Ankara or Fethiye?

There is no contest here. Ankara is an inland capital on the plateau, and swimming means a hotel or municipal pool; the lakes at Eymir and Mogan are for rowing, not bathing.

Fethiye is built around the water. Calis is the town's own breezy strip of sand and pebble, Oludeniz offers a sheltered turquoise lagoon beside an open bay, and beyond them come the cove at Kidrak, cliff-walled Butterfly Valley and the island coves reached on day cruises.

Ankara gives a hungry visitor more to work with. Its esnaf lokantası canteens, kebab and pide houses, long breakfasts and the local Ankara tava cover everyday Turkish cooking well, and Kızılay, Tunalı Hilmi and Çankaya add meyhanes and some upmarket restaurants for the diplomatic crowd.

Fethiye's strongest card is something Ankara cannot match: picking fish at the town market and having it cooked with meze at the tables around the square. Beyond that and the weekly canal market, the resort strips at Hisaronu and Oludeniz lean towards package-tourist menus, so good eating means staying in town.

Ankara holds the heavier sights. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations follows Anatolia from Çatalhöyük through the Hittites and Phrygians, and Anıtkabir shows the Republic at its most monumental, with the citadel, the Temple of Augustus and the Roman baths filling out two or three days.

Fethiye's interest is concentrated and atmospheric rather than broad: Lycian rock tombs in the cliff above town, sarcophagi standing in ordinary streets and the roofless stone houses of Kayakoy over the ridge. It is an afternoon or two, not a programme.

Neither is a party destination, but they peak at opposite times of year. Ankara's going out is driven by students, with beer bars, rock bars and meyhanes stacked in the multi-storey buildings off Kızılay and calmer, older places in Tunalı Hilmi, and it is busiest in term time and quietest in the summer break.

Fethiye is a summer scene. Paspatur offers cocktail bars and rooftop terraces over the harbour, while Hisaronu's strip of karaoke bars and late clubs runs into the early hours for package visitors, then largely shuts from November to April.

Fethiye is one of the great outdoor bases on the Turkish coast. Babadag rises almost straight out of the sea behind Oludeniz for tandem paragliding, the Lycian Way sets off along the cliffs past Faralya and Kabak, and Saklikent Gorge, sea kayaking and diving are all close.

Ankara's setting is open, treeless steppe. Atatürk Forest Farm and the lakes give room to walk and cycle, Soğuksu National Park has pine forest an hour north, and Tuz Gölü draws flamingos in spring, but serious hiking means going much further.

Fethiye sits in the heart of ancient Lycia, with Tlos, Pinara, Xanthos and Letoon, Patara and the river tombs of Dalyan all within easy reach, plus Kas, Kalkan and, in season, a ferry to medieval Rhodes. Many of the inland ruins, though, are easiest with a hire car or a tour.

Ankara's outings are fewer but quick to reach thanks to fast trains: the Mevlana Museum in Konya and the painted Ottoman houses of Eskişehir are comfortable day trips, and Gordion, with King Midas's burial mound, is a short drive west. Hattusa is possible but makes a long day.

For young children, Fethiye has the advantage of the Oludeniz lagoon, shallow, sheltered and warm, plus pool hotels around Hisaronu and Ovacik and boat trips with swimming stops. The catch is the heat of July and August, which makes June and September the better months.

Ankara welcomes children just as warmly but offers a city vacation instead. Dinosaur skeletons at the MTA Natural History Museum and climbable trains and boats at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum are highlights, while hilly, traffic-heavy streets and serious museums suit older children more.

Both are manageable, in very different ways. Ankara is a big city with metro and Ankaray light rail running along its Ulus to Çankaya spine on one card, but broad boulevards and steep climbs make walking between districts hard work, and taxis fill the gaps.

Fethiye has no rail at all. Its centre and harbour are compact and flat enough to walk, and shared dolmuş minibuses run out to Oludeniz, Hisaronu and Kayakoy, with water taxis across to Calis.

Ankara offers more range, with big malls, mid-range boutiques and bookshops around Tunalı Hilmi and Kızılay, and its old quarter below the citadel adds coppersmiths, spice shops and angora wool goods around Samanpazarı.

Fethiye is mostly markets and souvenirs. The weekly canal market is worth a morning for honey, spices and peshtemal towels, and Paspatur's lanes sell carpets, leather and ceramics, but the beach resorts offer little beyond beachwear and imitation brands.

Ankara is the cheaper stay because it barely caters to tourists: comfortable hotels, canteen meals, metro rides and taxis all keep prices low, with heavily taxed alcohol and the international chains in Çankaya the main exceptions.

Fethiye can be good value if you sleep and eat in town, but the costs climb in the beachfront hotels of Oludeniz and Hisaronu, and the things people come for, such as paragliding, boat cruises and diving, add up fast.

This is one of Ankara's real strengths as the capital. The State Opera and Ballet, the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and the Bilkent Symphony Orchestra give it a proper season with easy tickets, and the State Theatres perform too, though in Turkish.

Fethiye has nothing comparable. Live music there means a saz player in a meyhane, cover bands in Hisaronu and the odd open-air summer show.

Fethiye is the easier place to unwind. A historic Ottoman hammam in Paspatur offers the full scrub and foam ritual, larger hotels add spas, and the terraced slopes above Kabak and Faralya hold small yoga retreats with sea views, best in spring and autumn away from the resort noise.

Ankara's bathing is everyday rather than a draw: neighbourhood hammams in Ulus and Hamamönü, and thermal springs at Kızılcahamam and Haymana about an hour out. In town, the tea gardens and lake parks are the only real pause in a working capital.