Benidorm or Salamanca?

This is the starkest gap between the two. Benidorm is built around two long crescents of groomed sand, with shallow, clear water. Levante is the livelier of the pair, and Poniente is broader and calmer. The Serra Gelada coves and the pebbles at Albir are a short trip away.

Salamanca is on the high plain, far from any coast. In high summer the best it can offer is a dip in a municipal pool or a river beach on the Tormes.

Salamanca eats better. Ibérico ham from nearby Guijuelo, hornazo and Castilian roasts come out across generous tapas counters around the Plaza Mayor and Calle Van Dyck, and the Mercado Central is good for charcuterie and cheese. Wines come from Toro and Ribera del Duero.

Benidorm's seafront serves mostly package-style breakfasts and grills. Its strengths lie elsewhere: rice dishes and fresh fish from the Alicante coast, and the tapas lane in the old town. That gives it the seafood Salamanca lacks, but you have to look for it.

Salamanca is far ahead here. The whole old town is a World Heritage Site in golden sandstone. The Plaza Mayor, the Old and New Cathedrals, the Casa de las Conchas and the convents of San Esteban and Las Dueñas sit within a short walk of each other, and the floodlit stone makes evenings part of the sightseeing.

Benidorm offers the blue-domed church on its headland, the Balcón del Mediterráneo view and a skyline of towers. Anyone who wants heritage there has to head inland or along the coast.

Benidorm has the bigger night out, and it lasts all summer. It is a party for people on vacation rather than for locals. A whole district behind Levante beach is given over to pubs, cabaret and groups celebrating in costume, and it is busy every night of the week, not just at weekends. For a more Spanish evening there are the old town's tapas lanes, and the large clubs outside the centre stay open until morning.

Salamanca's night belongs to its students. It peaks from Thursday to Saturday during term, starting with tapas and moving on through crowded bars near the Plaza Mayor to dance bars that close late. It feels young and friendly, with many foreigners there to learn Spanish, but there is less choice. In high summer, just when Benidorm is at its busiest, Salamanca goes quiet.

Benidorm has the wilder outdoors close at hand. The cliff path through the Serra Gelada starts at the end of Levante beach, Puig Campana and the Bernia ridge are within half an hour, and there is diving and kayaking around the island and under the cliffs.

Salamanca has riverside paths on its doorstep, but its best landscapes are about an hour's drive away: the chestnut forests of the Sierra de Francia and Las Batuecas, and the granite canyon of the Arribes del Duero. Both places need a car for most of this, and both are best in spring and autumn.

Both make good bases, but the trips are of different kinds. From Benidorm you reach coastal towns and villages: white Altea, painted Villajoyosa, hilltop Guadalest, Alicante by tram and Elche's palm grove, with Valencia possible on a long day.

From Salamanca you reach historic Castile: the walls of Ávila, Zamora's Romanesque churches, Ciudad Rodrigo's ramparts and the half-timbered villages of La Alberca and Mogarraz. These are more about history than the sea.

Benidorm is much better set up for children. It has gentle, calm beaches, flat promenades and a cluster of theme, water and marine parks plus a zoo. Families staying near Poniente avoid the adult streets behind Levante.

Salamanca is safe, compact and welcoming. Children enjoy spotting the frog and the astronaut in the stonework and climbing the cathedral towers. With no zoo or theme park, though, it works better as a short stop on a wider trip.

Salamanca is a little easier. The pedestrianised old town takes about 20 minutes to cross on foot, and trains run to Madrid and Valladolid. Benidorm is spread along two long, flat promenades, with buses to the parks and a coastal tram, though hotels on the slopes behind Levante mean some steep climbs. In both places the mountains and villages beyond are far easier with a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the souvenirs say a lot about each place. Benidorm sells beachwear, sunglasses and market fakes, with turrón and ceramics in the old town. Salamanca has high-street chains on its pedestrian streets, plus ham, cheese and silver charro filigree to take home.

Both are easy on the wallet, for different reasons. Benidorm's huge supply of rooms keeps winter stays and all-inclusive packages cheap, but July, August and park days push costs up. In Salamanca, students keep tapas cheap and drinks often come with a free tapa, and you walk everywhere. Monument tickets and festival weekends are where the costs build.

Neither has opera or a resident orchestra, and the entertainment differs in tone. Benidorm runs on dinner spectaculars, drag acts, comedians and tribute singers every night. Salamanca has touring theatre, dance and flamenco at the Teatro Liceo, university choral concerts in historic halls, and caped student tunas singing under the arcades of the Plaza Mayor.

Salamanca is the more restful choice. Its old town is calm outside weekend nights, with siesta hours and quiet cloisters at San Esteban and Las Dueñas. There are small Arab-style baths in town, and the mineral springs at Ledesma and Baños de Montemayor are a short drive away.

Benidorm's wellness is mostly hotel spas. It only becomes restful from November to March, when the crowds go and mild, sunny days on the Poniente promenade set the pace.