Athens or Larnaca?

In Larnaca the beach comes first. Finikoudes runs right along the old town, its fine grey sand shelving so gently that you can wade a long way out, and Mackenzie Beach adds beach bars. The sea is a degree or two warmer than near Athens and swimmable later into the autumn, and Nissi Beach and Fig Tree Bay are within an hour for clearer water.

Athens has more coast than people expect, but it is something you add to a city stay. The Riviera from Faliro to Vouliagmeni means a tram or bus ride, the better coves lie farther south, and much of the shore is given over to lidos with rocky free stretches in between. A ferry to Aegina or Agistri gives a calmer swim.

Athens offers far more to eat. Tavernas and mezedopoleia in Psyrri, Koukaki, Pangrati and Exarchia serve grilled octopus, fava and slow-cooked dishes with assyrtiko or agiorgitiko. The Varvakios market shows the raw ingredients, and there is a serious modern Greek fine-dining scene if you want it.

Larnaca does one thing well: a long Cypriot meze of halloumi, sheftalia and kleftiko, plus fresh fish near the old harbour and in village tavernas inland. Beyond that the choice is narrow, and the promenade is mostly international menus aimed at visitors.

The two are not in the same league here. Athens has the Parthenon above the city, the Ancient Agora, the Kerameikos and the Temple of Olympian Zeus along one walkable promenade. The Acropolis Museum, the National Archaeological Museum, the Benaki and the Cycladic collection could fill a week on their own.

Larnaca has a handful of rewarding places: the ninth-century Church of Saint Lazarus, Hala Sultan Tekke beside the Salt Lake, the Phoenician remains of Kition and the pottery lanes of Skala. They make a pleasant day or two rather than the reason for the trip.

Athens is a proper late-night city. Dinner starts after nine, Psyrri and Monastiraki fill with bars and Acropolis-view rooftops, and Gazi has the bigger clubs and a long-established gay scene. In summer the clubs move to open-air venues on the coast, and bouzouki nightclubs keep going until morning.

Larnaca's evenings are gentler: cocktail bars and cafés along Finikoudes, and DJs at the Mackenzie beach bars in summer. The town goes quiet in winter, and anyone after real clubbing heads forty minutes east to Ayia Napa.

Athens has the better outdoors close at hand. Lycabettus and Filopappou give quick views, Hymettus has pine trails, and Mount Parnitha, an hour away, offers fir forest and proper hiking. Sailing, windsurfing and day charters on the Saronic Gulf are easy to arrange.

Larnaca's surroundings are flatter and drier, but they have their own appeal: flamingos on the Salt Lake in winter and the Zenobia, one of the world's best-known wreck dives, just offshore. Cape Greco's sea caves and the Troodos forests take an hour or more by car. In both places summer hiking is a dawn affair.

From Athens you can reach the headline sites of ancient Greece in a day: Sounion at sunset, Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio across the Corinth Canal, and Delphi on Parnassos. Ferries from Piraeus add Aegina, Poros and car-free Hydra.

Larnaca's central position puts much of Cyprus within reach. Divided Nicosia is forty minutes away, Lefkara and Neolithic Choirokoitia are closer still, and Kourion, Paphos and Famagusta's walled town are further out. The list is shorter and less famous, and the bus network is thin, so these trips mostly need a car.

With children the two come out about even, but for different reasons. Larnaca is simply easier: a small, calm town, a beach where toddlers can paddle safely, playgrounds on the promenade and an airport minutes away. The trade-off is that there is little made for children in town beyond the Salt Lake flamingos and a camel park.

Athens has more to fill the days, with the zoo, the planetarium, Hellenic Cosmos and the park at the Stavros Niarchos centre. However, broken pavements, steep steps and a hot Acropolis climb make it harder work with a pushchair or younger children.

Athens is the easier city to get around without a car. The metro runs from the airport and Piraeus into a compact centre, the tram reaches the coast, and taxis are plentiful. The catches are cracked, cluttered pavements, hills and heavy traffic.

Larnaca's flat little centre is a pleasure on foot, and the airport is a short ride away. Once you leave town, though, Cyprus has no railway and few useful buses, so most visitors hire a car and get used to driving on the left.

Athens gives shoppers more range: chain fashion on Ermou, Greek designers and labels in Kolonaki, and the Monastiraki flea market for antiques and records at weekends. The best souvenirs are leather sandals, herbs and honey from around Athinas, and jewellery based on ancient designs.

Larnaca's high streets and edge-of-town mall are modest. Its better buys are crafts: Lefkara lace and silver filigree, Skala pottery and a bottle of Commandaria. Serious fashion means a trip to Nicosia or Limassol.

Overall costs are similar, but the money goes in different places. In Athens, cheap souvlaki and transport are offset by entry fees at the archaeological sites and expensive Acropolis-view hotels in summer, so staying in Koukaki or Pangrati helps.

Larnaca's sights cost little or nothing, and meze a few streets back from the promenade is generous for the price. A rental car is the big extra. Winter rooms are much cheaper, which matters more here because Larnaca's winter is mild enough to enjoy.

Athens has the stronger programme by a wide margin. Summer festival nights bring opera and ancient drama to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the theatre at Epidaurus. The Greek National Opera and the Megaron run all year, and late rebetiko sessions in small tavernas are the city's own music.

Larnaca offers Greek-language plays at the municipal theatre, open-air summer festival evenings at the fort and the odd bouzouki night in a taverna. For anything larger, people go to Nicosia.

Neither city is a spa destination, and they are much alike here. Athens has one real draw in Lake Vouliagmeni, spring-fed and mild all year beneath its limestone cliff, but the centre itself is loud and hot.

Larnaca has no bathing tradition, and its spas are in the resort hotels east of town. What it offers instead is an unhurried pace: seafront coffees, evening strolls and quiet winter sun.