Alicante or Barcelona?

Alicante wins on the sand. Playa de San Juan gives you about 7km of natural, fine pale beach with calm, shallow water, Postiguet sits right under the castle for a quick swim, and the boat to Tabarca adds clear water and rocky swimming spots. The sea also runs a degree or so warmer than in Barcelona.

Barcelona's beaches, from Barceloneta to Mar Bella, are man-made, and in summer they come with pickpockets and hawkers as well as crowds. Their strength is that they sit right at the edge of a major city, and Sitges and the Maresme give you more room under an hour away by train. Both cities' town beaches are packed in July and August.

Barcelona has the broader and more serious food scene. Catalan cooking is a cuisine of its own, from suquet to calçots with romesco, and alongside it come the vermouth hour, neighbourhood markets like Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni, and one of Europe's leading tasting-menu scenes. Eating well means avoiding the Rambla and heading for Gràcia, Poble Sec or the Eixample.

Alicante is narrower but very good at what it does, which is rice. Arroz a banda, black rice and arroz con costra are lunchtime dishes made for sharing, and the Mercado Central's red prawns and mojama make a fine morning visit. For everyday tapas, go to the old town rather than the seafront.

There is a wide gap here. Barcelona has the Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and Park Güell, all part of a Modernista collection found nowhere else, along with a Gothic Quarter on Roman foundations, Santa Maria del Mar and strong museums from the Picasso to the MNAC's Romanesque frescoes. A week goes quickly.

Alicante's sightseeing centres on the Castillo de Santa Bárbara and its view over the bay, the flowerpot-lined steps of the Barrio de Santa Cruz and the well-presented MARQ archaeology museum. It is pleasant, but two days covers it.

Barcelona's nights are longer and more varied. Each district has its own scene: cocktail cellars in the Born, scruffy bars in the Raval, outdoor drinking in Gràcia's squares, pintxos along Blai street, and a serious electronic club culture that runs until dawn, with beach clubs at the Port Olímpic on top.

Alicante goes out late too, but on a smaller scale. The evening means small bars spilling onto the steps of El Barrio, dressier venues by the marina and beach terraces at San Juan in summer. The Hogueras in late June is the big party, and anyone looking for proper clubbing will find little.

Barcelona has the edge because its outdoors starts at the city limits. The Collserola trails begin from Sarrià and Gràcia, the Carretera de les Aigües gives a flat run with views over the city, and Montserrat's pinnacles and the Costa Brava cliffs are within easy reach by train or car.

Alicante's landscape is drier and more rugged, with real mountain hiking on Puig Campana and the Sierra de Aitana, climbing at Sella, flamingos on the Santa Pola salt lagoons and the best snorkelling and diving of the two around the Tabarca marine reserve. The catch is that most trailheads need a car.

Barcelona is better for day trips thanks to fast trains. Girona's walled old town is under forty minutes away by high-speed rail, and Dalí's museum in Figueres, Roman Tarragona, Montserrat, Sitges and the cava cellars of the Penedès are all easy outings.

Alicante still has plenty to offer. Elche's UNESCO-listed palm grove is half an hour away, the coastal tram reaches the painted houses of Villajoyosa and the white town of Altea, and Guadalest perches above its reservoir inland. Valencia is about two hours away by train for a longer day.

Barcelona has more for children within the city itself: the aquarium at the old port, CosmoCaixa's hands-on science, the zoo in the Ciutadella and the old funfair on Tibidabo, reached by funicular. The drawbacks are crowded old-town streets that are hard going with a pushchair, and the need to watch your bags.

Alicante is easier but has less to do. The shallow water at San Juan and the flat palm-lined promenade make beach days simple, but the city has few attractions built for children, so the theme and water parks mean a drive towards Benidorm.

Barcelona is the easier city to get around overall. A simple metro, with buses, trams and local trains on the same tickets, plus bike lanes along the flat stretches, links a city far larger than Alicante. The uphill sights such as Park Güell and Tibidabo need a funicular, a cable car or a steep walk.

Alicante works differently: almost everything a visitor needs is within about fifteen minutes' walk, and a lift inside the rock takes you up to the castle. Beyond the centre, the coastal tram is slow and a car helps for the mountain villages.

Barcelona is a real shopping destination. The Passeig de Gràcia has fashion houses set among Modernista façades, the Born has independent designers and concept stores, Gràcia has craft shops, the Raval has vintage and record shops, and the Els Encants flea market is worth a browse.

Alicante is practical, with Spanish chains around Avenida Maisonnave and turrón, saffron and olive oil at the Mercado Central. Its one special draw is the shoe factory outlets in nearby Elche.

Alicante is clearly cheaper. Rooms cost less, especially outside July, August and the Hogueras festival, the castle grounds are free or nearly so, and a rice lunch away from the seafront is good value.

In Barcelona, hotels near the old town and the seafront are expensive, and the tourist tax and Gaudí entry fees quickly add to the cost of a sightseeing trip. Eating like a local at set lunches and market counters helps, and transport passes are fair value.

Barcelona is far ahead here. The Liceu stages a full season of opera and ballet, the Palau de la Música makes even an ordinary concert an occasion, and Sónar, Primavera Sound and the Grec festival on Montjuïc fill the summer, with jazz cellars and flamenco stages for the rest of the year.

Alicante has the Teatro Principal for touring drama and musicals, and the ADDA auditorium for the provincial orchestra and visiting jazz performers. Most of the programme is in Spanish, and there is no opera.

Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own, so they are broadly level, but the rest they offer is different. Barcelona has Arab-style bath houses with warm pools in the old town, though the streets outside are noisy and the nights late, and real calm means escaping to the Collserola paths or the Montjuïc gardens.

Alicante has fewer spa facilities, but the city itself is quieter outside high summer, with a slow routine of seafront walks and siestas on the shaded Explanada. Roman-era thermal springs at Archena and Fortuna are about an hour away by car.