Alexandria or Limassol?

Limassol is the better place for a beach vacation. Its long run of city beaches has sunbeds and calm, shallow water, and Governor's Beach, Kourion and Pissouri are short drives away if you want somewhere prettier. Swimwear of any kind raises no eyebrows.

Alexandria's public beaches along the Corniche are narrow, crowded and conservative, and the nicer sand at Montaza and Mamoura is behind paid gates. It is fine for a few swims between sights. The long, clear beaches of the North Coast are too far away for an easy outing.

The two are about level, but they differ in what they serve. Alexandria is all about fish: you pick your catch from the ice in Anfushi and get it back grilled or baked in clay, and the city adds liver sandwiches, fiteer and old Greek patisseries. Alcohol is hard to find.

Limassol is built around the long meze in old-town and hill-village tavernas, with kleftiko, souvla and halloumi. It also has a real wine culture, from Xynisteri to the sweet Commandaria, which Alexandria cannot match.

Alexandria has much more to see. Its ancient past survives in pieces, so you visit the catacombs, the Roman theatre and baths, Pompey's Pillar and the Graeco-Roman Museum one at a time, then the citadel on the site of the Pharos and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. The cosmopolitan old town, with Cavafy's house among its streets, fills the time in between.

Limassol has a small castle museum, a few old-town streets and the Amathus ruins, and you can see them in a day. Its richer heritage is at Kourion and Paphos, which means going out of town.

Limassol is where you go for a night out. Bars spill into the lanes around Saripolou Square, the marina has cocktail lounges, and in summer the beach bars and a few clubs stay open well past midnight. Even so, it suits an evening of drinks better than a clubbing weekend.

Alexandria's nights are long but alcohol-free in most places. People sit in coffee houses and at shisha terraces on the Corniche, and only a few old Greek-era bars and hotel lounges serve drinks.

Limassol has far more countryside within reach. The Troodos pines and marked trails near Mount Olympos are about an hour away, there is sometimes light skiing in winter, the Akrotiri salt lake draws flamingos, and there are coastal walks at Cape Aspro. Summer is too hot for walking in the lowlands.

Alexandria has the sea, harbour sunsets and dives over the sunken remains of the Pharos. Inland there is only flat farmland, Lake Mariout and desert.

Limassol sits in the middle of Cyprus's south coast, so a lot is within easy reach. Kourion and Kolossi are close, Paphos's mosaics are under an hour away, and so are the painted churches of Troodos, Lefkara and a divided Nicosia, best reached by car.

Alexandria has fewer outings and they are more spread out. Rosetta, the war cemeteries at El Alamein, the Wadi Natrun monasteries and Abu Mena are all rewarding. Cairo is possible by train but makes for a long day there and back.

Limassol is the easier choice with children. The beaches shelve gently, the seafront promenade suits pushchairs and scooters, resort hotels run kids' clubs, and there is a waterpark nearby.

In Alexandria, children are just as welcome and the summer seafront is full of local families. But there are crowded beaches, little made for children and heavy Corniche traffic to cross. It works best with older children who are interested in catacombs and forts.

Both cities stretch out along the coast, and both are tiring to get around, in different ways. Alexandria's sights are strung along about 20km of shore, so you rely on cheap taxis and ride-hailing through heavy traffic, or on the slow old tram, and you should not drive.

In Limassol, the old town and the promenade are pleasant on foot and coast buses link the centre with the hotel areas. For beaches, ruins and the mountains, though, you need a hire car, and Cypriots drive on the left.

Limassol is somewhat better for shopping. It has high-street chains, marina boutiques and old-town workshops selling ceramics and leather, plus halloumi, Commandaria and Lefkara lace worth taking home.

Alexandria's shopping is aimed at locals. You can browse the dusty antique dealers of Attarin, a remnant of the cosmopolitan era, and the fabric and spice souks, but there is little craft or fashion.

Alexandria costs far less day to day. Taxis, street food, tea and seafront hotels are all cheap, and foreigners' entry fees to sites and museums are the main expense.

Limassol charges resort prices on the beachfront and around the marina, especially in summer. Taverna meals and buses are cheaper, and coming outside the peak months helps a good deal.

Neither city has a stage worth planning a trip around. Alexandria has the most serious venue in the Sayed Darwish Theatre, which hosts opera and ballet, and the Bibliotheca's arts centre, but the programme is irregular and mostly in Arabic.

Limassol's highlight is outdoors: ancient plays performed at Kourion at sunset in summer, alongside the carnival parades and Greek-language theatre at the Rialto and Pattihio.

Limassol is the better place to unwind. Its coastal resort hotels have well-equipped spas with steam rooms, and the hill villages and Troodos pines offer real quiet.

In Alexandria, relaxing means a hotel spa or slow mornings in old cafés. That works best outside summer, when traffic and crowds make the city noisy.