Cascais or Porto?

In Cascais the beach is part of daily life. The small coves of Conceição, Duquesa and Rainha sit below the old centre, the south-facing bay keeps the water calm, and the promenade and train line lead on to Estoril and the surf beach at Carcavelos. Porto's beaches at Foz, Matosinhos and along the Gaia shore are a metro or tram ride away. They are rockier and more exposed, with rough surf and frequent morning fog.

Neither sea is warm, but Porto's is a degree or two colder. A beach visit there usually means a walk and a quick dip, while in Cascais you can have a proper swim on a summer afternoon.

Cascais eats well when it sticks to the sea. You get grilled sardines and bream from the harbour, clams with coriander and long seafood lunches on the road to Guincho. Away from that the choice narrows to tourist menus in the old centre, and keen eaters often take the train into Lisbon for dinner.

Porto is much the better place for food, with a cooking tradition of its own. The francesinha and tripe are local dishes, slow-cooked pork and bacalhau fill the lunch menus of family tascas, and whole streets in Matosinhos grill fish over charcoal on the pavement. Add port tastings in the Gaia lodges and cheap, good Douro reds and vinho verde, and eating and drinking can shape the whole trip.

Cascais has the charm of a former royal summer resort: aristocratic villas along the seafront, the Citadel, Paula Rego's work in the red towers of the Casa das Histórias, and a turreted villa museum by a cove. An easy day of walking covers it, and anything grander means going to Lisbon or Sintra.

Porto's heritage fills several days. The whole centre, climbing from Ribeira to the Sé, is UNESCO-listed, and inside it are the gilded interior of São Francisco, the Arab Room of the Palácio da Bolsa and the azulejo hall of São Bento station. Serralves and Rem Koolhaas's Casa da Música add a modern layer that Cascais has nothing to match.

A night out in Cascais means a drink in a pub, wine bar or cocktail terrace in a few old-town streets, or a dressier evening at the Estoril casino. Outside high summer most of the town is in bed by midnight, and a bigger night means Lisbon and a careful eye on the last train.

Porto has a proper going-out quarter. On weekend nights the streets around Rua da Galeria de Paris fill with students and visitors drinking on the pavement, and a few clubs stay open until dawn. Ribeira and the Gaia terraces are there for a quieter glass by the river. Midweek it is much calmer.

The wild coast starts at the edge of Cascais. A cycle path runs past Boca do Inferno and the dunes to Guincho, where kitesurfers and surfers use the steady wind. Further on are the cliff walks at Cabo da Roca, and inland the misty trails of the Sintra hills are within easy reach. You could spend a whole week outdoors without a long drive.

Porto's best scenery is the Douro gorge itself: the river cruises, the riverside path out to Foz and the rocky seafront walk to Matosinhos. For real hiking, the granite peaks and waterfalls of Peneda-Gerês are about an hour and a half away and really need a car.

Both make excellent bases, but for different kinds of outing. From Cascais the big draws are close: Lisbon is about 40 minutes by the coastal train, and the palaces and gardens of Sintra are over the ridge. Mafra, Ericeira and Óbidos are further out.

Porto has a whole string of historic northern towns within about an hour by train, among them Guimarães, Braga, Coimbra and Aveiro. Its signature outing is the scenic railway up the Douro to the vineyard terraces around Pinhão, a wine-country day that Cascais can only partly match in Setúbal.

Cascais is the easier choice with small children. The coves are shallow and sheltered, the flat promenade to Estoril suits pushchairs and scooters, and the park has peacocks and a playground. The catch is that there is no zoo or aquarium in town.

Porto has more attractions built for children, with the aquarium at Foz, river cruises, the Gaia cable car and zoos just outside the city. However, its steep, stepped cobbles make every outing with a buggy hard work, and the colder sea limits beach days.

Both are easy without a car, though they work differently. Cascais is a small, mostly level town where the harbour, coves and promenade are all a short walk apart. A single coastal train runs to Lisbon, but a car helps if you want to explore the wilder coast and the hills.

Porto is a compact city of steep granite slopes. The light-rail metro runs from the airport into the centre and on to the coast, the funicular and heritage trams help with the climbs, and trains from São Bento reach the day-trip towns, so a car is more trouble than it is worth.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Porto offers more. Its high street is Rua de Santa Catarina, and around Rua das Flores and Miguel Bombarda you find independent shops selling ceramics, linens and Portuguese design. Port bought straight from the Gaia lodges makes the natural souvenir. In Cascais the old-town streets stick to beachwear, surf brands, tiles and tinned fish, and for anything serious people go into Lisbon.

Cascais is an upmarket resort. Seafront hotels and summer rentals are priced high for Portugal, and harbour restaurants charge resort prices. Back-street cafés, set lunches and the train into Lisbon keep things down a little.

Porto is noticeably easier on the wallet. Tasca lunches, Douro wine, coffee and pastries, metro rides and port tastings all cost less, and accommodation is the one item that adds up. In both places a visit outside high summer brings room prices down.

The live arts in Cascais are small-scale. The long-running Teatro Experimental stages plays in Portuguese in Estoril, the casino puts on cabaret, and summer brings outdoor concerts and a long-standing jazz tradition. For orchestras, opera or fado you go to Lisbon.

Porto has a real concert hall in Casa da Música, home to its symphony orchestra, with programmes running from classical to electronic. The Teatro Nacional São João, the Rivoli and the Coliseu cover drama, dance and touring shows, and the June festival of São João fills the streets with music.

Cascais is the more restful of the two. It inherits Estoril's old spa-town tradition of thermal waters and thalassotherapy, and quiet seafront mornings and yoga by the sea set the pace, although summer weekends bring crowds from Lisbon.

Porto relaxes through long lunches, wine above the Douro and the gardens of Serralves rather than treatments. Beyond the spas in upmarket hotels, real thermal baths such as Caldas do Gerês mean a day out into the hills.