Albufeira or Salamanca?

This is where the two differ most. Albufeira has golden sand at the foot of the old town at Pescadores and Peneco, with long beaches running east through Oura to Falésia and small coves such as São Rafael to the west. Most beaches have lifeguards and the water is usually calm in summer.

Salamanca lies far inland on the Castilian plain. Summer swimming there means a municipal pool or a river beach on the Tormes, fine for a hot afternoon but no reason to go.

Salamanca eats better. Its evenings are built around tapas counters near the Plaza Mayor and Calle Van Dyck, with ibérico ham from nearby Guijuelo, hornazo, suckling pig and wines from Toro and Ribera del Duero. The weak spot is seafood.

That happens to be Albufeira's strength: grilled sardines, bream, octopus and cataplana near the fishermen's beach and in the old town backstreets. The catch is that much of the town feeds a package-tour crowd, so you have to look for the good meals.

Salamanca is a heritage city in its own right. Its UNESCO-listed old town of golden sandstone has the baroque Plaza Mayor, the carved University façade, two cathedrals side by side and the Casa de las Conchas, and floodlighting brings the stone to life after dark.

Albufeira's whitewashed lanes, Moorish wall remnants, clock tower and two small museums take about a morning. Visitors interested in history spend most of their time in older towns elsewhere in the Algarve.

Both cities have late, cheap nights out for a young crowd, but the crowds differ. Albufeira's nightlife centres on the Strip in Montechoro, with neon bars, karaoke, sports pubs and clubs full of British and Irish stag and hen groups until dawn in summer. Much of it shuts from November to March.

Salamanca runs on students. The night starts with tapas, moves to packed bars around the Plaza Mayor and Calle Bordadores, and ends in small clubs open past 3am, from Thursday to Saturday in term time. It goes quiet in high summer, just when Albufeira is at its loudest.

Albufeira has the more striking landscape close at hand. Its limestone coast has eroded cliffs, arches and sea caves, the Seven Hanging Valleys trail is about half an hour away, and boat or kayak trips go to the Benagil grotto. The Ria Formosa lagoons and the Monchique hills add birdwatching and gentle hikes.

Right around Salamanca there is only the flat Meseta and the paths along the river. The wilder country, the forests of the Sierra de Francia and Las Batuecas and the granite canyon of the Arribes del Duero, starts about an hour away and needs a car.

Salamanca has the stronger list. Ávila's medieval walls, Zamora's Romanesque churches, fortified Ciudad Rodrigo and the half-timbered villages of La Alberca and Mogarraz are all within about an hour, and Segovia is possible on a long day.

Albufeira's outings are pleasant rather than memorable: Silves with its red castle, Loulé's market hall, Faro's walled centre and Tavira's Roman bridge. In both regions, a car makes the villages much easier to reach.

Albufeira is the easier family base. Zoomarine and several water parks are a short drive away, wide lifeguarded beaches such as Oura and Galé are usually calm, and many hotels have kids' clubs and shallow pools. Families should stay away from the Strip, and the steep old town is hard work with a pushchair.

Salamanca is safe and largely pedestrian, and children are welcome on the café terraces late in the evening. Apart from hunting for the carved frog and astronaut and climbing the cathedral towers, though, there is little aimed at them. It works best as a stop of a day or two.

Salamanca is far simpler. Almost everything lies in a pedestrian old town you can cross on foot in about 20 minutes, and trains link the city with Madrid and Valladolid.

Albufeira's walkable centre is small and steep, with stairs, a lift and an escalator up from the beach. The resort spreads for kilometres through Montechoro, Oura and Galé, and buses link these areas only patchily. The station is 6km inland, so most visitors rely on taxis or a hire car.

Neither city is a shopping destination, though Salamanca offers a little more. It has high-street chains and a department store on the streets north of the Plaza Mayor, ibérico ham and cheese from the Mercado Central, and charro silver filigree jewellery. Albufeira's lanes sell mostly beachwear and souvenirs, painted pottery, cork goods and medronho are the better buys, and for everyday shopping people drive to the mall at Guia.

Salamanca is easier on the wallet. Its many students keep tapas and drinks cheap, a free tapa often comes with a drink, and walking everywhere saves on transport, although admission to the sights adds up.

Albufeira is reasonable for a Western European resort, with cheap set menus and plenty of self-catering apartments. In July and August, though, room prices rise sharply and taxis and car hire add up. Out of season, its apartments are a real bargain.

Salamanca has a modest but real stage life. Touring theatre, dance and flamenco play at the Teatro Liceo, the university holds choral concerts in its historic halls, and caped student tunas sing under the Plaza Mayor arcades. Albufeira offers resort entertainment instead: cover bands, hotel cabaret and fado dinner shows, plus free summer concerts on the square by the fishermen's beach.

Neither city has a spa tradition of its own, but Salamanca suits a slow stay a little better. Long lunches, a real siesta and quiet cloisters at San Esteban and Las Dueñas set the pace. The old spa hotel at Ledesma is about half an hour away, and Baños de Montemayor, used since Roman times, is further south.

In Albufeira, how calm it feels depends on where you stay. The cliff-top resorts and Galé are restful, and the area around the Strip is not. Hotel spas and the mild, sunny winter suit a quiet stay, and the thermal waters of Caldas de Monchique are about an hour inland.