolley and the Valle de Guadalupe vineyards further south. On the US side there are Temecula's wineries and the apple-pie town of Julian, which mostly need a car.

Seattle's best outings go by ferry, to Bainbridge Island, Whidbey Island or Port Townsend, and Woodinville's tasting rooms and Tacoma's Museum of Glass are close by. Each city also has a larger neighbour, Los Angeles for San Diego and Vancouver for Seattle, but both make a long day.

San Diego is one of the easiest family destinations anywhere. The zoo in Balboa Park, the Safari Park, SeaWorld on Mission Bay and Legoland in Carlsbad could fill a week on their own, the weather almost never cancels plans, and the calm bay beaches suit small children. The parks are spread out, so plan on one big attraction a day.

Seattle is pleasant with children rather than built for them. Woodland Park Zoo, the aquarium, the Pacific Science Center and the Museum of Flight are all good, and a ferry ride counts as an outing in itself. There is no theme park, though, and the steep streets and wet months make it harder going with a pushchair.

Seattle is the easier of the two without a car. You can walk the centre from Pike Place to Pioneer Square, light rail runs from the airport through downtown to Capitol Hill, and one card covers buses, the monorail and the water taxis. Hills and water do make distances longer than they look.

San Diego's downtown and trolley line work well, but La Jolla, the beaches and the big family parks are far apart and the buses are slow. Most visitors end up hiring a car or relying on ride-hailing.

Seattle has a little more to browse. It has department stores downtown, large outdoor-gear stores, makers' stalls at Pike Place, and vintage and record shops in Capitol Hill, Fremont and Ballard. San Diego shopping is more about malls, with luxury brands at Fashion Valley and an outlet centre by the border. Beyond those it has galleries in La Jolla, boutiques in Little Italy and North Park, and Mexican crafts in Old Town. Neither city is worth the trip for shopping alone.

Both are expensive, and a budget will be stretched in either. In San Diego the money goes on beach hotels, tax and tip on every meal, high admission at the family parks, and a hire car with its parking. Taco shops, brewery taprooms and free beaches soften the bill.

Seattle's hotels cost just as much in summer and the cruise season, but its public transport means you can manage without a car. Pike Place counters and teriyaki shops give you cheaper meals, and staying near a light-rail stop outside the centre saves more.

Seattle has the broader stage. Pacific Northwest Ballet and Seattle Opera share McCaw Hall, the symphony plays a full season at Benaroya Hall, and the 5th Avenue and the Paramount host musicals. As the city of Hendrix and grunge, it also has bands playing clubs in Belltown, Capitol Hill and Ballard most nights.

San Diego's strength is theatre. The Old Globe in Balboa Park and the La Jolla Playhouse have both sent shows to Broadway, and in summer the symphony plays on an open-air stage by the bay. Beyond that, its music calendar is modest.

Neither city has a bathing culture, so rest means a slower pace rather than treatments. San Diego offers resort spas in La Jolla, Coronado and Carlsbad, yoga and meditation in Encinitas, and sunny mornings in its beach towns. Seattle's version is quieter and mostly indoors: Korean-style bathhouses in the suburbs, the Japanese Garden and the Arboretum, and long mornings in coffee houses, with hot springs a long drive away.