Barcelona or Girona?

Barcelona has the beach and Girona does not. A run of sand from Barceloneta to Mar Bella lies a short walk or metro ride from the old town, so a swim fits into an ordinary sightseeing day. The trade-off is man-made beaches that are packed in high summer, and the better sand at Sitges or Castelldefels is a train ride away.

From Girona the sea means a planned day out of about 40 minutes by car or bus. The reward is better scenery: pine-backed coves around Begur and L'Escala with some of the clearest water on this coast. Without a car the infrequent buses limit how far you get.

Both cook Catalan at heart, with pa amb tomàquet and botifarra with white beans on every menu, but Barcelona has far more range. A whole network of covered markets, from the Boqueria to Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni, sits alongside workers' set lunches, seafood rice by the sea and one of Europe's leading tasting-menu scenes, spread over several neighbourhoods worth eating your way through.

Girona punches above its size with its own fine-dining reputation, mar i muntanya cooking, xuixos pastries and Empordà wines from just up the road. Variety is the gap, with little street food or international cooking, so after a few days the choice runs short in a way it never does in Barcelona.

Barcelona is the bigger cultural destination by some distance. Gaudí's Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló, La Pedrera and Park Güell exist nowhere else, and beneath them lie the Roman walls and medieval squares of the Gothic Quarter, plus the Picasso Museum and the MNAC's Romanesque frescoes. You can spend a week on it.

Girona offers one superb old town rather than a whole city of sights. The walled Barri Vell climbs to a cathedral with one of the widest Gothic naves anywhere, and the Call is among Europe's best-preserved Jewish quarters. Its museums are modest, and a day or two covers the essentials.

This is the widest gap between the two. Barcelona's nights start after an eleven o'clock dinner and run until dawn, with cocktail bars in Born cellars, scruffy Raval bars, the Eixample's gay scene, beachfront clubs and serious electronic nights.

Girona has student bars around Plaça de la Independència in term time and a handful of small late venues at weekends. Locals who want a big night out take the train to Barcelona.

Girona has the edge, chiefly because it sits in the middle of open country. Road cyclists come for the quiet lanes and climbs that start at the edge of town, old railway lines have become greenways to Olot and the sea, and the Gavarres hills begin on the outskirts. The Garrotxa volcanic zone, the Cap de Creus headland and the coast-guard path above the coves are all within about an hour, and the Pyrenees are only a little further.

Barcelona's outdoors is more urban. Its strengths are the Collserola hills and their flat Carretera de les Aigües, Montjuïc's gardens, and paddleboarding or windsurfing off Mar Bella, with Montserrat's pinnacles an hour out.

Girona is the slightly better base, mostly because of where it sits. Barcelona itself is under 40 minutes by fast train, Figueres is half an hour away, and Dalí's Púbol and Portlligat, the stone villages of Pals and Peratallada, the ruins of Empúries and even Perpignan across the French border are all close. A car opens up most of it.

Barcelona reaches Girona and Figueres just as easily by train and also covers the south, which Girona cannot: Roman Tarragona, the monastery at Poblet, Sitges, the cava cellars of the Penedès and Montserrat. More of that is possible without a car.

Barcelona is much easier with children. The aquarium, the hands-on CosmoCaixa, the zoo in the Ciutadella and the funicular up to Tibidabo's funfair give plenty to do, the beach is close and PortAventura is about an hour away. The crowds and narrow old-town streets are the main downside.

Girona is calm and safe, and walking the walls feels like an adventure, but nothing there is built for children. The Barri Vell's stairs defeat pushchairs, so families usually treat it as a quiet base and head to the Costa Brava for the day.

Both have walkable centres, but Barcelona's is flat and backed by a simple metro, with trams, buses, local trains and bike lanes on the same system. Only Park Güell, Montjuïc and Tibidabo involve a climb or a funicular, and a car is never needed.

Girona is small enough to cross on foot in about twenty minutes, though the old quarter is all stairs and cobbles. The real difference is beyond the city, where infrequent buses make a hire car the practical way to reach villages, coves and wineries.

Barcelona is the shopping city here. The Passeig de Gràcia has luxury and Spanish fashion houses among Modernista façades, and the more interesting finds are in Born concept stores, Gràcia's craft shops, Raval vintage and record shops, and the Els Encants flea market.

Girona's shopping is pleasant but small: independent fashion, shoe shops and bookshops around its Rambla, and Empordà cheeses, sausages and oil at the Mercat del Lleó. Its one speciality is cycling kit. Anyone wanting more takes the train south.

Girona is somewhat cheaper, though neither is a bargain. Barcelona's hotels are its biggest expense, and the tourist tax and steep entry fees for the Gaudí buildings add up on a sightseeing trip. Eating like a local at set lunches and market counters keeps food costs reasonable.

In Girona you walk everywhere and the taverns are kinder on the budget. Rooms in the old town are limited, though, and climb in summer, at flower festival time and in the cycling season, and a hire car can eat into the savings.

Barcelona has a full stage calendar all year: opera and ballet at the Liceu, concerts at the Palau de la Música and L'Auditori, serious theatre at the Lliure and Mercat de les Flors, jazz cellars and flamenco. In early summer Sónar and Primavera Sound take over the city.

Girona's offer is seasonal. Temporada Alta brings international theatre and dance in autumn, and summer adds concerts in castle gardens along the coast, but there is no resident opera or orchestra. Outside those months there is little on.

Neither city is a true wellness destination, and the difference is mostly one of pace. Barcelona offers Arab-style bath houses in the old town, but its streets are noisy and its nights late, so rest means long lunches, Gràcia terraces or the Collserola paths.

Girona is quieter by nature, with morning lanes and evening walks by the river. Its Arab Baths are a monument rather than a place to bathe, but the thermal waters of Caldes de Malavella, about 20 minutes away, give it a real spa option that Barcelona does not have as close by.