Albufeira or Seville?

Albufeira is a beach resort first and foremost. Praia dos Pescadores and Peneco sit beneath the old town, with long sands at Oura and Falésia to the east and small coves such as São Rafael to the west, nearly all lifeguarded in summer.

Seville has nothing comparable. A swim there means a rooftop or municipal pool, and the sea at Matalascañas or Mazagón is a drive of well over an hour. Anyone who wants regular beach days should either choose Albufeira or add a few nights on the coast.

Seville is the better place to eat, and the difference shows in how a meal works. Tapas are ordered a few plates at a time at the counters of old tiled bars in Triana and El Arenal: spinach with chickpeas, pork cheek, salmorejo, washed down with manzanilla or fino.

Albufeira's best food is a grilled fish lunch or a cataplana near the fishermen's beach or in the old town backstreets. Much of the town, though, serves full breakfasts and curry to package tourists, so good meals there take more searching.

There is little contest here. Seville has a UNESCO-listed core of the Real Alcázar, the cathedral with its Giralda and the Archivo de Indias, plus Plaza de España, Casa de Pilatos and a major collection of Spanish baroque painting, enough for three or four full days.

Albufeira offers a pleasant evening wander through whitewashed lanes, past Moorish wall fragments and the clock tower. For history, visitors there head out to Silves or Faro.

Both towns stay out late, but in very different ways. Albufeira's Strip in Montechoro is neon bars, karaoke, drinks offers and clubs until dawn, aimed at young British and Irish groups, and much of it closes from November to March.

Seville's evenings are about dinner after ten, then terraces, squares and the Alameda de Hércules, with summer bars along the river. There is little serious clubbing, but the mood is more sociable and less raucous, and it holds up through the year.

Albufeira has the more striking scenery close at hand. The Seven Hanging Valleys trail along the cliffs to Benagil is about half an hour away, and boats and kayaks leave the marina for the sea caves and dolphin trips.

Seville is set in flat farmland, so outdoor time in town means cycling or rowing around María Luisa Park and the river. The Doñana wetlands are a real draw for birdwatchers, though, and both places have gentle hiking in cork-oak hills inland.

Seville is much the stronger base for excursions. Córdoba's Great Mosque is under an hour by high-speed train, Jerez and Cádiz are easy by rail, and Itálica and Carmona are close enough for half a day.

From Albufeira the outings are pleasant rather than memorable: Silves castle, Loulé market, Tavira and Lagos. Most are easiest with a hire car, because the regional buses are slow.

Albufeira is made for a summer family vacation, with Zoomarine's dolphin shows, several water parks nearby, calm lifeguarded sands at Oura and Galé, and apartment complexes with kids' clubs. Its weak points are the stepped lanes of the old town, which are hard with a pushchair, and the noise around the Strip.

Seville is relaxed with children in tapas bars and squares, and the rowing boats at Plaza de España and the Alcázar maze are good fun. Its 40°C summer days are a serious handicap, so it suits families best in spring or autumn.

Seville is much easier to get around. Its flat centre puts the cathedral, Triana and Plaza de España within a half-hour walk, and bike lanes with a public bike scheme fill most remaining gaps.

Albufeira is steep in the middle and stretched for kilometres through Montechoro, Oura and Galé, with patchy local buses and a railway station well inland. Most visitors there rely on taxis at night and hire a car for the coves and cliff walks.

Seville gives you things worth bringing home. Triana's potteries sell hand-painted tiles, and the shops around Calle Sierpes stock flamenco dresses, shawls, fans and guitars made for local use.

In Albufeira, the shops mostly sell beachwear, football shirts and souvenirs. Painted pottery, cork goods and medronho are the better buys, and everyday shopping means driving to the mall at Guia.

Overall costs are much the same, and in both places eating and drinking are cheap. The difference is timing. Albufeira is dearest in July and August and very cheap from October to May. Seville's rooms are good value in the summer heat but rise steeply during Holy Week and the April Fair.

Albufeira's stage belongs mostly to the resort. Tribute acts and cover bands play in the bars, the hotels put on cabaret, and fado comes as a dinner show staged for visitors. In summer there are free concerts and the town's fiestas on the square above the fishermen's beach, which are pleasant if you happen to be there but not worth planning a trip around.

Seville offers the opposite. Flamenco is the city's own art, not a show staged for tourists, and you can spend a whole evening on it: a small, crowded stage in Santa Cruz, or a club in Triana run by aficionados where the audience knows the form as well as the dancers do. Beyond flamenco, the Teatro de la Maestranza on the river has opera and a resident symphony orchestra, a fitting stage for the city where Carmen and Figaro are set.

Seville has a slight edge, mostly for atmosphere. Its Arab-style bath houses in old mansions make a memorable evening, and the slow afternoons in shaded courtyards set an unhurried pace.

Albufeira's wellness offer is mainly resort hotel spas, though the cliff-top hotels near Galé and Falésia are calm. Its quiet, mild winters suit a restful long stay, and Caldas de Monchique, about an hour inland, has genuine thermal waters.