Andorra la Vella or Barcelona?

Andorra la Vella has no beach at all. It is deep in a Pyrenean valley, the Mediterranean is about three hours away by road, and the glacial lakes are too cold for swimming. Warm-water swimming means a pool or the thermal lagoons next door.

Barcelona has a long run of sandy beach from Barceloneta to Mar Bella, a short walk or metro ride from the old town. The city beaches are man-made and very crowded in July and August. For more space, take the coastal trains to Sitges, Castelldefels or the Maresme.

Andorra la Vella feeds you well after a day in the hills, with escudella, trinxat, grilled lamb and trout. The best meals are in the bordas, old stone barns in the side valleys where meat is cooked over wood fires. In town the food is mostly practical and uneven.

Barcelona is a city you can travel to for the food. Its covered markets, from the Boqueria to Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni, sit at the heart of a range that runs from cheap weekday set lunches and vermouth bars to serious tasting menus. Sant Antoni, Poble Sec and Gràcia are better places to eat than the Rambla.

Andorra la Vella's heritage takes about a day. The Barri Antic has the fortified Casa de la Vall, seat of the Andorran parliament for centuries, and the church of Sant Esteve, and a short ride away stands Santa Coloma with its round Romanesque bell tower. Beyond those, the town is mostly shops and apartment blocks, and the museums are small.

Barcelona fills a week. Gaudí's Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló and Park Güell sit on top of a Gothic Quarter with Roman walls and Santa Maria del Mar, and the Picasso Museum and Fundació Miró add strong collections. Some of the finest Pyrenean Romanesque art, frescoes taken from mountain churches, hangs in the MNAC on Montjuïc.

Evenings in Andorra la Vella mean a pub or wine bar and an early night. Most people are tired from skiing or shopping, and the livelier après-ski happens up in the resort villages, not in the capital.

Barcelona's nights barely get going before midnight. There are cocktail bars in medieval cellars in the Born, scruffy bars in the Raval, outdoor drinking in Gràcia's squares, pintxos bars along Blai and clubs that stay open until dawn. Electronic music and open-air summer parties give it real depth.

Andorra la Vella is surrounded by high mountains. The town sits at about 1,000m with peaks near 3,000m around it, and the lift-linked ski areas, snowshoe routes and the UNESCO-listed Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley are on its doorstep. In summer the same slopes are good for hiking, mountain biking and long road climbs.

Barcelona's nature is gentler but varied. The Collserola trails start at the edge of the city, people sail and paddleboard off Mar Bella, and Montserrat and the Garraf cliffs are about an hour away. The Pyrenees that Andorra la Vella sits in are at the outer edge of Barcelona's day-trip range, and its summers are too hot for serious hiking.

Andorra la Vella's outings depend on the road. La Seu d'Urgell and its cathedral are about half an hour south, the Cerdanya plateau with Puigcerdà and Llívia is about an hour east, and Ax-les-Thermes and Foix castle in France are about two hours over the pass. It is a short list.

Barcelona has fast trains to the rest of Catalonia. Girona is under forty minutes away, then come Dalí's museum in Figueres, Roman Tarragona with Poblet, Montserrat, seaside Sitges and the cava cellars of the Penedès, and with a car the Costa Brava.

Andorra la Vella works for families who come for the mountains. There are large ski schools and beginner slopes, toboggan runs, rope courses and an animal park in summer, and family pools at the thermal complex for wet days. Without those, the long, busy shopping street has little for children.

Barcelona keeps children busy even without a plan. The aquarium, the CosmoCaixa science museum, the zoo, the old funfair on Tibidabo and the city beaches are all close, and theme parks are about an hour south. The old town's narrow, crowded streets are hard work with a pushchair, though.

Andorra la Vella is small enough to walk, and it runs straight on into Escaldes-Engordany along the river. Buses link the parishes, but there is no train, the airports are a long drive away in Spain or France, and the valley road clogs at weekends. Many trailheads are easier to reach by car.

Barcelona is easier. Its centre is flat, the metro, trams and local trains share one ticket, and bike lanes cover the longer stretches. A car only gets in the way here. The only climbs are up to Park Güell, Montjuïc and Tibidabo.

Andorra la Vella is a place to stock up. Low taxes have turned its main avenues into a long strip of perfume, electronics, watches, spirits and above all ski and outdoor gear. There are few independent shops and almost no local crafts.

Barcelona has the grand Passeig de Gràcia and also more interesting small streets: independent designers in the Born, craft shops in Gràcia and vintage and record shops in the Raval. Espadrilles, ceramics, conserves and cava make better things to take home than anything sold on the Rambla.

Andorra la Vella is the slightly cheaper stay. Rooms are good value outside the peak ski weeks, lunch menus are reasonable, and low taxes make spirits and some shopping cheaper. Ski passes, hire and the spa cost much the same as in other mountain resorts.

In Barcelona, hotels take the biggest share of the budget, especially in summer and near the old town or the seafront. The tourist tax and the entry fees for Gaudí's buildings add up quickly. Set lunches, market counters and transport passes help balance it out.

Andorra la Vella's stage life is mostly a summer affair: a jazz festival in Escaldes-Engordany, classical music in Ordino and open-air shows in town. For the rest of the year, there is usually little on in the evening.

Barcelona has a full calendar. There is opera and ballet at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, concerts under the stained glass of the Palau de la Música Catalana, serious theatre at the Lliure and Mercat de les Flors, and jazz cellars and flamenco stages. Each year, Sónar, Primavera Sound and the Grec festival on Montjuïc fill the city in early summer.

Andorra la Vella has a real reason to come and unwind: the hot springs of Escaldes-Engordany and the large thermal complex they feed, with lagoons, saunas and an adults-only section. The busy avenues are not restful, but the stone villages of the side valleys are.

Barcelona has no bathing tradition. There are a few Arab-style bath houses and some hotel spas, and the old town stays loud late into the night. For calm, take a long lunch on a terrace in Gràcia or walk in the evening on Collserola or in the Montjuïc gardens.