Albufeira or Cascais?

Albufeira has the stronger beaches by a wide margin. Long golden strands such as Falésia and Oura stretch east of town, while cliff-backed coves like São Rafael lie to the west, and there is still sand right below the old town. You can easily spend the whole week on the beach.

The beaches in Cascais are smaller and more urban. There are compact coves under the centre, a promenade along to Estoril and Carcavelos up the train line, but the water is cooler and Guincho is too rough for most swimmers. It is somewhere for a morning swim rather than a beach vacation.

Food is roughly level, and both towns are at their best with grilled fish by the water. The difference is in what surrounds it. In Albufeira the good meals, such as cataplana stews and inland piri-piri chicken, are hidden behind the Strip's full breakfasts and curry houses. Cascais has a working harbour, the Mercado da Vila market and long seafood lunches along the Guincho road, and Lisbon's restaurants are a short train ride away for a more ambitious dinner.

Neither town is a cultural destination, but Cascais offers more to see. Its royal summer villas, the Citadel and the Paula Rego museum in its red towers fill a pleasant day. In Albufeira, the whitewashed old town, the clock tower and a couple of small museums take a morning at most.

Albufeira is the place for a big night out. The Strip in Montechoro runs bars, karaoke and clubs until dawn in summer, and it is aimed at young groups, many of them on stag or hen weekends. It is loud and brash rather than stylish, and much of it closes over winter.

Cascais is much quieter, with wine bars and cocktail terraces in a few old-town streets, plus the casino at Estoril if you want to dress up. Most people are home by midnight, and anyone after real nightlife takes the train to Lisbon and then has to plan the journey back.

Both coasts are dramatic, but Cascais has more to do outdoors. The cycle path to Guincho, the wind and waves for kitesurfing and surfing, the cliffs at Cabo da Roca and the misty forest trails of the Serra de Sintra are all close to town.

Around Albufeira, the best scenery is the sea caves and arches near Benagil, reached by boat or kayak or along the Seven Hanging Valleys cliff path. For a change of landscape you have to drive to the Ria Formosa lagoons or the Monchique hills.

Cascais wins easily here. Lisbon and Belém are along the coastal railway, Sintra's palaces are just over the ridge, and Mafra, Ericeira and Óbidos all make good outings, so you could fill a week without repeating yourself.

From Albufeira the choice is Silves castle, Loulé's market, Faro and Tavira. These are attractive towns but none of them is a major sight, and they are slow to reach without a car.

Albufeira is better set up for children. Zoomarine and several water parks are a short drive away, the beaches are wide and lifeguarded, and many resort hotels have kids' clubs and shallow pools. The catches are the steep old town and the noise near the Strip, so families usually stay on the quieter edges.

Cascais is calm and safe, with gentle coves and a flat promenade for scooters and pushchairs. However, it has no zoo, aquarium or theme park of its own, and the cool sea can put young swimmers off.

Cascais is much easier without a car. The harbour, coves and promenade are all walkable, the train runs straight along the shore into Lisbon, and buses go to Sintra and Guincho.

Albufeira is spread over kilometres of hotel zones with patchy local buses, and its railway station is about 6km inland. In practice, you rely on taxis in the evening and a hire car for the coves and cliff walks.

Neither town is worth visiting for the shopping, but Cascais is the more pleasant place to browse. Its pedestrian lanes have small boutiques, surf brands, azulejo tiles and tinned fish in decorative packaging, and Lisbon's shops are close by. Albufeira mostly sells beachwear, football shirts and souvenirs, so the best buys are painted pottery and a bottle of medronho, or a trip to Loulé's market.

Albufeira is the cheaper of the two. Plenty of competition keeps set menus, beer and local wine cheap, and there are lots of self-catering apartments, which get very cheap from October to May.

Cascais is one of Portugal's more expensive resorts, and seafront rooms and harbour restaurants are priced to match. You can save by eating set lunches in the back streets and visiting outside July and August.

Live performance is limited in both towns, but Cascais has more of it. It has a long-established theatre company in Estoril, small concerts at the cultural centre and a summer jazz tradition, and Lisbon's fado houses and opera are a train ride away. Albufeira's evenings mostly mean cover bands, hotel cabaret and free concerts on the square in summer.

Cascais is the more restful choice. Estoril's history as a spa town lives on in its thalassotherapy and hotel spas, and most of the year the town settles into early nights and slow walks along the promenade. Summer weekends do bring crowds from Lisbon.

In Albufeira, relaxation depends on where you stay. The resort spas around Galé and the cliff-top hotels are calm, while the Strip is not. The nearest real thermal waters are an hour away at Caldas de Monchique.