Biarritz or Madrid?

Biarritz is a real beach town. It has the Grande Plage below the casino, the Côte des Basques under the cliffs and the sheltered Port Vieux cove, and the long sands of Anglet carry on to the north. This is the open Atlantic, so you swim between the lifeguard flags, and the water is fresh outside late summer.

Madrid has no beach, and the coast is too far away for a day out. In the summer heat the city cools off in municipal open-air pools and at the reservoirs below the Sierra de Guadarrama, and neither replaces the sea.

Biarritz does one cuisine well. Its Basque cooking centres on Les Halles: Bay of Biscay fish, Bayonne ham, sheep's cheese, and pintxos at the market bars from mid-morning. Beyond Basque and French cooking, though, there is not much choice.

Madrid offers more range and more ways to eat. There is the late tapas crawl along Cava Baja and in Lavapiés, hearty Castilian dishes such as cocido, and the best of every Spanish region, from Galician seafood to Basque grills, plus a serious tier of tasting menus. The midday menú del día and market halls such as San Miguel complete the picture.

Here the gap is wide. In Biarritz the resort itself is the heritage: the imperial villa, the Art Deco casino, the Belle Époque villas and the Rocher de la Vierge, with the aquarium as the main museum. Two or three days is enough.

Madrid has one of Europe's great collections of painting. The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza stand on a single avenue, with the Royal Palace and the arcaded Plaza Mayor nearby. An art lover can spend a week here without leaving the city.

Biarritz goes out in summer, with wine and pintxos around Les Halles and sundowners above the Côte des Basques, and most evenings end after dinner for the rest of the year. Madrid stays out late all year. The bars fill after midnight, the clubs around Gran Vía and Sol keep going past dawn, and each district has its own crowd, from the rock bars of Malasaña to the gay scene in Chueca. From Biarritz, a big night means a drive to San Sebastián, while in Madrid it starts outside the door.

In Biarritz the outdoors starts on the doorstep. There are beginner surf breaks on the Côte des Basques and at Anglet, paddleboarding and kayaking when the swell drops, and a cliff path along the Basque Corniche. The green Pyrenean foothills and La Rhune are within half an hour.

In Madrid you have to travel for it. The Retiro, Casa de Campo and Madrid Río are good for a run, but the real hiking is in the Sierra de Guadarrama about an hour north, among the granite boulders of La Pedriza and the lakes below Peñalara.

Both cities make fine bases. Biarritz has two countries within reach: San Sebastián is under an hour away, Bayonne is next door, and the villages of Espelette, Sare and Ainhoa lie inland, though many of these are easier with a car.

Madrid offers more, and it is easier to reach. High-speed trains get to Toledo and Segovia in about half an hour, and Ávila, Salamanca and Cuenca make full days out without driving. El Escorial and Aranjuez are closer still.

Both work for families, in different ways. Biarritz is a small, safe seaside town with surf schools, the aquarium and the calm Port Vieux cove for small children. The big waves need watching, though, and the steep streets are hard work with a pushchair.

Madrid has more to fill the days: rowing boats and puppet shows in the Retiro, and the zoo and funfair in Casa de Campo. The centre is flat and many metro stations have lifts, and children out late in the plazas are normal, though the July and August heat is tiring.

You can walk around Biarritz, but it is hilly, with steps between the cliffs and the beaches. Local buses and coastal trains run towards Bayonne and the border, but most people hire a car for the Basque villages and the mountains. Madrid is easier in every way: a flat, compact historic centre, one of Europe's largest metro systems with a line to the airport, and high-speed trains from Atocha and Chamartín, so you never need a car.

Biarritz is for browsing rather than serious shopping. There are surf shops and boutiques around the Place Clemenceau, striped Basque linen and espadrilles, and chocolates and gâteau basque to take home.

Madrid has every level of shopping. The luxury houses are on Calle Serrano in the Salamanca district, and the department stores and flagships are around Sol and Gran Vía. Malasaña and Chueca have independent and vintage shops, and the Sunday El Rastro flea market fills the streets below La Latina.

Neither city is a bargain, but your money goes further in Madrid. Hotels cost what you would expect in a major city, while the set midday menu, tapas with a drink, the cheap metro and free museum hours keep daily spending down.

Biarritz charges resort prices, especially for rooms in July and August, and the seafront restaurants do the same. Eating at the market bars, coming outside summer or staying in Anglet or Bayonne will bring the cost down.

Biarritz has one unusual strength, dance. It has a national choreographic centre whose ballet company performs at the Gare du Midi, plus an autumn dance festival, but otherwise its programme is a small town's. Madrid has a full stage life: opera at the Teatro Real, the national orchestra at the Auditorio Nacional, zarzuela, and musicals along Gran Vía. Flamenco plays every night in the tablaos of the old centre, and there are jazz clubs and indie venues in Malasaña.

Biarritz grew up around sea-bathing. Its large thalassotherapy centres on the seafront, with heated seawater pools and multi-day cures, are a reason to come in their own right. Outside July and August the town slows right down to walks on the headlands and watching the surf.

Madrid is late, social and loud. A visit to an Arab-style bathhouse in the old centre or a lazy afternoon in the Retiro is a break during a city trip, not a vacation built around rest.