Barcelona or Granada?

Barcelona has a real city beach. Sand runs from Barceloneta past Bogatell to Mar Bella, so a swim fits around sightseeing, though the man-made beaches are packed and watched by pickpockets in high summer. Cleaner, roomier sand is a short train ride away at Castelldefels, Sitges or along the Maresme.

Granada has no shore of its own. The Costa Tropical is about an hour south, with pebble and dark-sand coves at Salobreña, Almuñécar and La Herradura, where calm, clear water suits snorkelling. In the city a summer swim means a pool, and anyone who wants the sea every day should stay on the coast.

Barcelona has more range and more depth. Catalan cooking is a cuisine of its own, from suquet and botifarra to calçots in late winter, and it comes with vermouth late in the morning, seafood rice by the sea and cava. Markets such as Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni are as much a reason to eat as the restaurants, and the top end is among Europe's most serious.

Granada's pleasure is simpler and cheaper: the tapas round, moving between bars around Calle Navas and the Realejo, with a plate arriving with each drink. Alpujarras ham, fried aubergine with cane honey and the Moroccan tea houses of Calderería Nueva give it character. Expect little fine dining and few cuisines from beyond Spain and North Africa.

Both cities have world-class architecture, but Barcelona has more of it, in two layers. Gaudí's Sagrada Família, Casa Batlló and Park Güell sit above a Gothic Quarter of Roman walls and Santa Maria del Mar, and the Picasso Museum, the MNAC and the Fundació Miró add strong collections. A week passes without running out of things to see.

Granada is more concentrated. The Alhambra's Nasrid palaces and Generalife gardens are arguably the single most moving sight in either city, and the Albaicín, the Royal Chapel, the Carthusian monastery and the Sacromonte caves fill out the picture. Museums matter less, and a few unhurried days cover the core.

Barcelona's nights are bigger and more varied. Cocktail cellars in the Born, scruffy Raval bars, outdoor drinking in Gràcia's squares, the Eixample's gay scene and serious electronic club nights all run until dawn. Summer is its peak, with open-air parties and weekends that barely end.

Granada's nights are cheerful and informal, carried by a large university: tapas first, then the bars of Calle Elvira and the student clubs around Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. There are few big clubs or polished cocktail bars, and the city goes quiet in summer, just when Barcelona is at its loudest.

Granada has the bigger landscape. The Sierra Nevada rises straight behind the Alhambra, with ski slopes about 45 minutes away, summer routes towards Mulhacén, mainland Spain's highest peak, and the terraced Alpujarras valleys with chestnut woods and mule paths. When the valley bakes in July, you can still escape upwards.

Barcelona's outdoors is gentler and has the sea. The Collserola hills and the Carretera de les Aigües start at the city edge, and paddleboarding and windsurfing go out from Mar Bella. Montserrat's pinnacles and the Costa Brava's coastal paths make good longer outings, but summer heat rules out serious hiking.

Both are well placed for day trips, but the trips differ. From Barcelona, fast trains reach Catalonia's medieval and Roman towns: Girona's walls and Jewish quarter, the Dalí Theatre-Museum at Figueres and Tarragona's amphitheatre. Add seaside Sitges, the cava cellars of the Penedès and PortAventura for children, and the choice is broad.

Granada's trips are about Andalusia's history and its mountains. Córdoba's Mezquita is the highlight, with the Renaissance towns of Úbeda and Baeza, the dolmens of Antequera and El Torcal, and the cave quarter of Guadix close behind. The white villages of the Alpujarras, such as Pampaneira and Capileira, make a mountain day out that has no equivalent near Barcelona.

Barcelona keeps children busier. The aquarium, CosmoCaixa, the zoo and the funicular up to the Tibidabo funfair fill several days, and the beach and PortAventura are easy extras. The old town's narrow, crowded streets are the main nuisance.

Granada is calm and safe, and both cities welcome children at dinner late in the evening. Its main draw for children is the Parque de las Ciencias, with a planetarium and butterfly house, and the Alhambra's fountains keep younger ones interested. But the steep, cobbled hills are hard with a pushchair and summer afternoons are fierce, so spring, autumn or a snow day in winter work better.

Barcelona is the easier city to cover. The flat centre walks well from the Gothic Quarter up through the Eixample to Gràcia, and the metro, trams and local trains share one ticket system, with bike lanes for longer stretches. Only the hilltops, such as Park Güell, Montjuïc and Tibidabo, need a funicular, a cable car or a steep climb.

Granada is smaller and mostly walkable, but it is steeper. The little red minibuses up to the Alhambra, the Albaicín and Sacromonte save tired legs on cobbles, while the light rail serves the suburbs rather than the sights. A car is no use in the restricted centre but handy for the Alpujarras.

Barcelona is a real shopping city. The Passeig de Gràcia combines fashion houses with Modernista façades, the Born and Gràcia have independent designers and craft shops, and the Raval does vintage and records. Espadrilles, conserves and cava make good things to take home, and Els Encants is a proper flea market.

Granada's shopping is mostly about craft. Taracea inlaid woodwork, blue and green Fajalauza ceramics and guitars from local workshops are the finds worth having. The Alcaicería looks the part but sells mostly souvenirs, and beyond the chains on Calle Recogidas there is little design or luxury.

Granada is noticeably kinder to the wallet. The free tapa with each drink makes eating out cheap, and rooms in the lower town and the Realejo cost less than in the big coastal cities. Prices rise only around the Alhambra, in Albaicín boutique stays, view terraces and flamenco shows for visitors.

Barcelona is the dearer city, and it costs more than most of Spain. Hotels are the main expense, and the tourist tax and Gaudí entry fees push up a sightseeing trip. Set lunches, market counters and transport passes keep the rest under control.

Barcelona has the fuller calendar. The Liceu stages a full season of opera and ballet, the Palau de la Música makes any concert feel like an occasion, and Sónar, Primavera Sound and the Grec festival on Montjuïc fill the early summer. Jazz cellars, rock rooms and serious theatre fill the rest of the year, though plays are mostly in Catalan or Spanish.

Granada's stage is smaller but has deep local roots. Zambra flamenco in the Sacromonte caves and rawer nights in Albaicín peñas carry a tradition tied to Lorca and Falla. Its International Festival of Music and Dance, held in the Alhambra's palaces since 1952, has a setting that nothing in Barcelona can match.

Granada is the more restful choice. Its hammams in the lower Albaicín revive the Moorish ritual of warm, tepid and cold pools under vaulted ceilings, and the spa towns of Lanjarón and Alhama de Granada, with waters used since Roman times, are within an hour. Siesta hours, tea houses and garden carmenes set a slow pace.

Barcelona has a few Arab-style bath houses and hotel spas, but its old town is noisy and its nights are late. To rest there, you look for calm on the Collserola paths or a Gràcia terrace, or stay in a seaside town instead.