Casablanca or Seville?

Casablanca at least has the sea in town. The long sand at Ain Diab lies below the Corniche, and better beaches at Dar Bouazza, Bouznika and Mohammedia are all under an hour away. The swell and currents make swimming a careful business, though, and many locals use the beach clubs' pools instead.

Seville is inland on the Guadalquivir. A day on the sand means driving or taking a coach to Matalascañas or Mazagón, and in the city summer swimming means a rooftop or municipal pool.

Seville eats better. Its tapas culture means a few plates at a time at the counter of an old tiled bar in Triana or El Arenal, washed down with manzanilla or cold beer, and that rhythm alone shapes an evening.

Casablanca's best food comes from the sea: fish chosen at the Marché Central and grilled next door, plus Moroccan home cooking and French-style brasseries in Maarif and Gauthier. It offers more mid-range and upscale range than Seville, but alcohol is kept out of sight and the cooking itself is a step behind.

The gap here is wide. Seville's Real Alcázar, its Gothic cathedral with the Giralda, and the Archivo de Indias make up a UNESCO-listed group, with Plaza de España, Casa de Pilatos and the Murillos of the Bellas Artes close by. Three or four days fill easily.

Casablanca has one major sight in the Hassan II Mosque, which non-Muslims can enter on a guided tour. Beyond it, the city's appeal is its twentieth-century past: Art Deco boulevards, the 1930s Habous quarter and a couple of small museums.

Seville's evenings are the more sociable. Dinner starts late and the night moves outdoors through Triana, the Alfalfa squares and the Alameda de Hércules, with summer bars along the river once the heat breaks.

Casablanca goes out in a different way. Its nights are dressier and happen indoors, in lounges and clubs on the Corniche at Ain Diab playing house and Arabic pop, mostly at weekends, and you take a taxi between them rather than wandering from bar to bar. If you are looking for actual clubs, Casablanca has more of them than Seville's student-oriented scene.

Both cities sit on flat ground, but Seville has more within reach. The Doñana wetlands, with their flamingos and migrating birds, are about an hour and a half away, and the cork-oak hills of Aracena and the Sierra Norte are good for gentle walks. Closer in, there is rowing and kayaking on the old river channel.

Casablanca's outdoor life is mostly coastal: surf breaks for learners at Ain Diab and Bouznika, runs out to the El Hank lighthouse and eucalyptus trails in the Bouskoura forest. Real mountains are too far away for a day out.

Seville is a far better base. Córdoba is under an hour away by high-speed train, Carmona and the Roman ruins at Itálica are closer still, and Jerez, Cádiz and the white villages fill several more days.

From Casablanca, the clear first choice is Rabat, an hour away by train, with the Kasbah des Oudayas and the Chellah. Beyond that there are the Portuguese walls of El Jadida, Azemmour and the oyster lagoon at Oualidia, but Marrakech and Fes are too far for a comfortable return trip in a day.

In both countries children are welcome in cafés and restaurants. Seville is the easier city with them. The centre is flat and compact, María Luisa Park has rowing boats and carriages, and the maze in the Alcázar gardens keeps children busy. Its weak point is the summer heat, which goes well past 40°C.

Casablanca has an aquarium in the Corniche mall and the amusement park and zoo at Ain Diab. Outside those, heavy traffic, broken pavements and a rough sea make it hard work, especially with young children.

In Seville you walk. Everything from the cathedral to Triana and Plaza de España is within half an hour on foot, many lanes are pedestrianised, and the bike lanes make cycling genuinely practical.

Casablanca is spread out, so you combine the clean tram lines with red petits taxis whose drivers share rides and sometimes ignore the meter. Only the downtown core is comfortable on foot, and the busy roundabouts are hard to cross. Its advantage is the fast rail link to Rabat and beyond.

The two are about level, but they suit different shoppers. Casablanca is Morocco's centre for modern retail, with international brands in the Corniche mall and local designers in Maarif. The Habous offers a tidy, low-pressure selection of leather, brass and babouches, and Derb Ghallef is a sprawling flea market.

Seville is about crafts made for local use. There are hand-painted tiles from the Triana workshops, flamenco dresses, mantillas, fans and guitars around Sierpes and Cuna, and the Thursday flea market on Calle Feria.

Casablanca is the cheaper of the two day to day. Taxis, the tram, grilled fish at the market and café terraces cost little. Rooms are the exception: business hotels dominate and good guesthouses are scarce.

Seville is reasonably priced for Western Europe, especially for tapas and drinks, and the walkable centre keeps transport costs down. Hotel rates jump sharply during Holy Week and the April Fair.

Seville is the home of flamenco, and you can see it on any night, from tablaos in Santa Cruz to the peñas where local fans gather. The Maestranza adds opera and a symphony orchestra.

Casablanca's live culture runs on its calendar: a long-running jazz festival, an urban music festival and the programme at the large theatre on Place Mohammed V. It is also a centre for chaabi, rap and gnawa, but in an ordinary week there may be little to see.

Casablanca has the stronger bathing tradition. Every neighbourhood has a public hammam with black soap and a kessa scrub, upmarket versions in Maarif add massage, and the Corniche has seawater thalassotherapy. The city around them is loud and congested, though.

Seville has only a few Arab-style bath houses in old mansions, along with hotel spas. Its calm comes from the pace of the day instead: long lunches, a quiet afternoon and the cool of tiled courtyards and the Alcázar gardens.