Albufeira or Cordoba?

Albufeira is built around its beaches: golden sand between ochre cliffs and stacks, with Peneco and the fishermen's beach below the old town, Falésia and Oura to the east and quiet coves such as São Rafael to the west. The water is clear and usually calm, if Atlantic-cool.

Cordoba has no beach at all. A swim there means a hotel or municipal pool, or a long day on the train to the Costa del Sol.

Cordoba eats better. Its tabernas, with tiled patios and casks behind the bar, serve dishes born in the city, such as salmorejo and flamenquin, with chilled Montilla-Moriles wine, and the tapas rounds in Santa Marina and San Agustin are a reason to stay.

Albufeira's good cooking is the grilled sardines and clam cataplana you find near the fishermen's beach and inland, but you have to look past the Strip's breakfasts, pizza and curry to reach it.

There is a wide gap here. Cordoba has one of Europe's great monuments in the Mezquita-Cathedral, with its striped arches and the cathedral set inside it, as well as the Juderia, the Roman bridge, the Alcazar gardens, the Viana patios and the ruined palace city of Medina Azahara.

Albufeira offers whitewashed lanes, fragments of Moorish wall and two small museums, which make a pleasant morning's stroll. For history, people staying there head out to Silves or Faro.

For a big night out, Albufeira is the stronger choice. The Strip in Montechoro runs neon bars, karaoke and clubs until dawn in summer, mostly for young British and Irish groups, and Oura and the old town square are a little calmer.

Cordoba's evenings are slower and later: tapas and drinks on the terraces of the Corredera and Las Tendillas, with the city only staying up all night during the May fair. Both scenes go quiet out of season.

Albufeira has the more striking outdoors. The Seven Hanging Valleys cliff trail, kayak and boat trips into the Benagil caves, dolphin watching and the Ria Formosa lagoons are all close at hand, and the Monchique hills are an hour inland.

Cordoba's countryside is gentler: the oak-covered Sierra Morena, birds of prey in Hornachuelos and limestone gorges in the Subbeticas. These are lovely in spring, but they need a car and are out of bounds in the 40°C heat of summer.

Cordoba is the better base by some distance. High-speed trains reach Seville in under an hour and Granada's Alhambra in about an hour and a half, and a car opens up Ubeda and Baeza, the dolmens of Antequera and the Montilla bodegas.

From Albufeira, the outings are pleasant Algarve towns such as Silves with its red castle, Tavira and Lagos. They are attractive but on a smaller scale, and slow buses mean you usually need to hire a car.

Albufeira is made for a summer family vacation. Zoomarine and several water parks are a short drive away, the beaches at Oura, Galé and Falésia are calm and lifeguarded, and many apartment complexes have kids' clubs and shallow pools. Families base themselves away from the Strip and the stepped old town.

Cordoba's car-free lanes are safe to roam and children are welcome everywhere, but beyond the Alcazar fountains, the horse show and Almodovar castle, the sights are aimed at adults.

Cordoba is far easier on foot. The Mezquita, Juderia, Alcazar and patio quarters lie within a short walk of each other, and the railway station is close to the old town.

Albufeira stretches for kilometres through hotel zones from Galé to Montechoro, with patchy local buses and a station about 6km inland. Most visitors rely on taxis at night and a hire car for the coves and cliff walks.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Cordoba gives you more worth bringing home. Silver filigree, embossed cordobán leather, ceramics and workshop guitars carry real local craft, and Cruz Conde has the high-street chains.

In Albufeira, beyond painted pottery, cork goods and medronho, it is mostly beachwear and souvenirs. For fashion, people drive to the mall at Guia.

Costs are broadly similar, but they vary in different ways. Albufeira is cheap for set menus, beer and self-catering, very cheap in winter and much dearer in July and August, when taxis and car hire add up. Cordoba stays good value most of the year and you rarely pay for transport, but rooms near the Mezquita cost more and May festival prices climb steeply.

Cordoba has the real live culture. It has a serious flamenco tradition, heard in tablaos and in aficionados' peñas, an established guitar festival, and the Gran Teatro with its city orchestra.

In Albufeira, the offer is mostly tribute acts, hotel cabaret and fado dinner shows for visitors, with free concerts on the fishermen's beach square in summer.

Neither is a spa destination, and relaxation means something different in each. Cordoba edges ahead with its Arab-style bath houses under horseshoe arches, its quiet courtyards and the enforced midday rest. In Albufeira you rely on the resort hotel spas and the calm cliff-top stretches around Galé, or drive an hour to the thermal waters of Caldas de Monchique.