Barcelona or Bilbao?

Barcelona has beaches in the city itself: several kilometres of sand from Barceloneta to Mar Bella, a walk or a metro ride from the old town, with warmer and calmer Mediterranean water. The catch is the summer crush on these man-made beaches, which sends many people south to Castelldefels and Sitges.

In Bilbao, the beaches start where the metro reaches the coast at Getxo, Sopelana and Plentzia, so a swim is an outing rather than part of an ordinary day. The Bay of Biscay is cooler, the weather changes quickly, and Sopelana's open swell is better for surfers than for children paddling.

Both are among Spain's great eating cities, and the difference is in range. Barcelona has more variety: Catalan dishes such as suquet and calçots, the late-morning vermouth, seafood rice by the sea, a deep tasting-menu scene and neighbourhood markets like Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni, though you need to avoid the Rambla.

Bilbao's food is narrower but more consistent. On the poteo through the Casco Viejo and Plaza Nueva, even plain bars serve pintxos and txakoli of a high standard, and sit-down meals centre on bacalao, grilled hake and txuleta from the asadores. There is little international food, which only matters if you want a break from Basque cooking.

Barcelona has far more to see. Gaudí's Modernista buildings, the Gothic Quarter with Santa Maria del Mar, and museums from the Picasso to the Romanesque frescoes of the MNAC fill a week without repeating themselves.

Bilbao's culture rests on a shorter list of strong pieces: Gehry's Guggenheim, a good Bellas Artes collection and the Vizcaya Bridge downriver. The Casco Viejo is pleasant rather than grand, and two or three days cover it all.

Barcelona goes out on a different scale. Each district has its own kind of night, from cocktail bars in medieval cellars in the Born to outdoor drinking in Gràcia's squares and the pintxo bars of Blai street. Clubs and electronic nights run until dawn, and midweek is busy too.

In Bilbao the night is mostly the pintxo crawl carried on later, busy from Thursday to Saturday around Plaza Nueva and Licenciado Poza, with a small club scene and quiet weeknights. The exception is Aste Nagusia in August, when the riverbanks become one long party for nine days.

Both cities have hills on the doorstep, but the landscapes are different. Barcelona's are drier and Mediterranean: the Collserola trails, the jagged pinnacles of Montserrat and the pine-backed coves of the Costa Brava, with sailing and windsurfing off Mar Bella and summers too hot for serious hiking.

Bilbao is green and wet. Artxanda and the Pagasarri sit at the edge of town, Urkiola and Gorbea offer real mountain walking, and the Urdaibai reserve and San Juan de Gaztelugatxe are on the coast. It is also the place to surf, with the famous left at Mundaka, as long as you accept rain in any season.

Barcelona's day trips run on fast trains to history and art, while Bilbao's lead to food, wine and fishing harbours, often by bus. High-speed rail puts walled Girona and its old Jewish quarter less than forty minutes from Barcelona, with the Dalí Theatre-Museum at Figueres beyond. Tarragona's amphitheatre above the sea pairs well with the monastery at Poblet, and Montserrat and the cava cellars of the Penedès make easy half-days.

From Bilbao, San Sebastián's old town is a little over an hour away, the oak tree at Gernika stands for Basque identity, and small ports such as Lekeitio and Elantxobe line the coast. The Rioja Alavesa around Laguardia fills a whole day among the bodegas, and Santillana del Mar and the Altamira cave museum lie west in Cantabria. Buses cover the main towns, but a car matters more here than it does around Barcelona.

Barcelona has the attractions children ask for: the aquarium at the old port, CosmoCaixa, the Ciutadella zoo, the funfair on Tibidabo reached by funicular, and beaches a metro ride away. The crowded old-town streets and the July heat are the main drawbacks.

Bilbao is easy rather than exciting with children. The flat riverside promenade, Doña Casilda Park and the Artxanda funicular all work well, and Puppy wins over small visitors. But there is no zoo, aquarium or theme park, and rainy days need a plan.

Barcelona spreads from the seafront up to the hills, while nearly everything a visitor wants in Bilbao lies along a few kilometres of river. In Barcelona you can walk from the Gothic Quarter through the Eixample to Gràcia, but the Sagrada Família and the upper districts call for the metro. Park Güell, Montjuïc and Tibidabo add a steep walk, a funicular or a cable car, and bike lanes help on the longer flat stretches.

Bilbao's strip from the Casco Viejo to the Guggenheim is a flat walk with the tram running alongside, and Foster's metro runs down both banks to the coast and the Vizcaya Bridge. You don't need a car in either city, though in Bilbao one starts to pay off for wine country and the remoter coast.

Barcelona offers much more choice, from the luxury and Spanish fashion houses on the Passeig de Gràcia to independent designers in the Born, small craft shops in Gràcia and vintage and record shops in the Raval.

Bilbao has the usual chains on the Gran Vía and some old family shops in the Casco Viejo selling berets and linen. Its best buys are edible: txakoli, Idiazabal cheese and tinned anchovies from around the Ribera market.

Both cost about the same, and neither is cheap by Spanish standards. In Barcelona, summer hotel rates, the tourist tax and the Gaudí entry fees are what push the bill up, so a trip packed with sightseeing adds up quickly.

In Bilbao, central hotels are dear around the Guggenheim and during the Great Week, but the small, walkable city keeps transport costs low. In both cities, eating at bars and market counters keeps costs down, while the asadores and starred restaurants are where you splash out.

Barcelona's stages are grander and its calendar is fuller. It has the opera and ballet seasons at the Liceu, concerts under the stained glass of the Palau de la Música, jazz cellars and flamenco, plus Sónar, Primavera Sound and the Grec festival on Montjuïc.

Bilbao does well for its size, with ABAO's opera season and the symphony orchestra at the Euskalduna and theatre at the Arriaga and Campos Elíseos. BBK Live is the big date in July, but outside the seasons there is much less on.

Neither city is worth choosing for spas, since neither has a bathing tradition of its own. Barcelona has Arab-style bath houses in the old town, but its centre is noisy and stays up late, so real rest means the Collserola paths, the Montjuïc gardens or a nearby seaside town.

Bilbao has the slower daily rhythm, with riverside walks and long lunches. For a proper spa stay, the historic balnearios of the Basque interior are a separate trip.