Alicante or Seville?

This is where the two cities differ most. Alicante is a beach city. Postiguet is a few minutes from the old town, the tram runs out to the 7km of fine sand at Playa de San Juan, and the boat to Tabarca or the coves towards Villajoyosa add variety. The catch is the crowds in July and August.

Seville has no beach of its own. A day by the sea means a car or a coach to Matalascañas or Mazagón on the Atlantic, and in town a swim means a hotel rooftop pool or a municipal pool. Visitors who want both usually add a few nights on the coast.

Both cities eat well and locally, but Seville has the edge for anyone who travels to eat. Its tapas are the main event: an evening spent standing at the counters of tile-fronted bars in El Arenal and Triana, ordering fried fish and pork cheek with a glass of manzanilla or fino.

Alicante's strength is rice, eaten at long lunches rather than on a tapas round: arroz a banda, black rice and arroz con costra, with red prawns at the Mercado Central. The tapas streets near its market are good for everyday eating, but they lack the depth of Seville's bars.

Seville is in a different league. The Real Alcázar, the cathedral with the Giralda and the Archivo de Indias form a UNESCO-listed core. Beyond them are Plaza de España, Casa de Pilatos and the Murillos of the Museo de Bellas Artes, enough for three or four days.

Both cities have a whitewashed quarter called Santa Cruz, but Alicante's is a quiet hillside of flowerpots and steps rather than the setting for great monuments. Above it, the Castillo de Santa Bárbara looks over the bay. Add the mosaic Explanada and the well-presented MARQ, and two days covers Alicante's sights.

Evenings start late and run long in both, and neither suits serious clubbing. The difference is the setting. In Alicante the night moves from the small bars on the steps of El Barrio to dressier bars and clubs by the marina and, in summer, the beach bars at San Juan. The Hogueras in late June are the high point of its year.

Seville's evenings spread across its squares and neighbourhoods: the mixed, LGBT-friendly Alameda de Hércules, Triana and the Alfalfa, and open-air bars along the river once the summer heat breaks. Its big all-nighter is the April Fair in the casetas.

Alicante has more on its doorstep. The Cabo de las Huertas path, snorkelling and diving in the Tabarca marine reserve and sailing in the bay are all close. Within an hour inland, Puig Campana and the Sierra de Aitana offer real mountain hiking, and there is rock climbing at Sella.

Seville sits in flat farmland, so nature near town means María Luisa Park and the river. Its great asset is Doñana, one of Europe's great wetlands, about an hour and a half away, and the Sierra de Aracena has gentler walking.

Córdoba alone gives Seville the stronger day trips. Its Great Mosque is under an hour away by high-speed train. Jerez, Cádiz, Carmona and the Roman ruins of Itálica are all within easy reach, and the white villages lie beyond them.

From Alicante, the best trip is to Elche and its UNESCO palm grove, half an hour away. Next come the coastal tram to Villajoyosa and Altea and the castle village of Guadalest. Valencia is about two hours away by train, and Tabarca makes a gentle half day.

Alicante is the easier vacation with children, mainly because of the sea. The shallow water at San Juan, the short walk to Postiguet and a promenade made for scooters cover most days. The theme, water and marine parks near Benidorm add the big outings.

Seville has María Luisa Park with its rowing boats, the maze in the Alcázar gardens, a theme park and an aquarium. In July and August, though, it often passes 40°C, which makes sightseeing with small children hard work. Both cities are relaxed about children out late in the evening.

Seville is a little easier to get around. Its flat, partly pedestrianised centre puts the cathedral, Triana and Plaza de España within a half-hour walk. Bike lanes and a public bike scheme make cycling genuinely useful, though walking at midday in summer is hard going.

Alicante's centre is smaller, with the old quarter, port, market and beach about fifteen minutes apart. Its asset is the coastal tram to San Juan, Benidorm and Dénia, slow but scenic, while the inland mountains need a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Seville gives more reason to browse. Triana's pottery workshops sell hand-painted tiles. The streets around Calle Sierpes and Calle Cuna sell flamenco dresses, mantillas, fans and guitars made for locals going to the April Fair, and there is the Thursday flea market on Calle Feria.

Alicante's shopping is more practical. Chain stores line Avenida Maisonnave, the Mercado Central sells turrón and saffron to take home, and the shoe outlets of Elche are half an hour away.

Day-to-day costs are similar, with good-value tapas and wine in both and centres you can walk. The difference is in when rooms are expensive. In Alicante, beach rooms peak in July, August and during the Hogueras, and are far cheaper from October to May, when the weather stays mild.

Seville runs the other way. The summer heat makes rooms good value, while Holy Week and the April Fair push rates up steeply. Tickets for the Alcázar and the cathedral are an extra in Seville, whereas Alicante's castle grounds are free or nearly so.

Seville wins clearly, and the reason is flamenco. It is performed every night in the tablaos of Santa Cruz and Triana and in the peñas where aficionados gather. The Teatro de la Maestranza stages opera in the city where Carmen and The Barber of Seville are set.

Alicante has the Teatro Principal and the ADDA concert hall, home to the provincial symphony orchestra, but the programme is small and mostly in Spanish, with no local tradition to travel for.

Neither city has a bathing culture of its own, and rest in both comes down to slow days, long lunches and the afternoon siesta. In Alicante, that means sun and sea and a walk along the palm-shaded Explanada. The thermal springs of Archena and Fortuna, used since Roman times, are about an hour's drive away.

Seville has Arab-style bath houses in old mansions, with warm and cold pools under arched ceilings, and the cool, quiet courtyards of the Alcázar gardens. The drawback is that its narrow streets are noisy at night.