Andorra la Vella or Segovia?

Neither city is anywhere near the sea, so a beach is out of the question in both. Andorra la Vella's warm-water swimming comes from hotel pools and the thermal lagoons next door, while Segovia offers municipal pools and the chilly reservoirs and river pools of the Guadarrama foothills on a hot summer day.

Segovia gives food lovers more to travel for. Its wood-roasted cochinillo and lechazo are the reason many people make the journey, backed by La Granja's judiones beans, sopa castellana, ponche segoviano and Ribera del Duero and Rueda wines from just down the road. The range beyond the roasts is narrow, and the best tables are often in the side streets rather than by the aqueduct.

Andorra la Vella eats heartily but more simply: escudella, trinxat, grilled lamb and mountain cheeses, best enjoyed in the wood-fired bordas of the side valleys. In town, meals are practical fuel for shoppers and skiers, and the quality varies.

This is where the two differ most. Andorra la Vella has a small old quarter centred on the Casa de la Vall, the former parliament house, and its best heritage lies in Romanesque churches like Santa Coloma scattered through the valleys. A day is plenty.

Segovia is a UNESCO city of real stature. The mortarless arches of the Roman aqueduct lead up to the cathedral and the Alcázar on the tip of the ridge, with the arcaded Romanesque churches of San Martín and San Millán, the old walls and the twelve-sided Vera Cruz along the way. Two days let you see it properly.

Both are early-to-bed towns, and the difference lies in the kind of quiet evening on offer. Andorra la Vella has pubs and wine bars that fill up on winter weekends, but the real après-ski happens up in the resort villages. Segovia's evening is a tapas round around Plaza Mayor, with full terraces on summer nights and a few student bars at weekends, and Madrid is close enough for anyone wanting a proper late night.

Andorra la Vella is the outdoor destination here. It sits at about 1,000m among peaks near 3,000m, with lift-linked ski areas, ski touring and snowshoeing in winter, and in summer hiking, mountain biking and long road climbs, with the UNESCO-listed Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley beginning at the edge of town.

Segovia has fine country of its own on a smaller scale. The Valsaín pine forests and the passes towards Peñalara are within half an hour, the Eresma valley path gives easy walks below the Alcázar, and the Hoces del Duratón gorge adds vultures and canoeing.

Segovia is the much better base for excursions. La Granja's palace and fountains are twenty minutes away, high-speed trains reach Madrid and Valladolid quickly, and Ávila, Pedraza, Sepúlveda and El Escorial all make easy days out, with Salamanca and Toledo possible for the determined.

From Andorra la Vella the choices are fewer and need more driving. La Seu d'Urgell's cathedral and market are close, and Puigcerdà, Llívia, Ax-les-Thermes and Foix castle take longer drives over the mountains.

Andorra la Vella works better for families, provided they come for the mountains. Ski schools with gentle beginner slopes, summer toboggan runs, rope courses, an animal park and Caldea's family pools on a wet day keep children busy, although the traffic-heavy main street is no fun on foot.

Segovia gives children a real castle to climb and giant arches to gaze at, and the palace gardens at La Granja let them run around. Beyond that there is little aimed at them, and the steep cobbles are hard work with a pushchair.

Getting around is similar in effort, but very different in practice. Andorra la Vella's centre runs along the river into Escaldes-Engordany, with buses up the valleys, but there is no train in the country, arrival means a long road trip from Spanish or French airports, and the valley road clogs in peak periods. Segovia's sights lie on one walkable ridge, and a high-speed rail link to Madrid makes arriving far simpler, though the station is a bus ride out of town.

Andorra la Vella is the shopping destination of the two, for bargains rather than style. Low taxes line its avenues with department stores and shops selling cosmetics, electronics, watches, spirits and plenty of ski equipment, though local crafts and independent designers are scarce.

Segovia has souvenirs on Calle Real, some ceramics and embroidery, and boxed local beans and ponche to take home, and not much more.

Segovia is the cheaper stay overall, especially midweek and in winter, when its family-run guesthouses are inexpensive and the tapas bars and lunch menus of the newer town are fair value. The famous roasts by the aqueduct are the main splurge.

Andorra la Vella is reasonable outside the peak ski weeks and cheap for spirits, tobacco and some goods, but ski passes, equipment hire, the spa and high-season hotels quickly add up.

Neither town makes live performance a reason to come, but Segovia's festival calendar gives it the edge. Titirimundi brings puppets to its squares and courtyards in spring, summer concerts fill churches and palace gardens, and Teatro Juan Bravo hosts touring shows. Andorra la Vella's equivalent is a summer of jazz in Escaldes-Engordany and classical music in Ordino, and little the rest of the year.

Andorra la Vella has the stronger offer, almost entirely thanks to Caldea, the thermal complex fed by hot springs next door in Escaldes-Engordany, with lagoons, saunas and an adults-only area that round off a day on the slopes. The town itself is busy, so real calm means heading to the side-valley villages.

Segovia has no thermal waters and only a few hotel spas. What it offers instead is a slow pace once the day coaches leave, with long lunches and evening walks along the walls.