Alicante or San Sebastian?

Alicante has the more dependable beach life. Postiguet sits under the castle at the edge of the old town, and the tram runs out to San Juan's long stretch of fine sand with shallow, calm water. Add a warm Mediterranean that stays swimmable well into autumn and the boat to Tabarca's clear rocky coves, and the beach can carry a whole trip.

San Sebastian's La Concha may be the more beautiful city beach, a sheltered shell of sand framed by Santa Clara island, with quieter Ondarreta beside it and Zurriola for surfers. But it is on the Bay of Biscay, the water is cooler and the season is short, so outside high summer its beaches are mostly for walking.

San Sebastian is one of the great eating cities of Europe, and here it is well ahead. An evening means moving between counters in the Parte Vieja and Gros, each with its own pintxo speciality, with txakoli poured from height. Above that sit some of Spain's most celebrated restaurants, and the cider houses of Astigarraga add a winter ritual. The one gap is range, since nearly everything is Basque.

Alicante eats well but more simply, and its strength is rice: arroz a banda, black rice and the egg-crusted arroz con costra, best ordered at lunch for the table. The Mercado Central, with red prawns from Dénia and Santa Pola, and the tapas bars around the old town are where it shines.

Neither city is a museum destination, and two or three days covers either, but San Sebastian has a little more to give. Its pleasure is the townscape: the grand 19th-century streets around the Buen Pastor cathedral against the dense Parte Vieja, the Miramar Palace above the bay, the San Telmo Museum on Basque society and Chillida's Peine del Viento on the rocks at Ondarreta.

Alicante's sightseeing centres on one landmark, the Castillo de Santa Bárbara on Mount Benacantil, with the whitewashed lanes of Santa Cruz below. The MARQ, with its Iberian and Roman finds, is the standout museum, and the mosaic-paved Explanada is the city's signature walk.

Alicante has the livelier nights. Dinner starts after nine and then El Barrio's small bars fill the steps under the castle until the early hours, with dressier bars and clubs at the marina and beach bars at San Juan in summer. Students and international residents keep it going outside the season, and the Hogueras in late June take over the streets for several nights.

San Sebastian peaks earlier. The pintxo crawl makes the early evening sociable, but after that the choice thins to a few late bars and clubs, and midweek outside summer a night out means dinner and drinks. Neither suits anyone looking for serious club culture.

San Sebastian has the stronger outdoors, and it starts at the edge of town. Monte Ulia opens a coastal path through woods to Pasaia, and the walk over Jaizkibel to Hondarribia is among the finest on the northern Spanish coast. Aiako Harria is within an hour, Zurriola brings surfing, and everything is green, because it rains often.

Alicante's landscape is dry, rocky and bright. Its offer leans to the water, with snorkelling and diving in the Tabarca marine reserve and flamingos on the Santa Pola salt lagoons, while Puig Campana, the Sierra de Aitana and the climbing crags at Sella give real mountain days. Most of those need a car, and summer heat pushes activity into the mornings.

San Sebastian sits on a border, and that gives it the wider choice. Bilbao and the Guggenheim, walled Hondarribia, Pamplona and the French Basque towns of Biarritz, Bayonne and Saint-Jean-de-Luz are all within easy reach, and the Rioja Alavesa vineyards make a full day out.

Alicante's outings are good but more regional. Elche's UNESCO palm grove is half an hour away, the coastal tram reaches painted Villajoyosa and white Altea, and Guadalest perches above its reservoir inland. Valencia takes about two hours by train, so it is a long day rather than an easy hop.

Both are easy with children, but they work in different ways. Alicante relies on its beaches, shallow water and a late, child-friendly Spanish evening, with the big theme park, water parks and marine park near Benidorm a drive away. The midday heat of July and August is the thing to plan around.

San Sebastian keeps more within the city: the harbour aquarium with its tunnel, the hands-on Eureka museum and the old funfair at the top of the Igueldo funicular. Its limit is the weather, which can rule out the beach for days at a time.

San Sebastian is the easier city to move around. It is small and flat, the old town, the centre, Gros and the whole sweep of La Concha are linked by the river and the promenade, and wide bike lanes run along the water. The Euskotren reaches the French border and heads west towards Bilbao.

Alicante's centre is also walkable, with the old quarter, port, market and Postiguet all close together and a lift up to the castle. Beyond it, the coastal tram to San Juan and Benidorm is useful but slow, and a car matters more for the inland villages and coves.

Neither is a shopping destination, and both do best with things to eat. Alicante has Spanish chains and department stores around Avenida Maisonnave, turrón and saffron at the Mercado Central, and the shoe outlets of Elche half an hour away.

San Sebastian has a few more independent boutiques in the Centro and a stronger line in regional goods: espadrilles, berets, tinned anchovies, Idiazabal cheese and txakoli from La Bretxa and the old grocers.

Alicante is far easier on the wallet. Set lunches, tapas and local wine are fair value, the tram and buses are cheap, the castle grounds are free, and outside summer and the Hogueras rooms are plentiful and inexpensive.

San Sebastian is one of the dearest places to stay in Spain, with scarce hotel rooms reaching big-capital levels in summer and festival weeks, and its famous restaurants are a real splurge. Walks, beaches and buses cost little, but a long pintxo evening adds up quickly.

Alicante's stage is modest and mostly in Spanish. The nineteenth-century Teatro Principal puts on drama, touring musicals, dance and comedy, and the ADDA auditorium is home to the provincial symphony orchestra and visiting classical and jazz players. The Hogueras add street bands and processions, but no opera or festival draws visitors on its own.

Two summer festivals with decades of history give San Sebastian the edge for anyone planning a trip around music. In July, Jazzaldia brings international jazz to the Kursaal and free concerts to Zurriola beach. In August, the Quincena Musical fills the month with orchestral music, opera and chamber concerts. The rest of the year is quieter, but the Kursaal still hosts the Basque National Orchestra and the ornate Victoria Eugenia stages plays and dance.

San Sebastian has an actual bathing tradition from its royal resort days, kept alive in the seawater thalassotherapy spa inside the historic pavilion on La Concha, with pools looking onto the bay. The calm, orderly city and its evening promenade make rest come naturally.

Alicante has nothing comparable in town. Relaxing there means hotel spas, a siesta through the heat and slow walks under the Explanada's palms, with the Roman-era thermal springs of Archena and Fortuna about an hour away by car.