The Hague or York?

The Hague has its own coast. Scheveningen's long sandy beach, with its pier and promenade, is a short tram ride from the centre, and Kijkduin is a quieter stretch backed by dunes. The water is cold North Sea, though, so it suits sunbathing and short swims rather than a swimming vacation.

York has nothing to swim in. A trip to the sea means a day out to Scarborough, Filey or Whitby, an hour or more away, on the same chilly water.

The Hague's edge comes from its Indonesian cooking, a legacy of the former Dutch East Indies. It runs from a full rijsttafel to simple plates of rendang and sate, and the Chinatown noodle shops and summer herring carts add variety. Beyond that, its bistros and brown cafés are pleasant rather than memorable.

York's food is more traditional: afternoon tea with fat rascals, Sunday roasts, local cheese and pies at the Shambles Market, and real ale in old pubs. There is good modern British cooking with Yorkshire game, but little international choice.

Each city rewards two or three unhurried days, but they offer different things. The Hague is a city of government and great paintings: the Binnenhof on its pond, Vermeer and Rembrandt in the Mauritshuis, Mondrian at the Kunstmuseum, and the Peace Palace.

York is about layers of the past you can walk through: the Gothic Minster and its medieval glass, the city walls, timber-framed streets like the Shambles, an excavated Viking street at Jorvik, and the National Railway Museum. Choose The Hague for art and York for its Roman, Viking and medieval past.

Neither city is made for a big night out, and both send serious clubbers elsewhere: from The Hague to Rotterdam or Amsterdam, from York to Leeds. The difference is in style. The Hague's evenings happen on café terraces at the Plein and the Grote Markt and, in summer, at the Scheveningen beach pavilions. York's centre on centuries-old inns along Micklegate and Stonegate, which make a good pub crawl, with stag parties and race-day crowds at weekends.

York has the better outdoors, though most of it lies beyond the city. The North York Moors turn purple with heather in late summer and end in sea cliffs at Robin Hood's Bay, and the limestone Dales give you real hill walking. Both are best reached by car.

The Hague stays flat, but it has more nature close at hand: the Meijendel dunes, the Westduinpark and the old Haagse Bos, along with beach walks, dune cycling and kitesurfing when the wind is up.

The Hague has the edge because so much is so close by train. Delft and Leiden are about a quarter of an hour away, Rotterdam and Gouda not much further, and Amsterdam, Haarlem and Utrecht within an hour. The windmills of Kinderdijk and the spring bulbs at Keukenhof are also in reach.

York is a fine base too, with Harrogate, Leeds, Durham and Scarborough on direct trains. Its best trips, though, are abbeys and country houses such as Castle Howard and Fountains Abbey, which are easier by car or coach tour than by rail.

The Hague gives children more variety: the miniature Netherlands at Madurodam, the beach, pier and sea aquarium at Scheveningen, Museon for school-age children and the Duinrell water park just outside the city. Flat streets, easy trams and plenty of playgrounds keep things simple, although rain sends everyone indoors.

York's highlights are the locomotives you can walk around at the National Railway Museum, the Jorvik Viking Centre and walking the walls, with ghost tours for older children. The city is compact and safe but you will see it in a couple of days, and its theme park, zoo and seaside are about an hour away.

The Hague covers more ground with less effort. Around the compact centre at the Binnenhof, frequent trams run out to the beach, Madurodam and the Peace Palace, there are cycle lanes almost everywhere, and two stations link the city to a dense national rail network.

York is a city for walking, with nearly every sight inside or just outside the walls and the Minster a short stroll from the station. Its fast trains serve the bigger towns, but rural buses to the moors and country houses are sparse, so those trips often need a car or a tour.

The Hague has more range. There are antique dealers, galleries and boutiques on the Denneweg and Noordeinde, upmarket labels around the Hoogstraat, the 1880s Passage arcade and a large department store. Its best stop is the Haagse Markt, a huge open-air market of fabrics, spices and produce.

York's appeal is mostly the setting: independent bookshops, jewellers and antiques dealers along Stonegate and Petergate, though the Shambles leans towards souvenirs. Its Christmas markets are the one time shopping becomes a reason to go.

Neither city is cheap, and costs are much the same. The two run on opposite timings, though. The Hague's central hotels are easier to find at a fair rate at weekends, when government travellers leave. York's rooms cost most at weekends, on race days and at Christmas, so a midweek stay pays off there.

The ways to save also differ. In The Hague they are Indonesian and Surinamese plates, market picnics and a hired bicycle. In York they are pub meals, the free National Railway Museum and free walks on the walls.

The Hague has the stronger stage, mainly because Nederlands Dans Theater, one of the world's leading contemporary dance companies, is based here. The Residentie Orkest and the Royal Conservatory add a full concert season, though much of the theatre is in Dutch.

York's programme is smaller and more local: the historic Theatre Royal and its pantomime, touring shows at the Grand Opera House, early music in a medieval church and free choral evensong at the Minster. It has no orchestra of note.

The Hague offers whole-day wellness in its large Dutch sauna complexes, with steam rooms, cold plunge pools, gardens and massage, where nudity is usually the rule. The city's quiet, orderly pace does the rest.

York has only hotel and day spas. Its calm comes from early mornings on the walls, the riverside paths and long afternoon teas rather than from any facilities. For proper bathing, the Victorian Turkish bath in Harrogate's Royal Baths is half an hour away by train.