Biarritz or Salamanca?

For beaches, Biarritz is in a different league. The Grande Plage, the Côte des Basques and the sheltered Port Vieux cove are all within the town, and the sand runs on north through Anglet. It is open Atlantic, though, with big waves and strong currents, so you swim between the flags.

Salamanca sits on the Castilian plain, hundreds of kilometres from the sea. In summer the best it can offer is a municipal pool or a river beach on the Tormes.

The two cities eat about equally well, but the food comes from the sea in one and from the pig in the other. Biarritz cooks from the Bay of Biscay: grilled fish, chipirons, pintxos around Les Halles, Espelette pepper and gâteau basque, with Txakoli or cider to drink.

Salamanca is a city of the bar counter. It serves Guijuelo ibérico ham, hornazo and roast suckling pig with Toro reds, and the student crowd keeps portions generous and prices low. Salamanca has little seafood, and neither city offers much beyond its own regional cooking.

Salamanca is far richer here. Its World Heritage centre takes in one of Europe's oldest universities, the Old and New Cathedrals side by side, the Casa de las Conchas and a baroque Plaza Mayor. It is all in golden sandstone that glows when floodlit at night.

Biarritz's heritage is the resort itself: the imperial villa, the Art Deco casino, the Russian Orthodox church and the Rocher de la Vierge. For old towns and serious museums, visitors there have to go out to Bayonne or San Sebastián.

Salamanca has the bigger night out. From Thursday to Saturday, students and language learners move from tapas bars around the Plaza Mayor and Calle Bordadores to dance bars that stay open past 3am. The crowd is young, and things go quiet once term ends.

Biarritz's nights depend on the season. In summer there are pintxos and wine around the market, sundowners above the Côte des Basques, a few clubs and the casino. In winter most evenings end after dinner, and San Sebastián is the place to go for more.

Biarritz has the better outdoors, and much of it starts at the water's edge. You can surf beginner breaks on the Côte des Basques, paddle when the swell drops and walk the cliff path along the Basque Corniche. The green Pyrenean foothills around La Rhune and Sare begin within half an hour.

Salamanca's countryside is just as real but further away. The open Meseta around the city offers little beyond the Tormes riverside paths. You need a car and about an hour's drive to reach the chestnut forests of the Sierra de Francia or the granite gorge of the Arribes del Duero.

Biarritz has the edge because it sits on a border. San Sebastián is under an hour away, Bayonne is next door, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Basque villages and Hondarribia are all close. A trip can cover France and Spain, coast and mountains.

Salamanca is a strong base for Old Castile. Ávila's walls, Zamora's Romanesque churches and fortified Ciudad Rodrigo are each about an hour away, and La Alberca and the mountain villages are within reach too. In both cities the smaller villages are much easier with a car.

Biarritz suits children better, mainly in summer. They can learn to surf, the aquarium's seals and sharks fill a rainy day, and Port Vieux is a calm cove for little ones. The catch is the steep streets, which are hard going with a pushchair.

Salamanca is safe and largely pedestrian, and children are welcome on the café terraces late in the evening. Hunting for the carved frog and astronaut and climbing the cathedral towers are fun for an afternoon. There is no aquarium or park designed for children, though, and the summer heat is tiring.

Salamanca is the easier city to get around. Nearly every sight is in a compact, mostly car-free old town that you can cross on foot in about twenty minutes, and buses are rarely needed.

Biarritz is walkable too, but steep, with steps between the cliffs and the beaches. Buses run to Anglet and Bayonne, and coastal trains reach the Spanish border. A hire car is the usual way to reach the Basque villages and the hills.

Biarritz is the better place to browse. Fashion boutiques and surf shops fill the streets between Place Clemenceau and the market. The local crafts are striped Basque linen and handmade espadrilles, and the chocolatiers make easy gifts.

Salamanca is mostly Spanish high-street chains on Calle Toro and Calle Zamora, plus university souvenirs. Its best buys are ham and cheese from the Mercado Central, and charro silver filigree jewellery. Neither city has much luxury shopping.

Salamanca is much easier on the wallet. Student prices keep bars cheap, a free tapa often comes with your drink, guesthouses are moderately priced and you walk everywhere. The main costs are entry fees for the cathedrals and the university.

Biarritz is a fashionable resort with prices to match, especially for summer rooms and seafront meals. Market bars, staying in Anglet or Bayonne, and travelling outside July and August all bring the cost down, but it is still not cheap.

Both cities have small programmes, and their strengths are different. Biarritz's is dance. Its national choreographic centre has its own ballet company, which performs in the converted Gare du Midi station, and an autumn festival fills the town's stages.

Salamanca's stage life is more everyday. Touring theatre and flamenco play at the Teatro Liceo, the university holds concerts in historic halls, and caped student tunas sing under the arcades of the Plaza Mayor. Neither city has an opera house.

Biarritz is a proper place to unwind, with a tradition of sea-bathing cures going back to the nineteenth century. Its large seafront thalassotherapy centres offer seawater pools and multi-day programmes, and the town is calmest outside high summer.

Salamanca relaxes you through its pace rather than its spas. Long lunches, a real siesta and quiet cloisters at San Esteban and Las Dueñas set the rhythm. For mineral waters you have to drive to the old spa hotel at Ledesma or to Baños de Montemayor.