Alicante or Bilbao?

Here Alicante is far ahead. You can swim at Postiguet between lunch and an evening stroll, take the tram to the shallow, calm water of Playa de San Juan, or take the boat to Tabarca for clear water among the rocks. The Mediterranean stays warm for a good five months, and the only real drawback is the summer crowd.

Bilbao has no beach in the city. The metro reaches good sand at Getxo, Sopelana and Plentzia, but the Bay of Biscay is cooler, the weather changeable and Sopelana's swell better for surfers than for paddling. The beach there is an afternoon out, not the point of the trip.

Bilbao is the more serious food destination. The poteo, drifting from counter to counter for a pintxo and a glass of txakoli, sets a high standard even in plain bars. At the table, hake, bacalao al pil-pil and txuleta steaks show off Basque produce, with a fine-dining tier of Michelin-starred kitchens above that.

Alicante eats well in a different way, centred on rice. Arroz a banda and arroz con costra are shared at long lunches, and red prawns and mojama come from the modernist Mercado Central. It is satisfying everyday eating rather than a reason to plan a trip around meals.

Bilbao has more to see. The Guggenheim is a destination in itself, the Museo de Bellas Artes holds old masters and Basque painting, and the Vizcaya Bridge at Portugalete adds a UNESCO site a metro ride away. Two or three days pass easily.

Alicante's sights are fewer and centred on a single hill: the Castillo de Santa Bárbara, the flowerpot-lined steps of Santa Cruz below it, and the MARQ's well-told archaeology. It is pleasant, but the city is covered in about two days.

Alicante has a little more going on after dark, especially in summer. The bars of El Barrio spill onto the old-quarter steps until late, the port draws a dressier crowd, and beach terraces at San Juan stay busy into the night. The Hogueras in June turn the whole city into a street party.

Bilbao's evenings are an extension of the pintxo crawl, busiest from Thursday to Saturday around Plaza Nueva and Calle Licenciado Poza, and quiet on weekdays. Neither city is a club destination, but Bilbao's big moment is Aste Nagusia in August.

Bilbao is the greener and more varied base. A funicular climbs Artxanda and the Pagasarri makes a half-day hike from town. Urkiola and the beech woods of Gorbea are within an hour, and the coast offers San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, the Urdaibai reserve and the famous wave at Mundaka.

Alicante's landscape is dry and rocky. It has good diving around Tabarca, flamingos on the Santa Pola salt lagoons and real climbing near Sella. Summer heat limits activity to the mornings, and most of the hiking needs a car.

Both cities have plenty of good outings, with Bilbao slightly ahead for range. San Sebastián, Gernika, the fishing ports of Bermeo and Lekeitio, and Vitoria-Gasteiz are all easy by bus. Rioja wine country and Cantabria's Santillana del Mar fill longer days.

Alicante's trips are gentler and more sun-drenched. The UNESCO palm grove at Elche is half an hour away, the coastal tram runs to the painted houses of Villajoyosa and white Altea, and Guadalest sits on its rock inland. Valencia is about two hours by train.

Alicante is the easier family choice, mainly thanks to its beaches. Playa de San Juan has shallow, gentle water, Postiguet is close to the centre, and the theme and water parks near Benidorm are within reach by car. The main thing to plan around is the midday summer heat.

Bilbao is safe, flat and pleasant with children, with Doña Casilda Park, the Artxanda funicular and Puppy outside the Guggenheim. It has no zoo, aquarium or theme park, though, and rainy days need a backup plan.

Alicante's centre is small enough to cross on foot in about fifteen minutes, from the old quarter and the market to Postiguet, and a lift inside the rock takes the effort out of the castle climb. Beyond the centre, the coastal tram to San Juan and Benidorm is scenic but slow. The inland villages, climbing crags and quieter coves really call for a car.

In Bilbao, almost everything a visitor wants lies along a few flat kilometres of riverbank, from the Casco Viejo to the Guggenheim, with a tram running the same stretch. Foster's metro serves both banks of the estuary out to the beaches and the Vizcaya Bridge, and frequent buses reach San Sebastián and Gernika. Without a car, it is the easier of the two cities to get around.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and the best buys in both are edible. Alicante offers turrón from Jijona and saffron at the Mercado Central, esparto baskets at the street markets, and Elche's shoe outlets nearby. Bilbao has more character in its old family shops, which sell berets, espadrilles and linen in the Casco Viejo, plus anchovies, txakoli and Idiazabal from the Ribera market.

Alicante is the cheaper of the two, and the difference shows most in what you pay for a bed. Its rooms only get expensive near the beaches in July, August and Hogueras week. From October to May the same seaside rooms are easy to find and far cheaper, and the weather is still mild. Bilbao's central hotels generally cost more than in most Spanish cities, especially in the streets around the Guggenheim, and prices rise again for Aste Nagusia in August and for big concerts.

The cost of everyday eating is closer. A shared rice dish at lunchtime away from Alicante's seafront is good value, and so is an evening of pintxos and txakoli in Bilbao's Casco Viejo. A Bilbao trip gets expensive when you sit down for a proper meal, because a txuleta at an asador or a tasting menu in one of the starred kitchens costs a lot more. Trams, buses and the metro are cheap in both cities, so getting around adds little to either budget.

Bilbao has the fuller stage life. The ABAO opera season and the Bilbao Symphony play at the Euskalduna, the Arriaga and Campos Elíseos stage theatre and dance, and BBK Live brings international bands each July.

Alicante's offer is modest: Spanish-language drama at the Teatro Principal, the provincial orchestra at the ADDA, and bar gigs. There is no opera, and the Hogueras are its main show.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, so rest mostly means hotel spas and an unhurried rhythm. Alicante's sun gives it a slight edge, with seafront walks, siestas and a palm-shaded Explanada, and the Roman-era thermal springs of Archena are about an hour away. Bilbao's version of slowing down is long lunches and riverside walks between showers, and its historic balnearios lie further inland.