Alicante or Girona?

Alicante is a real beach city. Postiguet lies right below the castle, and the tram runs out to Playa de San Juan, about 7km of fine pale sand with shallow, calm water. There is also the boat to Tabarca for clearer, rockier swimming.

Girona has no beach of its own. The Costa Brava begins about 40 minutes away, and its pine-backed coves around Begur and L'Escala are lovely, but each visit is a day out that depends on bus timetables or finding a parking space.

The two eat equally well but in different ways. Alicante's table is built on rice: arroz a banda, black rice and the egg-crusted arroz con costra, eaten at lunch. The Mercado Central adds red prawns from Santa Pola and Dénia, along with mojama.

Girona cooks Catalan, with botifarra and beans, mar i muntanya plates and xuixos from the pastry shops. It also has serious tasting-menu kitchens and the Empordà wine country on its doorstep, though there is less variety for everyday eating.

Alicante's past runs deep, from Iberian settlements to Roman Lucentum, but its historic sights are fewer and more spread out. The highlights are the Santa Bárbara fortress on Benacantil, the flowerpot-lined steps of Santa Cruz and the well-presented finds in the MARQ.

Girona has far more history packed into one place. The walled Barri Vell climbs from the Onyar to a cathedral whose Gothic nave is among the widest anywhere, and the Call, one of Europe's best-preserved Jewish quarters, the twelfth-century Arab Baths and the medieval walls are all close by. You need a couple of days for either city, but Girona fills them better.

Alicante is much the better place for a night out. After a late dinner, El Barrio's small bars spill onto the steps under the castle until the early hours, the port has dressier bars and clubs, and in summer the beach terraces at San Juan stay busy. The Hogueras in late June fills the streets for several nights.

Girona's evenings are mostly terraces and long dinners. There are some student bars around Plaça de la Independència and a few late spots at weekends, and anyone wanting more takes the train to Barcelona.

Girona has more on its doorstep. Riders from abroad come for the lanes to Rocacorba and the flat greenways to Olot and the coast. The Gavarres hills start at the edge of town, and the beech woods and cinder cones of the Garrotxa, the Cap de Creus headland and the Pyrenees are all within reach.

Alicante's outdoors are drier and centred on the sea. Its strengths are snorkelling and diving in the Tabarca marine reserve, flamingos on the Santa Pola salt lagoons, and climbing at Sella or hiking on Puig Campana, though most trailheads need a car.

Girona has the richer choice of day trips. Barcelona is under 40 minutes by fast train, and Figueres and the Dalí Theatre-Museum are half an hour north. Medieval Besalú, Peratallada, the ruins at Empúries and Perpignan across the French border are all within reach.

Alicante's best outing is Elche's UNESCO palm grove, half an hour away. The coastal tram leads to painted Villajoyosa and white Altea, and Guadalest sits on its rock inland. Valencia is about two hours by train.

Alicante is the easier city with children. The water at San Juan is gentle and shallow, Postiguet is a short walk from the centre and the flat Explanada suits scooters. The castle lift and the Tabarca boat go down well, and the theme and water parks near Benidorm are about 45 minutes away.

Girona is calm and safe, and children enjoy walking the city walls. But there is no zoo or theme park, and its stairs and cobbles are hard going with a pushchair. Families staying there usually head to the Costa Brava for the day.

Alicante is a little easier to get around. Its old quarter, market, port and beach are all within about fifteen minutes' walk on mostly level ground, a lift takes you up to the castle, and the coastal tram reaches San Juan and the towns to the north.

Girona is just as walkable but steeper, with many stairs in the Barri Vell. Its fast trains to Barcelona and Figueres are excellent, but buses into the countryside are infrequent, so many visitors rent a car.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Alicante has more choice. Around Avenida Maisonnave there are Spanish chains and department stores, the Mercado Central is good for turrón and saffron, and the shoe-factory outlets in Elche are half an hour away.

Girona's shops are smaller and independent, along the Rambla and in the old town. The Mercat del Lleó sells Empordà cheese and sausage, and the many cycling shops serve visiting riders.

Alicante is the cheaper of the two. Trams and buses are inexpensive, the castle grounds are open to all, and lunchtime rice away from the seafront is good value. From October to May beach rooms are easy to find and much cheaper.

Girona is also cheaper than the big Spanish cities, and its weekday set lunches are fair. But the old town has few rooms, they cost more in summer, at the flower festival and in the cycling season, and a hire car adds to the bill.

Both have a modest stage life, though of a different character. Alicante has the nineteenth-century Teatro Principal and the ADDA concert hall with its provincial symphony orchestra, performing mostly in Spanish. Girona has no resident orchestra, but its autumn Temporada Alta festival of international theatre and dance gives it one season worth timing a visit around, with many plays performed in Catalan.

Rest in both cities mostly means slowing down rather than taking the waters. Alicante does this with seafront walks and an afternoon siesta, and its nearest thermal springs at Archena and Fortuna are about an hour away. Girona has quiet stone lanes and river walks, and the spring-water pools of Caldes de Malavella are only about 20 minutes south.