Benidorm or Segovia?

Benidorm exists for its beaches: Levante near the bars, Poniente broader and calmer, both groomed sand running under the towers, with rocky coves under the Serra Gelada and pebbles at Albir for variety. Expect the sand to be crowded in high summer.

Segovia sits on the Castilian plateau, a long way from any coast. Swimming there means a municipal pool or a cold dip in the Guadarrama foothills, which is fine on a hot afternoon but no basis for a beach trip.

Segovia eats better and with more sense of place. Cochinillo from wood-fired ovens, roast lamb, La Granja's judiones beans and Ribera del Duero wine make a meal there an event, although the range beyond Castilian roasts is narrow.

Benidorm's seafront serves fry-ups and pizzas for package visitors. Its real cooking is in the old town tapas lane and the rice restaurants making arroz a banda and arroz negro, so it rewards some searching. Seafood lovers will find more here, meat lovers more in Segovia.

The gap here is wide. Segovia's UNESCO-listed old town runs from a Roman aqueduct of granite arches without mortar, past a late Gothic cathedral, to the Alcázar on the tip of its ridge, with Romanesque porches, a Jewish quarter and the twelve-sided Vera Cruz along the way.

Benidorm offers a whitewashed headland, its blue-domed church and the Balcón del Mediterráneo lookout, plus a skyline that is worth seeing at sunset. Anyone wanting history from a Benidorm base has to travel for it.

Benidorm keeps going until dawn in summer. Themed pubs, karaoke and drag cabaret fill the streets behind Levante, the old town offers a calmer Spanish night of terraces, and clubs on the edge of town run late. Things quieten down sharply out of season.

Segovia's night is a tapas round on and around Plaza Mayor, with a few later student bars at weekends. It suits a glass of wine after dinner, not a big night out.

The outdoors are equally good in both places but in different landscapes. Benidorm pairs the sea cliffs of the Serra Gelada, snorkelling and diving round its island and kayaking under the cliffs with the jagged Puig Campana and the Algar waterfalls inland, best visited in spring or autumn.

Segovia looks onto the Sierra de Guadarrama: pine forests at Valsaín, trails from the passes up to Peñalara's glacial lakes, snow in winter, and vultures over the Duratón gorge. It suits mountain walkers, while Benidorm suits people who want to be on the water as well.

Segovia has the stronger list of outings. La Granja's palace and fountains are twenty minutes away, fast trains reach Madrid in under half an hour, and Ávila, Pedraza, Sepúlveda and El Escorial are all within easy reach of one of Spain's richest historic heartlands.

Benidorm has pretty company along its coast: white Altea, the painted houses of Villajoyosa, Guadalest on its rock, and Alicante by tram. Elche's palm grove and Valencia make longer days, but the region feels less dense with major sights.

Benidorm is built around family days: shallow, calm water, flat promenades for pushchairs, and a theme park, water park, marine park and zoo on the edge of town. Staying near Poniente keeps children away from the adult nightlife behind Levante.

In Segovia, a turreted castle and giant Roman arches will thrill children for a day or two, and La Granja's gardens give them room to run. With no parks built for children and steep cobbles everywhere, it works best as a short stop on a longer family trip.

Benidorm is the easier of the two on foot, with long flat promenades linking both beaches and the old town, local buses to the parks and a coastal tram up and down the coast. Hotels high on the hill behind Levante mean a climb.

Segovia is compact too, with the whole ridge from aqueduct to Alcázar walkable in a morning, but on steep cobbles. Its high-speed station lies outside town, a bus ride away. In both places a car is mainly useful for villages and mountains.

Neither is a shopping destination, though Benidorm offers a little more volume: beachwear, sunglasses, souvenirs and big weekly open-air markets, with Alicante a tram ride away for anything serious.

Segovia's shops are quieter and more local. Ceramics, embroidery, boxed ponche segoviano and La Granja beans along Calle Real make better gifts, and Madrid handles real shopping.

Benidorm stretches a budget a little further. Its huge supply of rooms, all-inclusive packages and inexpensive drinks and set menus keep daily costs low, especially in winter, although July, August and the parks add up.

Segovia is moderately priced, with family-run guesthouses and fair tapas in the newer town, but the famous roasts by the aqueduct cost more and old-town rooms rise at weekends. Midweek and winter visits are where it becomes cheap.

Neither town is a stage for serious music or theatre, but the entertainment differs in kind. Benidorm offers something every night: a dinner-show spectacular, drag cabaret, comedians and tribute acts in dozens of bars.

Segovia's live arts come in seasons, with the Titirimundi puppet festival in spring, summer concerts in churches and palace gardens, and touring productions at Teatro Juan Bravo on Plaza Mayor. For opera, both send you to a bigger city.

Rest in these two towns depends on timing more than facilities. In both, spa treatments mean a hotel spa rather than any bathing tradition, though Benidorm has a few larger spa hotels aimed at long stays. Benidorm becomes restful from November to March, when the mild, sunny days settle into promenade walks and long lunches, and Poniente stays the quieter side of town all year.

Segovia's calm comes every day rather than with the season. Once the coaches leave in the late afternoon, the old town slows down, and an evening walk along the walls, with air off the pines of the sierra, makes a gentle end to the day.