Alanya or Beirut?

In Alanya you can walk from your hotel to the sand. Cleopatra Beach curves west of the castle and Keykubat runs east for kilometres, both pale and gently shelving, and boat trips stop to swim in coves under the headland.

Beirut's shore is mostly rock, so swimming in the city means the platforms along the Corniche or a paid day at a private beach club with pools. The sea is just as warm, but cleaner water and sand mean driving up to Byblos and Batroun or down to Jiyeh.

This is where Beirut pulls furthest ahead. A meal there is a long run of mezze: raw kibbeh, tabbouleh, grilled halloumi and charred meats with arak. Around it is a street-food culture of manakish, shawarma and knafeh, the Armenian grills of Bourj Hammoud, and polished modern Lebanese cooking in Achrafieh.

In Alanya you have to step away from the harbourfront picture menus and hotel buffets to eat well. The rewards are back-street pide houses, grilled fish, gözleme made at stalls in the hill villages and the weekly market's olives and cheeses. It is honest and good, but it is a different league.

Neither city takes long to see, but Beirut has more to see. The National Museum's Phoenician sarcophagi and Roman mosaics, the Sursock's art in an Ottoman-era villa, and Downtown's Roman baths beside the mosque and cathedral give it real depth. So do the war-marked streets of Gemmayzeh.

Alanya's history sits together on one rock. The Seljuk castle walls, the Red Tower and the rock-cut docks of the Tersane make a satisfying day, but below the peninsula the town is modern resort building.

Going out is part of who Beirut is, all year round. Small cocktail and wine bars spill onto the pavements of Mar Mikhael and Gemmayzeh, Hamra has a cheaper student crowd, and clubs in the old port district and on summer rooftops run until dawn. People dress up for it.

Alanya's nights are package-resort fun around the harbour bar street: karaoke, drinks deals, open-air clubs and party boats. They are loud and late in summer, and most of it closes from late autumn.

Both cities have steep mountains behind the coast, but Lebanon's offer more variety. From Beirut you can reach pine villages above 1,000m within an hour, ski at Faraya and Mzaar in winter, hike stretches of the Lebanon Mountain Trail, and go further to the Qadisha cliffs and the cedar forests. The catch is that the city itself has little green, and traffic slows every outing.

Alanya's Taurus foothills are closer to hand. The Dim Cave and river valley, the waterfall walkway of Sapadere Canyon and jeep tracks up to summer pastures are all a short drive away, and the sea caves of the headland are seen by boat.

Beirut's day trips are the reason many people come. Baalbek's giant Roman temples, Crusader Byblos, the sea castle at Sidon, the ruins of Tyre and the Beiteddine palace are all within about two hours. Conditions towards the south and the Bekaa are worth checking before you set off.

Alanya has fine classical sites too. Side, the great theatre at Aspendos, Perge and Antalya's archaeological museum all lie west along one coast road. They are further apart and are mostly done on organised tours.

Alanya is built for this kind of trip. Its main beaches have calm, gently shelving water, and family hotels come with kids' clubs and slides. Water parks, the castle cable car and pirate-style boats fill the days, though midsummer heat keeps the middle of the day by the pool.

Beirut is warm towards children but hard work with them. Narrow, blocked pavements and aggressive traffic make a pushchair a struggle and mean taxis for nearly everything. The Corniche, beach-club pools, the Jeita Grotto and the Harissa cable car are the easy wins, and the city suits older children best.

In Alanya the centre, harbour and both main beaches are linked by a seafront promenade, and dolmuş minibuses run along the coast to the outlying resort districts. Staying central is what makes it simple.

Beirut has no public transport a visitor can easily use. You will rely on ride-hailing, taxis and shared 'service' cabs. Hamra, Downtown and Mar Mikhael are each pleasant on foot, but between them come steep streets, few crossings and heavy traffic.

Beirut is the city for style. It has its own couture and bridal houses, and Lebanese designers sell jewellery, fashion and furniture in small boutiques in Gemmayzeh and Saifi Village. Bourj Hammoud's jewellers and leather workers offer a more local side.

Alanya's shopping is bazaar stalls near the harbour selling towels, leather jackets, imitation brands and Turkish delight, with bargaining expected. The weekly market is the best of it. Neither city has a historic covered bazaar of its own.

Alanya is the cheaper vacation, especially as an all-inclusive package that bundles room, meals and drinks. Prices drop further out of season. Boat trips and harbourside dining are where the money goes.

Beirut charges Southern European prices for its restaurants, cocktail bars, clubs and good hotels, and beach-club entry adds up. Its saving grace is excellent cheap street food and short taxi rides, so a visitor who eats locally in Hamra and skips the clubs can keep spending modest.

Beirut has a small but real stage life. The Lebanese Philharmonic plays in churches and university halls, Hamra's independent theatres put on Arabic plays and cabaret, and small venues host jazz and electronic acts. In summer there are festivals at Baalbek, Beiteddine and Byblos.

In Alanya, live performance mostly means hotel shows and Turkish-night dinners. The early-autumn jazz festival at the old shipyard is the one thing worth timing a trip around.

Alanya is the place to unwind. Almost every big hotel has a hammam, standalone bathhouses in town offer the full steam, scrub and foam ritual, and the humid air of the Damlataş cave has long drawn people with breathing complaints. To keep it quiet, stay away from the harbour.

Beirut is loud, with traffic and generators, and its hammam tradition has nearly gone, so pampering means hotel spas and salons. Real rest there means a night or two in a guesthouse in the Shouf villages, or a sunset walk on the Corniche.