Chefchaouen or Malaga?

Malaga clearly wins for swimming. Its city beaches run from La Malagueta through Pedregalejo and El Palo, and the resort beaches of Torremolinos and Fuengirola are a short train ride west. For clearer water, the coves at Nerja and Maro are about an hour east.

In Chefchaouen the sea is a day out, not part of the stay. Oued Laou's grey sand is reached by grand taxi or hired car, and otherwise the only option is a cold dip in the river pools at Akchour.

Malaga gives you far more to eat. There are sardines roasted on driftwood fires, plates of fried fish in the old fishing quarters, tapas bars across the old town and the Atarazanas market hall. Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez wines poured at old bodegas add a local drinks culture.

Chefchaouen's restaurants mostly serve the same tagines and couscous, and alcohol is hard to find. The real treats are the Rif goat cheese in palm leaf, bissara soup for breakfast and bread from the communal ovens, but a few days covers them all.

Both cities are best seen in a couple of days, but Malaga packs much more into that time. It has a Roman theatre, the Alcazaba's Moorish courtyards, Gibralfaro castle, the unfinished cathedral and Picasso's birthplace and museum, plus the Carmen Thyssen and Museo de Malaga collections.

In Chefchaouen the town itself is the attraction. Its blue lanes were settled by refugees from Andalusia, and the only formal visit is the kasbah with its small ethnographic museum. Everything else is atmosphere: the Ras el-Maa spring, the old gates and the sunset walk up to the Spanish Mosque.

Malaga has a real night out, built on late dinners, bar-hopping around Plaza Uncibay and Calle Granada, and beach bars that stay open late in summer. The bigger clubs and the gay scene are a train ride away in Torremolinos.

Chefchaouen has almost nothing after dark beyond a couple of hotel bars, mint tea in the square and a stroll before the medina goes quiet.

The two are close on the outdoors, but the experience is different. Chefchaouen sits right in the Rif. You can walk from the medina onto terraced slopes and towards Jebel el-Kelaa, and Talassemtane's cedar forests, God's Bridge and the Barbary macaques are close by. Marked trails are scarce, though, so a local guide helps.

Malaga's countryside is more spread out but better organised. The Montes de Malaga start at the city edge, and El Torcal's limestone trails and the Caminito del Rey gorge walkway are about an hour away. The Sierra Nevada adds skiing in winter, and at Maro you can kayak and snorkel.

Malaga is a far better base for exploring. Fast trains reach Cordoba's Mezquita in about an hour, and Granada's Alhambra and Ronda's gorge are within easy reach. Antequera's dolmens, Nerja, Frigiliana and the white villages fill out a long list.

From Chefchaouen there is really one strong outing: Tetouan's large, quiet UNESCO-listed medina, with Martil just beyond it. Tangier and Fes are too far for a return trip in a day and work better as the next stop on a route.

Malaga is much easier with children. The centre is flat and good for pushchairs, the city beaches shelve gently, and the zoo, aquarium and safari parks along the coast are an easy train ride away.

Chefchaouen is calm and friendly to children, but the stepped lanes rule out pushchairs and nothing in town is aimed at children. It suits a short stop with older children who can walk and might enjoy the Akchour pools.

In both cities you get around the centre on foot, but Malaga's centre is flat and pedestrianised, while Chefchaouen's is all stairs and slippery polished steps. Malaga also has a suburban train that reaches the airport in about ten minutes, and fast trains to the rest of Andalucia and Madrid.

Chefchaouen has no railway and almost no public transport. You arrive by long-distance bus, and grand taxis or a hired driver cover the trips into the hills.

Malaga offers more variety. Calle Larios has the Spanish chains, El Corte Ingles and Muelle Uno add more, and the Atarazanas market is good for olive oil, almonds and ham to take home.

Chefchaouen sells regional crafts and little else. Its stalls have thick Rif blankets, djellabas, leather slippers and bottles of blue pigment, sometimes woven or made in front of you, and the haggling is gentler than in Morocco's big souks.

Chefchaouen costs much less. Guesthouses and riads cost a fraction of European rates, meals and shared taxis are cheap, and the main sight costs nothing.

In Malaga, tapas, fried fish and local trains are good value for Western Europe, but rooms near the old town and beach are in heavy demand from spring to autumn. Staying outside the centre or coming in winter helps.

Live performance barely exists in Chefchaouen. There is no theatre, concert hall or regular music venue, traditional Andalusian music appears mainly around festivals, and for most visitors the call to prayer over the rooftops is the only music of the stay.

For an evening of music or theatre, Malaga is far ahead. The Philharmonic plays at the nineteenth-century Teatro Cervantes, and flamenco is performed both in tablaos for visitors and in the local peñas, which feel more genuine. At Semana Santa, brass bands and processions fill the streets.

The two are fairly level for rest, though Chefchaouen has a slight edge because of its pace. Days pass on roof terraces in cool mountain air, and the simple neighbourhood hammams give a real scrub at little cost.

Malaga has more polished facilities: an Arab-style bathhouse in the old town and resort spas towards Marbella. Its restful rhythm comes from long lunches, siestas and its mild, sunny winters.