Bodrum or Izmir?

Bodrum is the beach destination of the two. Its whole peninsula is ringed with bays, each its own kind of shore: Bitez and Ortakent have shallow water, Türkbükü and Yalıkavak have decks and jetties, the western shore around Akyarlar is windier, and some coves can only be reached by boat. The drawbacks are coarse sand and beach clubs holding the best stretches.

In Izmir the city waterfront is not for swimming, so a beach means a day out. Ilica's shallow sand on the Cesme peninsula is about an hour away, and Gumuldur and Ozdere have long sandy strips. Each swim takes more planning than in Bodrum, where a bay is always close by.

Both cook the same Aegean food of olive oil, wild greens, grilled fish and meze with rakı, but Izmir has more dishes of its own. Bodrum has nothing like its street food: boyoz with a boiled egg, gevrek sold from carts and the kumru sandwich. Kemeraltı's market lanes, Alsancak's bistros and the wines of Urla give Izmir depth all year.

In Bodrum the best meals are as much about the setting as the food. You can choose fish at the market and have it cooked beside it, eat slowly at Gümüşlük's waterfront tables or sit down to a village breakfast in the hills. Beyond those, much of what is on offer is tourist menus, and the choice thins out of season.

Neither city has much of its ancient past still standing, but Izmir has more to fill the days. The Roman Agora, Kadifekale above the gulf, the Clock Tower on Konak Square, Kemeraltı's caravanserais and synagogues, and two museums add up to several days of sightseeing, even though the 1922 fire left the centre mostly modern.

Bodrum really has one strong sight: the Castle of St Peter, with its Museum of Underwater Archaeology and raised shipwrecks. The Mausoleum site is little more than low foundations, and with the theatre and the Myndos Gate added, two days covers the town.

Both are good places to go out, but in different ways. Bodrum is a summer party resort, with the bar street behind the harbour, cheaper clubs in Gümbet and glamorous beach clubs at Türkbükü and Yalıkavak that go on until sunrise from June to early September. From late autumn to Easter most of it shuts.

Izmir is a city of bars rather than clubs, and it keeps going all year. Evenings start with drinks on the Kordon at sunset and move on to the packed back lanes of Alsancak. For big club nights, the city heads an hour west to Alaçatı and Çeşme.

Izmir has a little more variety. There are the rugged Karaburun and Cesme coasts and Alaçatı's well-known windsurfing and kitesurfing. Inland and along the delta there are flamingos on the Gediz wetlands, pine forest in Spil Mountain National Park, and Bozdağ, over 2,000m high, with skiing in winter.

Bodrum's nature is mostly the sea. You can take gulet days among the islands, sail into the greener Gulf of Gökova, dive and snorkel in clear water, or windsurf at Bitez. On land there are village paths and stretches of the Carian Trail, best walked outside midsummer.

Izmir is the better base for the ancient Aegean. Ephesus is about an hour away by train, with Şirince close by, and Pergamon and Sardis are about two hours each. The Cesme peninsula, Urla and Foça add harbour towns and vineyards.

From Bodrum, Ephesus is a long day and better with a night away. What Bodrum does have is Didyma, Miletus and Priene within a day's reach, quieter Carian sites such as Euromos, Iasos and Herakleia on Lake Bafa, and the Greek island of Kos less than an hour away by ferry.

Both share the Turkish warmth towards children, but Bodrum is easier if the plan is a beach stay. It has shallow, calm water at Bitez and Ortakent, family hotels with pools and kids' clubs, and large water parks. Beyond the castle's shipwrecks there is little else for children, and families do best away from the noise of Gümbet.

Izmir has more city outings, such as the Wildlife Park at Sasalı, Kültürpark's fun fair, ferry rides across the bay and scooter rides along the flat Kordon. Its sandy beaches are an hour away at Ilica, though, and its summer heat is harder on small children.

Izmir is much easier to get around. The centre, from Konak to Alsancak, is a flat walk, and the metro, the İZBAN railway along the gulf, trams, buses and the bay ferries all run on one card. Only Cesme and the more distant ruins really call for a car.

Bodrum's compact, hilly centre can be walked, but everything beyond it depends on dolmuş minibuses that route through town and thin out at night. Summer traffic and costly taxis lead many visitors to hire a car or a scooter.

Izmir's Kemeraltı is the stronger place to shop. It is a large, working bazaar of hans and courtyards where locals buy fabrics, copperware, spices and olive oil soap, and Alsancak's boutiques and the big malls cover fashion.

Bodrum's best buy is a pair of made-to-measure leather sandals, and its weekly markets are lively, but its bazaar relies heavily on copies and souvenirs. The luxury boutiques at Yalıkavak marina are the one thing Izmir doesn't have.

Izmir is clearly the cheaper stay. Street breakfasts, lokanta meals, public transport and mid-range hotels cost little. Bills climb mainly at meyhanes, at the ancient sites and on the Cesme peninsula in summer.

Bodrum is Türkiye's most expensive resort area, and in midsummer the north-coast bays, beach clubs, taxis and sunbeds add up quickly. A budget can still work if you stay in Gümbet or Turgutreis, travel by dolmuş and eat pide, and May, June and late September cost noticeably less.

Izmir has a stage life that runs beyond summer, which Bodrum lacks. The State Opera and Ballet performs at the Elhamra, the State Symphony plays at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Arts Centre, and the International Izmir Festival takes concerts to the ancient theatre at Ephesus each summer. Its drama, though, is in Turkish.

Bodrum's performances belong to summer and fine outdoor settings: concerts in the ancient theatre and the castle, a ballet festival and chamber music in a stone quarry at Gümüşlük. Little happens outside the season.

The two are close, and the difference is in the kind of rest. Izmir has a real bathing tradition: the Balçova hot springs, known in antiquity as the Baths of Agamemnon, the warm springs at Ilıca and old neighbourhood hammams in Kemeraltı. Its slow evenings on the Kordon help too.

Bodrum's wellness is found in resort spas, at their most elaborate in the luxury hotels of Türkbükü and Yalıkavak. For real calm, choose Gümüşlük or the western villages, or come in May, June or late September.