Burgas or Thessaloniki?

Burgas has the easier swimming. Central Beach runs below the Sea Garden within minutes of the centre, with soft sand and gently shelving water, and Kraimorie, Sarafovo, Sozopol's bays and the long sands to the north are all close by. The catch is a short season and a commercial port next door.

Thessaloniki's own waterfront is not for bathing, and the nearby town beaches are ordinary. The clearer, warmer water of Halkidiki is better than anything near Burgas, but it is an hour's drive away and works as a day out or a separate stay.

Thessaloniki is one of the great eating cities of Greece. Ottoman, Sephardic and Anatolian influences show in its kebabs, meze tables and pastries, and the Kapani and Modiano markets are working places to eat as well as shop.

Burgas eats well but simply. Grilled bluefish, fried sprats and mussels from the gulf are the highlights, with Pomorie wines alongside, but the range is narrow and the promenade menus are aimed at summer visitors.

Burgas is a young port city. Its draws are the Sea Garden, the cathedral, a few small regional museums, the boat out to St Anastasia Island and the Roman baths of Aquae Calidae, and two days covers them.

Thessaloniki has far more depth. Its UNESCO-listed Byzantine churches, the Arch of Galerius, the Roman Forum and the Museum of Byzantine Culture can fill several days, and the Ottoman lanes and walls of Ano Poli add more, even though the modern centre around them is plain.

Evenings in Burgas mean summer beach bars along the Sea Garden and a few late clubs, then a quiet winter, and anyone wanting a full party night rides up to Sunny Beach.

Thessaloniki goes out properly and all year. Students and the late Greek hours keep Ladadika, the Valaoritou bars and the tables of the Bit Bazaar crowded well past midnight, including on weeknights.

Outdoors, Burgas is all flat water and birds. Its ring of lagoons lies on the Via Pontica flyway, so late summer and autumn put migrating flocks and wading birds close enough to watch from a hide or a bike, and kitesurfers use the shallows. For anything higher you have only the wooded hills of Strandzha.

Thessaloniki has more variety and real height. The Seich Sou pines begin just above Ano Poli, and Mount Olympus, with the Enipeas gorge and multi-day hiking, is close enough for a day trip. In winter there is skiing at Kaimaktsalan and Seli, though most of it is easier with a car.

Burgas's outings run along the coast: medieval Nessebar, the wooden houses of Sozopol, Pomorie's Thracian tomb and salt museum, with the great inland sites of Bulgaria too far for a day.

Thessaloniki has a richer choice. The royal tombs at Vergina, Pella, Dion below Olympus, the waterfalls of Edessa and the Naoussa vineyards make up a whole circuit of ancient Macedonia, and Halkidiki and the Mount Athos coast add sea days.

Both are fair choices for families, for different reasons. Burgas has the sea on the doorstep, with soft sand, shallow water and the shady Sea Garden, plus a flat centre easy with a pushchair, though it has little to offer outside summer.

Thessaloniki keeps children up late at tavernas and has the Noesis science centre, but narrow, car-blocked pavements, steep Ano Poli and the July heat make it harder going.

Both centres are easy on foot, but the arrangement differs. Burgas is a compact, flat block between the station and the Sea Garden, with buses along the coast that crowd in summer.

Thessaloniki stretches as a long strip by the water, served by a metro line and slow buses, with a climb or a taxi up to Ano Poli. Both cities need a car for their best countryside.

Thessaloniki gives a better morning's shopping: Tsimiski's fashion and shoe shops, small independents around Valaoritou, antique stalls at the Bit Bazaar and market spices, loukoumi and tsipouro to take home.

Burgas is everyday high-street and mall shopping, and the best things to buy are rose oil, honey and Pomorie salt.

Burgas is the cheaper of the two. Fish dinners, local wine, buses along the coast and museum tickets all cost little, and rooms are inexpensive outside the peak weeks of July and August.

Thessaloniki is good value for a city because it is priced for students and locals, with generous plates at the tavernas and cheap nights out. Intercity buses reach most of its day-trip sites, so hiring a car is an optional extra for travellers who want to cover the circuit more easily.

Thessaloniki has the stronger stage life. The Concert Hall and State Orchestra, open-air summer concerts and above all rebetiko played late in the tavernas give a visitor something to enjoy without speaking Greek.

Burgas has its State Opera, ballet and summer festivals in the Sea Garden, and the nestinari fire-dancing survives in the Strandzha villages, but most of its theatre is in Bulgarian.

Burgas is the better place to unwind. Mineral springs used since Roman times and the black, salty mud of the Atanasovsko and Pomorie lakes still feed sanatoria and spa hotels, and plenty of visitors simply smear the mud on at the lake shore.

Thessaloniki's hammams survive only as monuments, and the simple baths at Lagadas are half an hour away. Its calm comes from long iced coffees on the seafront rather than from spas.