Athens or Marmaris?

Marmaris is the stronger swimming destination, and the whole resort is built around its almost enclosed bay. The water stays calm, and Icmeler and Turunc have quieter beaches below the pines. Boat trips go to clearer coves and to the fine sand of Sedir Island.

The sea off Athens is just as warm. The Riviera from Glyfada to Vouliagmeni and Varkiza improves the farther south the tram or bus takes you. Even so, the beaches near the centre are crowded and plain, and a swim there fits around sightseeing rather than shaping the trip.

Athens eats far better. Neighbourhood tavernas in Koukaki, Psyrri and Exarchia serve grilled octopus, fava and slow-cooked dishes with Greek wines from assyrtiko to xinomavro. The Varvakios market shows where it all comes from, and there is a modern fine-dining scene at the top end.

In Marmaris a good meal takes some looking for. The seafront leans towards pizza and full breakfasts. The better food is in the lokanta stews, the harbour fish and meze, the weekly market and the local pine honey.

There is little contest here. Athens has the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Kerameikos along one walk. Add the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum, and there is enough for several full days.

Marmaris has an Ottoman castle with a modest museum, an hour's wander through the whitewashed old quarter and a bazaar in an old caravanserai. Visitors there with a taste for history spend their days on excursions to Rhodes, Kaunos or Knidos.

Both places stay up late in summer, but Athens has the range. Bars around Monastiraki and Psyrri look up at the lit Acropolis, and Gazi has the big clubs and the gay scene. Exarchia and Kolonaki draw very different crowds, and the bouzouki clubs keep the old tradition going.

Marmaris offers one kind of night out, centred on Bar Street with its foam parties and a young, largely British crowd. The marina has calmer cocktail bars. From November to April most of it closes.

The landscape favours Marmaris. Pine-covered hills close around the bay, and the Bozburun and Datca peninsulas are a lightly built coast of inlets and islands that makes for some of the best sailing in Turkey. On land there is the Carian Trail, and on the water there is diving and kayaking.

Athens has short walks up Lycabettus and Filopappou, pine trails on Hymettus, proper hiking in the fir forest of Parnitha and the coast drive to Sounion. Its hills are mostly bare limestone, though, and turn dry and brown in summer.

Athens has the richer day trips. On the mainland there are Delphi, Mycenae, Epidaurus and Nafplio, plus Sounion at sunset. Ferries from Piraeus reach Aegina, Poros and car-free Hydra, and each of these is a famous name in its own right.

Marmaris has one standout, the ferry of about an hour to the medieval old town of Rhodes. A good second is the river boat at Dalyan, which passes rock tombs on the way to Kaunos. Knidos, Datca and the boatbuilding villages of Selimiye and Bozburun fill quieter days, mostly by tour or hire car.

Both work for families, but in different ways. Marmaris is the easier beach-and-pool vacation, with shallow water at the edge of the bay, hotel clubs for children, a water park and boat trips. It works best from a base in Icmeler, away from Bar Street.

Athens is a city trip with children. Older children who know the myths enjoy the ruins, and there are the planetarium, Hellenic Cosmos and the park at the Stavros Niarchos centre. Steep steps and broken pavements are hard work with a pushchair, and in both places the midsummer heat makes the middle of the day tough.

Athens is easier to get around without a car. The centre around Syntagma, Plaka and Monastiraki is compact, the metro runs to the airport and Piraeus, and a tram goes to the coast. Hills, broken pavements and traffic make walking hard work in summer, though.

Marmaris is simple within the bay. A flat promenade runs towards Icmeler, dolmus minibuses come and go constantly, and water taxis cross to Turunc. Beyond the bay, winding roads and thin bus services push you towards a tour or a hire car.

Athens gives you more to shop for. There is chain fashion on Ermou, Greek designers in Kolonaki and the weekend flea market at Monastiraki. Good things to take home are leather sandals, mountain honey and jewellery based on ancient designs.

Marmaris is mostly a covered bazaar of leather, carpets and copy designer goods, where haggling is expected. Its pine honey, natural sponges and peshtemal towels are still worth packing.

Marmaris goes a little further for the money. Keenly priced package and all-inclusive hotels, cheap dolmus rides and inexpensive lokanta meals make for a straightforward budget vacation. Costs climb at the seafront restaurants, on imported drinks and on organised trips.

Athens is cheap enough for souvlaki, taverna meals and the metro. Central hotels in summer and the entry fees to the ancient sites push the total up, and staying in Koukaki or Pangrati helps.

Athens has real performances to plan an evening around. In summer the festival puts on opera, dance and ancient drama in the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, and there is tragedy at Epidaurus. The rest of the year the Greek National Opera and the Megaron give a solid programme, and rebetiko is played late at night in small tavernas.

In Marmaris the stage is mostly the hotel's, with Turkish nights, belly dancing, the odd cover band and occasional summer concerts in the amphitheatre.

Marmaris is the better place to unwind. Hammams offering steam, scrub and foam massage are everywhere, though they are modern rather than historic, and the larger resorts have full spas. Turunc, Selimiye and Bozburun are quiet places to do nothing, and the Dalyan mud baths are close by.

Athens is loud and hot. Its one real escape is Lake Vouliagmeni, a lake fed by warm springs on the Riviera that stays mild all year. Otherwise, rest means a hotel spa or a long coffee in a shaded square.