Singapore or Taipei?

Neither city is a beach destination, but the swimming is different. Singapore's beaches are on Sentosa, close by and usable all year: imported sand, calm lagoons behind breakwaters and a view of anchored tankers. The quieter lagoons of St John's and Lazarus are a short ferry ride away.

Taipei has no shore of its own. Its beaches are natural, like the golden spit at Fulong, about an hour away by train, but they are only for swimming from June to September and rip currents are common on the open coast.

These are two of Asia's great eating cities, and they are different in style. Singapore's hawker centres bring Chinese, Malay, Indian and Peranakan cooking under one roof, so in one meal you can go from chilli crab to roti prata to nasi lemak.

Taipei is best explored at its evening night markets in Raohe or Ningxia and in its specialist noodle, dumpling and breakfast shops, with a Japanese influence running through the cooking. Its drinks are a strength of their own: oolong from the surrounding hills, bubble tea and speciality coffee. Singapore's heavy alcohol taxes hold it back here.

Taipei has a little more depth. The National Palace Museum's imperial jade, bronzes and porcelain make up one of the world's great collections, and smoky Longshan Temple and the Dihua Street shophouses add lived-in history. Three or four days is not too long.

Singapore's strengths are Southeast Asian art at the National Gallery, a compact cluster of museums in the Civic District, and its ethnic quarters, each with its own character. Its modern landmarks are sights in their own right, from the Supertrees to Marina Bay Sands. Most visitors cover it in two or three days.

Both cities centre their nightlife on cocktails, but Taipei offers more range. Its bars in Da'an and Zhongshan use local tea and fruit, Xinyi has the large clubs, Ximending has cheap bars and craft beer, and private-room karaoke and stir-fry beer halls fill the rest of the evening.

In Singapore, going out mostly means a well-made drink on a rooftop above Marina Bay or in a Keong Saik shophouse. The club scene around Clarke Quay is small and the bills are high.

Here the two are far apart. Taipei is ringed by hills: Yangmingshan's fumaroles and silvergrass lie inside the city limits, Elephant Mountain rises behind Xinyi, and gorges, waterfalls and sea cliffs are a bus or train ride away.

Singapore does well for a flat island city-state. It has real rainforest at Bukit Timah and MacRitchie, wetland birds at Sungei Buloh, and Pulau Ubin to explore by bicycle. Once you have visited those few places, though, there is nowhere else to go.

Taipei is the clear winner. Jiufen's lantern-hung stairways, the sky-lantern towns of the Pingxi line, Tamsui's fort and riverside sunsets, and the pottery town of Yingge are all easy outings. High-speed rail brings Tainan, the island's old capital, within about two hours.

Singapore is hemmed in by borders and sea. Johor Bahru's border queues can take up much of the day, Bintan and Batam are resort stays rather than places to explore, and Malacca really needs a night away.

Singapore is the stronger family city. The Mandai parks, including the Night Safari, are a highlight on their own, Sentosa adds Universal Studios, an aquarium and calm water, and lifts and air conditioning are everywhere.

Taipei is also safe and welcoming to children. The zoo with its pandas, the gondola ride up to Maokong and the science museums make good days out, and older children love the night markets. Scooters in the side lanes and theme parks well outside the city make it a little harder work.

Both cities have excellent metros, and nobody needs a car in either. Singapore is slightly easier: you tap a contactless bank card at the gates, the stations are step-free, and covered walkways and smooth pavements link much of the centre, although the heat still keeps people out of the sun.

Taipei's single stored-value card also covers bike share and regional trains, and its shopfront arcades give shelter. Beyond them, uneven pavements and parked scooters make walking more awkward.

Singapore has the edge for big-name shopping. Orchard Road and the Marina Bay Sands arcade put every luxury and high-street brand under air conditioning, and Haji Lane and Tiong Bahru add small boutiques. The weak point is the lack of markets with real character.

Taipei is better for browsing. You'll find design shops in the old industrial parks at Huashan and Songshan, dried goods and herbs on Dihua Street, high-mountain oolong and teaware, electronics around Guanghua, and cheap clothes at the night markets.

The cost difference is large. In both cities, street food and public transport are cheap, but in Singapore the room bill dominates. Hotels there are among the costliest in Asia, drinks are heavily taxed, and the wildlife parks and Sentosa charge high entry fees.

Taipei's central rooms are also small for what you pay. Even so, guesthouses around Zhongshan and Ximending, free temples and trails, modest museum fees and moderately priced sit-down meals keep a day's spending well below Singapore's.

Neither city is a stage capital, and their strengths differ. Singapore is easier for an English-speaking visitor: the Esplanade's free bayside performances, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra and touring musicals at Marina Bay Sands.

Taipei has more of its own work. Cloud Gate dance is based just outside the city, there is glove puppetry and Taiwanese opera in Dadaocheng, and indie bands play the live houses around Gongguan. English-language theatre is hard to find.

Taipei is far ahead because it sits on volcanic ground. Beitou's sulphur pools and hot-spring hotels are at the end of a metro line. Yangmingshan and Wulai have springs among hills and beside a river gorge, and an afternoon of tea in Maokong is restful in its own right.

Singapore has no bathing tradition. Relaxing there means a hotel spa with a skyline pool, reflexology in Chinatown or Ayurvedic treatments in Little India, with early mornings in the Botanic Gardens as the calmest time.