Athens or Bodrum?

In Bodrum the beach is the trip. Bitez and Ortakent have long, shallow shores, the north-coast villages swim off wooden decks, and the western bays at Akyarlar and Turgutreis are breezier and quieter. Boat days add coves you can only reach by sea. The catch is that many beaches are small and coarse, and the best stretches belong to beach clubs.

Athens has a real coastline too, but it is one part of a city stay. The tram runs down the Riviera, and the water gets clearer the farther south you go towards Vouliagmeni. The beaches closest to the centre are crowded and plain, and for a calmer swim most people take the ferry to Aegina.

Athens is the better place to eat, and it stays that way all year. Neighbourhood tavernas in Koukaki, Pangrati and Exarchia serve generous shared meze with Greek wine from Santorini and Attica. The Varvakios market shows where it all comes from, and there is a serious fine-dining scene at the top end.

Bodrum's best meals are memorable but fewer. You can pick fish at the market and have it cooked at the tables around it, eat by the water at Gümüşlük, or sit down to a village breakfast in the hills. Away from those, Gümbet and the harbour lanes mostly serve tourist menus, and in the off season the choice thins out.

There is a wide gap here. Athens has the Parthenon above the city and a whole archaeological promenade below it, running from the Ancient Agora to the Kerameikos. The Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum are world-class, and you could spend a week without running out.

Bodrum's ancient Halicarnassus has mostly gone. The Mausoleum is now low foundations, so the Castle of St Peter and its Museum of Underwater Archaeology carry the town. Add the theatre, the Myndos Gate and the whitewashed old town, and two days is enough.

Both cities stay out until dawn, but Athens does it all year and in more styles. Monastiraki has rooftop bars facing the lit Acropolis, Gazi has the clubs and the gay scene, Exarchia draws students and Kolonaki the smarter crowd. The bouzouki clubs keep an older tradition going.

Bodrum's nightlife is a summer resort scene. There is the harbour bar street in town, louder and cheaper clubs in Gümbet, and dressed-up beach-club parties at Türkbükü and Yalıkavak. Outside June to early September, most of it is closed.

There is little between them, but the outdoors means different things in each. Athens has mountains: the fir forest and deer of Mount Parnitha, the pine trails on Hymettus, and short climbs up Lycabettus with views over the basin.

Bodrum is best seen from the water. Gulets go out to the islands and the greener Gulf of Gökova, the clear water is good for snorkelling and diving, and the meltem brings windsurfers to Bitez. In both places, summer heat leaves serious walking to spring and autumn.

Athens has the greater day trips. Delphi, Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio are each a long day out, Cape Sounion is about an hour away for sunset, and Hydra and Aegina have real harbour towns a short ferry ride from Piraeus.

Bodrum is a solid base for the ancient Aegean coast. Didyma, Miletus and Priene fit into one day, and Herakleia on Lake Bafa and Iasos are closer. The ferry to Kos makes an easy hop to a Greek island. Ephesus, though, really needs an overnight stay.

Bodrum is the easier family vacation, as long as you treat it as a resort stay. The shallow water at Bitez and Ortakent suits small children, and many hotels have pools, kids' clubs and slides. There are also big water parks on the peninsula.

Athens has more to do away from the beach: the zoo, the planetarium and the park at the Stavros Niarchos centre, plus ruins that grip children who know the myths. Midsummer heat, crowds at the Acropolis and broken pavements make it harder going with young children, which is why spring is the time to bring them.

Athens is far easier without a car. The main sights sit in a compact area around Plaka and Monastiraki, the metro runs from the airport and Piraeus, a tram goes down to the coast, and taxis are plentiful. The real drawbacks are hills, crowded pavements and the summer heat.

In Bodrum you can walk the town centre, but each bay is a separate trip. Dolmuş minibuses usually go back through town between bays, and summer traffic slows everything down. Many visitors end up hiring a car or a scooter.

Both places make handmade leather sandals, and they are the best thing to buy in either. Beyond that Athens has more range: chain fashion on Ermou, Greek designers in Kolonaki, the weekend flea market around Avissynias Square, and olive oil, herbs and honey from the streets off Athinas.

Bodrum's shopping is split between two extremes. At one end are the covered bazaar, full of copied brands, and the weekly markets in town and in Turgutreis. At the other are luxury boutiques at the Yalıkavak marina, with very little in between.

Athens is the cheaper of the two, though neither is a budget destination. Street food, taverna meals and public transport cost little, and staying in Koukaki rather than Plaka helps. Rooms with Acropolis views and site entry fees are where the money goes.

Bodrum in midsummer doesn't feel like a cheap country, especially in Yalıkavak and Türkbükü. A careful budget means a package hotel in Gümbet, the dolmuş and pide places, or travelling in May, June or late September, when prices drop sharply.

Athens has far more to offer, and it is the only one of the two with a year-round programme. In summer there is opera and ancient drama in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus beneath the Acropolis, and in the theatre at Epidaurus. In winter the Greek National Opera and the Megaron take over, and late-night rebetiko in small tavernas is worth seeking out at any time of year.

Bodrum's performances are summer events in fine settings: concerts in the ancient theatre, ballet in the castle and chamber music in a stone quarry at Gümüşlük. Outside the season there is almost nothing.

Bodrum is the easier place to unwind. The resorts have hammam and massage spas, and Gümüşlük and the western villages stay quiet. In the shoulder months the whole peninsula slows down, though in August you need to choose a calm corner away from Gümbet.

Central Athens is loud and hot, and its old Ottoman bathhouse is now a museum. The real exception is Lake Vouliagmeni, where people bathe year-round in water warmed by mineral springs beneath a limestone cliff.