Cadiz or Valencia?

The two cities are about level for beaches, but they offer different seas. Cadiz has two kinds of swimming: La Caleta, a small sheltered cove between two castles, and the long golden stretch of Playa Victoria. Within an hour's drive you reach the empty Atlantic strands of the Costa de la Luz, such as Bolonia and Zahara. The catch is the levante wind, which can whip sand across the beach for days, and the water is cooler.

Valencia's sea is shallow, calm and warmer, and the wide city beaches at Malvarrosa and Las Arenas are a short tram ride from the centre. For wilder sand you go south to the dunes and pines of El Saler, which is easy to reach by bike or bus rather than a drive.

Valencia has the broader and more ambitious table. It is the home of paella, served beside the sea at Las Arenas and in the villages of the Albufera, and its modernista Mercado Central is among the best food markets in Europe. Ruzafa adds a serious creative restaurant scene, and in summer there is horchata in Alboraya.

Cadiz is narrower but excellent at what it does: paper cones of fried fish, shrimp fritters and almadraba tuna in the tapas bars of La Viña, with cold manzanilla from Sanlúcar. If you live on seafood and sherry you will not miss much, but there is little beyond that.

Valencia has more to see. The Lonja de la Seda is a UNESCO-listed Gothic hall, the cathedral keeps a chalice venerated as the Holy Grail, the medieval gates still stand, and the Museo de Bellas Artes and IVAM give it a proper museum dimension. The futuristic City of Arts and Sciences adds a modern counterpoint.

Cadiz trades on age and atmosphere rather than collections. It has Phoenician sarcophagi, a half-hidden Roman theatre, watchtowers left from the trade with the Americas, the camera obscura in the Torre Tavira and the oratory where the 1812 constitution was signed. Both cities fill two or three days, but in Cadiz the setting matters more than the museums.

Valencia has a real going-out scene all year. Ruzafa's cocktail and wine bars stay full past midnight, El Carmen has older bars with a student crowd, and in summer the open-air clubs near the port and Malvarrosa run until dawn.

Evenings in Cadiz are about late tapas in La Viña and terraces on the Playa Victoria promenade in summer, with only a small club scene the rest of the year. Each city has one huge street party: Carnival in Cadiz in February, Fallas in Valencia in March.

Cadiz has more varied wild country within reach. The salt pans and marshes of its bay are full of flamingos and spoonbills, and the cliffs of La Breña are close by. Tarifa offers some of Europe's best kitesurfing and boats out to see dolphins and whales, while the Sierra de Grazalema and the Doñana wetlands are both within a couple of hours.

Valencia's nature is closer to hand but gentler. The Albufera lagoon begins about 10km south, best seen from a boat at sunset, and the Turia gardens give 9km of green space for running and cycling. For climbing and hanging bridges you drive an hour inland to Chulilla.

Cadiz is the better base for excursions. Jerez is half an hour away by train, a ferry crosses to El Puerto de Santa María, and Seville is under two hours. With a car, Vejer, Arcos and the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia on the beach at Bolonia are all close, which adds up to a week of varied outings.

Valencia's options are solid but more spread out. Sagunto and Xàtiva each have a castle and are easy train trips, and the high-speed line puts Cuenca's hanging houses about an hour away. Peñíscola and Elche take longer, nearer two hours.

Valencia is far easier with children. The Oceanogràfic aquarium, the hands-on science museum, the dome cinema and Bioparc could fill several days, the Turia gardens have flat paths for scooters, and the shallow city beaches suit toddlers.

Cadiz works for a simple beach vacation, with the lifeguarded sand of Playa Victoria and shady parks such as the Genovés. Beyond that, older children get castle walls and the camera obscura rather than attractions built for them. The midday heat and the levante need planning around.

Valencia is the more complete city to move around. Metro and tram lines run to the airport and the beaches, and the car-free Turia corridor and the bike lanes make it one of Spain's best cities for cycling. You rarely need a car.

Cadiz's old town is small enough to cross on foot from one shore to the other, buses run out to Playa Victoria, and trains and the bay catamaran cover the sherry towns and Seville. The Costa de la Luz and the white villages, though, really need a hire car.

Valencia offers far more choice. The Ensanche around Calle Colón has chains, international labels and luxury boutiques, El Carmen and Ruzafa have independent design and vintage shops, and Manises ceramics make a distinctive thing to take home.

Cadiz has a handful of shopping streets around Calle Ancha and Plaza de las Flores, with family-run shops, fans and sherry. Anyone who wants serious shopping takes the train to Seville.

Costs come out about even, and both are cheap places to eat and drink. Where they differ is rooms and timing. In Cadiz the few old-town hotels fill up and get dearer in July, August and Carnival week, so staying near Playa Victoria or coming in spring or autumn keeps costs down.

Valencia's hotels in the centre and Ruzafa are reasonably priced most of the year. They jump sharply during Fallas, and the City of Arts and Sciences attractions are the one sizeable spend. The set lunch menu is the local way to eat well for little.

Flamenco against opera sums up the difference. Cadiz is one of the cradles of flamenco, and the small peñas of the old Santa María quarter put it on for audiences who know the forms. The Gran Teatro Falla is home to the satirical chirigota choirs at Carnival and to an autumn festival of Ibero-American theatre.

Valencia is where you go for the formal stage. The Palau de les Arts has a full opera and ballet season with its own orchestra, the Palau de la Música holds concerts by the city orchestra, and Ruzafa has a small jazz circuit. Neither scene is large, so you would plan an evening around it rather than a whole trip.

Neither city is a spa destination, and both rely on Arab-style bath houses and hotel spas. From Cadiz the larger resort spas with sea-water treatments are a short drive away at Novo Sancti Petri, while Valencia has its bath houses in town, along with the medieval Baños del Almirante as a monument.

The real rest is in the pace of each city. In Cadiz that means a siesta and a sunset walk at La Caleta. In Valencia it means shady paths in the Turia gardens and a stroll along the seafront promenade.