Cascais or Lagos, Portugal?

Lagos has the better beaches by some way. Its coves at Pinhão, Estudantes and Dona Ana sit under honey-coloured cliffs and sea stacks, and Meia Praia's 4km of sand leaves space even in August. The water is a degree or so warmer than at Cascais and the season runs from June to September.

The beaches at Cascais are handier but smaller. The town coves at Conceição, Duquesa and Rainha sit right below the centre, and Carcavelos is a few train stops away. They are calm and convenient for a quick swim, but the water stays cool, they fill with Lisbon families in summer, and the most striking beach, Guincho, is better for watching the surf than for swimming.

The two eat much alike: grilled sardines and sea bream from the local boats, a covered market for fish and produce, and old-town lanes full of menus aimed at visitors. Lagos has cataplana, the clam and pork stew of the Algarve, and its better meals are in family places a street back from the centre.

Where Cascais pulls slightly ahead is in what lies around it. There are seafood lunches with a view of the waves on the Guincho road, and the train runs into Lisbon, where the serious cooking is. A food-minded traveller in Lagos has no such capital to fall back on.

Neither town has major sights, and each can be seen on foot in a morning or a day. They differ in the history they tell. Cascais is a royal summer resort of aristocratic villas, with the Citadel, the Paula Rego museum in its red pyramid towers and a turreted villa museum by the sea.

Lagos looks back further, to the fifteenth-century voyages along the African coast. It has sixteenth-century walls, a harbour fort, the gilded baroque interior of Santo António and the slave market museum. The bigger difference is what lies close by: Lisbon and Sintra are far nearer to Cascais.

Lagos is the livelier town after dark. In summer, surfers and backpackers move between small bars and pubs in the old town, pub crawls are part of the scene, and a few small clubs stay open until near dawn. It is a bar town, though, and goes quiet from November to March.

Cascais keeps early hours by comparison: wine bars and cocktail terraces in a few old-centre streets, the Estoril casino for a dressier evening, and most people in bed by midnight. A real night out means taking the train into Lisbon and planning the trip back.

Both are excellent for the outdoors, with different kinds of coast. Cascais has the wind-blown Atlantic edge: Boca do Inferno, the cycle path to Guincho for kitesurfing and windsurfing, cliff walks at Cabo da Roca, and the misty forest trails of the Serra de Sintra.

Lagos is more about seeing the cliffs from the water. You can kayak through the grottoes at Ponta da Piedade, take a boat out to look for dolphins, and walk the Fishermen's Trail on the Costa Vicentina. The higher Serra de Monchique is an hour inland. In both places spring and autumn are best for walking.

Cascais makes the far better base for days out. Lisbon is a short train ride along the shore and Sintra is just over the hill. Mafra, Ericeira and Óbidos are within about an hour's drive, and Setúbal's wine country and Évora are possible on longer days.

From Lagos the outings are pleasant but fewer: Sagres and Cape St Vincent to the west, Moorish Silves and Monchique inland, and Faro and Tavira as long drives east. Most of them need a car, and many visitors simply go from one beach to the next.

Both work well for a calm family vacation by the sea, and both are safe and relaxed. The difference is in the details. The sheltered coves of Cascais and the flat promenade to Estoril are easy with a pushchair, but the cold sea can put small children off.

Lagos has warmer water and Meia Praia's long, gently sloping shore. Its prettiest coves are reached by steep stairways, though, and the water parks and marine park mean a drive. Cascais's nearest equivalents, the Oceanarium and the zoo, are a train ride away in Lisbon.

Cascais is easier to get around without a car. The centre, coves and promenade are all walkable, and the shoreline train runs straight to Lisbon. Buses reach Sintra and Guincho, though the wilder coast and the hills are harder work.

Lagos is walkable within town, on cobbled and sometimes steep lanes, with a footbridge over the river to Meia Praia. Beyond town, slow trains and infrequent buses mean most visitors end up hiring a car for the west coast and the hills.

Neither is worth the trip for shopping, but Cascais has a little more to offer: small boutiques among the surf brands and tile shops, a large shopping centre on the edge of town, and Lisbon's department stores a train ride away. Lagos stops at ceramics, linens, surf gear and honey, figs and medronho brandy from its market.

Lagos is the cheaper stay. It costs about what an average Western European resort does, and from October to May its rooms drop sharply, which makes long winter stays affordable.

Cascais is one of the pricier places in Portugal, with a wealthy local population and seafront hotels that fill early for July and August. In both towns the savings are in back-street cafés and in coming outside high summer.

Live performance is limited in both, but Cascais has more to go to. Its long-running Portuguese theatre company plays in Estoril, the casino puts on cabaret, and summer brings outdoor concerts with a long jazz tradition. Above all, Lisbon's opera, orchestras and fado are close.

Lagos has a municipal cultural centre, summer fado and guitar evenings for visitors, and cover bands in the bars. For anything more serious you have to go to Faro or travel all the way to Lisbon.

Cascais is better for a restful break. Estoril grew up as a spa resort around its thermal springs, and that tradition carries on in its thalassotherapy and hotel spas. For most of the year the seafront mornings and early nights are quiet.

Lagos offers rest of a different kind: yoga teachers and surf retreats on the quieter edges towards Luz and the west coast, and sunset walks along the cliffs once summer ends. Its nearest proper spa is at Caldas de Monchique, an hour inland.