Andorra la Vella or Bilbao?

Andorra la Vella has nothing to offer here. The Mediterranean is about three hours away by road and the mountain lakes are too cold for a swim, so bathing means a hotel pool or the warm lagoons at Caldea.

Bilbao has no beach in the city either, but the metro reaches Ereaga and Arrigunaga in Getxo, the open sands of Sopelana and the sheltered bay at Plentzia in well under an hour. In late summer the Bay of Biscay is warm enough for a real swim. Treat these beaches as an afternoon out, though: the weather changes quickly, and the surf at Sopelana suits surfers better than small children.

In Andorra la Vella, eating means fuel after a day outdoors. The best meals are escudella, trinxat and lamb grilled over wood fires in the bordas, the old stone barns of the side valleys, while the restaurants along the shopping avenues in town are hit and miss.

Bilbao is a destination for food in its own right. The bars of the Casco Viejo, Plaza Nueva and the Ensanche keep a high standard of pintxos even in plain rooms, and the Ribera market shows off the produce. Above that come bacalao al pil-pil, txuleta from the asadores and several Michelin-starred kitchens. Neither city offers much beyond its own regional cooking.

Andorra la Vella's heritage takes about a day: the stone lanes of the Barri Antic, the fortified Casa de la Vall where the parliament met for centuries, and Romanesque churches such as Santa Coloma a short ride away. Beyond that the town is mostly shops and apartment blocks.

Bilbao has real institutions to go with its history. Gehry's Guggenheim is worth the trip for the building alone, the Bellas Artes holds old masters and Basque painters, and the Basque Museum explains the region. Add the Casco Viejo, the Teatro Arriaga and the Vizcaya Bridge down the estuary, and you have two or three full days.

Evenings in Andorra la Vella are short. There are a few pubs and wine bars around the centre and in Escaldes-Engordany, but most visitors are worn out from the slopes, and the real après-ski happens up in the resort villages.

Bilbao's nights grow out of the pintxo crawl. The Casco Viejo and Plaza Nueva fill from early evening, Licenciado Poza draws a younger crowd, and weekends run well past midnight on Spanish hours. Clubbing is limited and weeknights are calm, except during the August Great Week, when the riverbanks become one long street party.

Andorra la Vella has the bigger landscape. The town sits at about 1,000m in a country of peaks near 3,000m, with lift-linked ski areas, ski touring, long Pyrenean road climbs and the glacial Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley right on its doorstep. The scale and the snow are what set it apart.

Bilbao's outdoors are gentler but more varied. You can take the funicular up Artxanda, hike the Pagasarri, or walk among the limestone and beech forests of Urkiola and Gorbea within an hour. It also has what Andorra cannot offer: cliff paths along the coast, the islet of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe and serious surfing at Mundaka. Rain comes with all of it.

From Andorra la Vella the options are pleasant but few. You can drive half an hour down to the cathedral town of La Seu d'Urgell, cross to Puigcerdà and the enclave of Llívia in the Cerdanya, or take the high pass to Ax-les-Thermes and Foix castle in France, which is about two hours away.

Bilbao has a much longer list. San Sebastián is a little over an hour by bus, Gernika and the fishing ports from Bermeo to Lekeitio are close, and Vitoria-Gasteiz has its medieval hill quarter. Further out are Rioja wine villages such as Laguardia, and Santillana del Mar in Cantabria. Buses reach most of them, so a car is helpful but not essential.

Both work about equally well with children, but in different ways. Andorra la Vella is for active families: ski schools and gentle beginner slopes in winter, toboggan runs, rope courses and a Pyrenean animal park in summer, and the family pools at Caldea when it rains. Its main street is long and heavy with traffic, though.

Bilbao is easier day to day. The flat, safe riverside suits scooters and pushchairs, and Doña Casilda Park, the Artxanda funicular and the Guggenheim's Puppy keep small children happy, with metro beaches in summer. Neither city has a zoo, aquarium or theme park.

Bilbao is much the easier city to get around. The sights line a flat stretch of river that you can walk end to end, a tram follows the same route, and the Foster-designed metro runs down both banks to the beaches and the Vizcaya Bridge. Regular buses and Euskotren services reach San Sebastián, Vitoria and the coast.

Andorra la Vella's centre is compact and merges on foot into Escaldes-Engordany, and valley buses and ski buses cover the parishes. There is no railway in the country, though, so you arrive after a long drive from airports in Spain or France. The main road clogs at weekends, and many trailheads really need a car.

Andorra la Vella pulls ahead on sheer volume. Thanks to low taxes, the avenues into Escaldes-Engordany form one long strip of department stores and shops selling perfume, electronics, watches, spirits and, above all, ski and outdoor gear. It is a place for stocking up rather than discovering anything.

Bilbao has less range but more character. The Gran Vía carries the usual chains, while the Casco Viejo keeps old family shops selling berets, espadrilles and linen next to small independent designers. The best souvenirs are edible: txakoli, Idiazabal cheese and Cantabrian anchovies from around the Ribera market.

Andorra la Vella works out a little cheaper. Rooms are good value outside the peak ski weeks, set lunches are reasonable, and spirits and tobacco cost less than across either border. Ski passes, equipment hire and the spa cost what they do at any mountain resort, though.

Bilbao is on the expensive side for Spain, with central hotels pricier around the Guggenheim and during the August festivities. A pintxo crawl is still one of the better-value evenings in Europe, and the cheap metro and walkable centre keep transport costs down.

Bilbao has a proper stage life. The Euskalduna hosts the ABAO opera season and the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra, the Teatro Arriaga and the Campos Elíseos put on theatre and dance, and BBK Live brings international bands to Mount Cobetas each July. Smaller rock and indie stages fill some of the gaps between seasons.

Andorra la Vella offers little outside summer, when the jazz festival in Escaldes-Engordany, classical concerts in Ordino and open-air shows in the capital fill the calendar. For the rest of the year, a night out for music is hard to find.

This is where Andorra la Vella has a real advantage. Hot springs in Escaldes-Engordany feed Caldea, a thermal complex of lagoons, saunas and treatment rooms with an adults-only section, which makes a natural end to a day on the slopes. The traffic-heavy avenues outside are far from restful, however.

Bilbao has no bathing tradition, only hotel and day spas that are fine for an afternoon. Its relaxation comes from the pace of the place: long lunches, river walks and unhurried evenings. For a proper soak, the balnearios of the Basque interior are a separate trip.