It all boils down to this. How do the two cities line-up over eight key categories? We give our final opinions

The Culture

Glasgow
+ A near endless sea of artistic talent, with bleeding-edge creatives elbow-to-elbow with peerless arts institutions.
- For there to be an thriving underground there also has to be an oblivious overground.

Edinburgh
+ World-class arts programming, plus a month-long string of comedy greatness on the Fringe.
- Regular visits from Lloyd Webber musicals.

Winner: Glasgow

The Sights

Glasgow
+ The GSA building. Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson. The necropolis.
- The shopping centres. The dirty river. The motorway.

Edinburgh
+ Stand on top of a dormant volcano and gaze over the Forth estuary, innumerable monuments and a divisive but radically beautiful parliament building.
- The bits falling off Appleton Tower.

Winner: Edinburgh

Days Out

Glasgow
+ Admire the exhibits as you walk around Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.
- Avoid the steaming people as you walk around Kelvingrove Park.

Edinburgh
+ Old masters at the National Galleries. Ice cream along Portobello promenade. Walking the Water of Leith.
- The sound of bagpipes like tinnitus anywhere near the city centre.

Winner: Edinburgh

Nights Out

Glasgow
+ Great clubbing. The Sub Club. The Arches. Stereo.
- The intersection between Sauchiehall St and Renfield St at 3am. Or any taxi queue around the same time.

Edinburgh
+ Fabulous cocktails. Cab Vol. Sneaky Pete’s. The Bongo Club.
- Endless Antipodean tourists.

Winner: Glasgow

Food

Glasgow
+ Salt and vinegar. The traditionalist’s choice.
- There’s a reason Glasvegas regularly pops up in those ‘sick boy of Europe’ health polls.

Edinburgh
+ Some of the most inspiring, Michelin-star attracting chefs in the UK have taken up residence in Leith.
- It’ll cost £100 to get them to cook lunch for you.

Winner: Edinburgh

Shopping

Glasgow
+ Bigger, better shops, excellent vintage, and non-torn-faced shop assistants. Oh, and American Apparel.
- The ned factor in the city centre.

Edinburgh
+ The string of indie pearls between Victoria Street and West Port. The crafters keeping us in fingerless gloves and bird brooches.
- Boys get short-changed on the clothes-shopping front.

Winner: Glasgow

Transport

Glasgow
+ Cheap taxis, nifty grid system and an iconic subway.
- Annoyingly early last train ride home to or from Edinburgh.

Edinburgh
+ You can walk. And you can probably go through the Meadows/Links/Gardens on the way.
- Tram works have turned the city into a giant game of Pac-Man.

Winner: Glasgow

Conversation

Glasgow
+ Fancy going for a few Pat Lallys down Sleazy’s?
- Fancy giving me 20p for the bus home ya nugget?

Edinburgh
+ Did you hear about the new season of new writing at The Traverse?
- Did you hear about the new range of cruisewear at Jenners?

Winner: Edinburgh

It’s a dead heat at four apiece between the two cities. Glasgow has edged Edinburgh in the cultural stakes, but Edinburgh fought back through some impressive architecture and good food. The shocking truth is that they both have a huge amount to offer, more than we can list here, with enough different strokes to satisfy all sorts of different folks. Take your pick. We’d recommend them both.