Benidorm or Girona?

Benidorm is a beach resort first and last. Levante and Poniente stretch for kilometres of fine sand straight in front of the town, with shallow water, and the pebbles at Albir and the coves below the Serra Gelada add variety. The catch is the summer crowd, which fills the sand from morning to sunset.

Girona has no beach of its own. The Costa Brava, about 40 minutes away, has clearer water and prettier pine-backed coves around Begur and L'Escala. Getting there is a day out that needs a car or careful bus planning, though, and the sea runs a couple of degrees cooler.

Girona is the place to eat well. Catalan dishes such as botifarra with white beans and mar i muntanya, serious tasting-menu kitchens, xuixos from the pastry shops and Empordà wines make most meals worth planning. The neighbourhood places across the Onyar are especially good.

In Benidorm, good food takes some looking for. The seafront menus run to full breakfasts and generic grills. The better meals are in the old town's lane of tapas bars and in rice restaurants that cook arroz a banda and arroz negro the Alicante way.

Here the two are far apart. Girona's walled Barri Vell is a complete historic quarter. It holds the cathedral, whose Gothic nave is one of the widest in the world, the Romanesque cloister of Sant Pere de Galligants, the Arab Baths and the Jewish Call, and you can walk along the medieval walls.

Benidorm's heritage comes down to the whitewashed lanes of the old fishing village, its blue-domed church and the Balcón del Mediterráneo lookout. Its most memorable sight is the skyline of towers at sunset, and visitors interested in history head inland or to Alicante.

Benidorm goes out hard, at least in summer. The Rincón de Loix and the streets behind Levante are packed with themed pubs, karaoke and drag cabaret until long after midnight. The old town offers a more Spanish round of tapas bars and terraces, and the clubs on the edge of town keep going until dawn.

In Girona, an evening means a long dinner and a drink on a terrace, with students filling the bars around Plaça de la Independència in term time. For a proper night out, people take the train to Barcelona.

Both have mountains close by, but Girona offers more. Road cyclists come from around the world for the lanes up to Rocacorba and Els Àngels, and greenways run free of traffic to Olot and the coast. Within about an hour are the volcanic forests of the Garrotxa, the Costa Brava cliff paths and Cap de Creus, and the Pyrenees are not much further.

Benidorm's outdoors is more compact. The Serra Gelada cliff walk starts at the end of Levante, Puig Campana and the Bernia ridge offer real hiking half an hour inland, and you can dive and kayak right off the beach.

Girona is the better base. Barcelona is under 40 minutes away by fast train and Figueres, home of the Dalí Theatre-Museum, is half an hour north. Medieval Besalú, Peratallada, the ruins of Empúries and even Perpignan across the French border are all within easy reach.

Benidorm's outings are pleasant but smaller in scale: white Altea and painted Villajoyosa next door, the castle at Guadalest, and Alicante's castle and seafront an hour away by coastal tram, with Elche's palm grove about as far by car. Valencia, about two hours away, is the biggest city outing on offer and makes a long day.

Benidorm is built for children. The beaches shelve gently, the promenades suit pushchairs and Spanish families keep restaurants welcoming late into the evening. A theme park, a long-running water park, a marine park and a zoo are on the edge of town, and staying near Poniente keeps the adult nightlife at a distance.

Girona is safe and friendly to families but has little made for them beyond the Devesa park and the thrill of walking the walls. The stepped Barri Vell is hard work with a pushchair, and most families there spend their days on the Costa Brava.

Both are best explored on foot, but Benidorm is the easier of the two. Flat promenades link its two beaches and the old town, local buses reach the theme parks and the coastal tram runs to Alicante and Altea. Only the inland hills really call for a car.

Girona's centre is compact, but the Barri Vell is all stairs. Beyond the city, buses are infrequent, so most visitors rent a car. Its strength is the train, with fast links to Barcelona and Figueres.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and both send serious shoppers elsewhere: Benidorm to Alicante, Girona to Barcelona. Girona has the more interesting browsing. Around the Rambla there are independent fashion and shoe shops, bookshops and delicatessens, and the Mercat del Lleó sells Empordà cheeses, sausages and wine.

Benidorm's shops serve the beach, with sunglasses, beachwear, souvenirs and cheap electronics, and its large weekly markets sell clothes, leather goods and fakes. The best things to take home are turrón and the local ceramics sold in the old town.

Benidorm is the cheaper vacation. A huge supply of rooms, all-inclusive packages and low prices for drinks and set lunches keep daily costs down, and winter is especially easy on the budget. July, August and days at the theme parks push spending up.

Girona sits in the middle of the range. Set lunches and everyday taverns are fairly priced, but old-town rooms are limited and get expensive in summer, during the spring flower festival and in the cycling season. A hire car adds to the bill as well.

Neither city has a resident opera or orchestra, so the difference is in the kind of entertainment. Benidorm offers light shows every night: song and dance at a large dinner-show venue, and drag cabaret, comedians and tribute acts in the bars, many with loyal followings among returning visitors.

Girona's stage is more serious but seasonal. The Auditori hosts touring orchestras and jazz, the Teatre Municipal stages drama and dance, often in Catalan, and Temporada Alta brings international theatre every autumn. Outside those seasons there is little on.

Girona is the calmer place to rest. Its quiet stone lanes, river walks and long lunches slow the pace all year, and the thermal-spring hotels of Caldes de Malavella, a spa town since Roman times, are about 20 minutes away.

Benidorm is mainly restful in winter, when the crowds leave and the mild, sunny promenades suit long stays. In summer it is loud, wellness means hotel spas, and Poniente is the quieter side of town.