Coimbra or Faro?

Faro wins this clearly. Its beaches lie on the barrier islands of the Ria Formosa, with Praia de Faro reached by bus and Ilha Deserta and Culatra by ferry, and the sand runs on for kilometres backed by dunes. The water here is noticeably warmer and calmer than on the west coast, and Tavira's island beach and the Albufeira coves are within an hour.

Coimbra has no beach of its own. Figueira da Foz is about an hour away, with a huge sandy beach but cool, often rough Atlantic water, so most visitors make it an occasional outing. The river beaches in the hills to the east are nice for an afternoon dip, not a reason to come.

The two eat about equally well, and both are hearty, inexpensive and regional, but they draw on different country. Coimbra's cooking comes from the land: crackling suckling pig from the Bairrada roadside restaurants at Mealhada, goat chanfana from the eastern hills, and convent pastries such as pastéis de Tentúgal, with Bairrada sparkling wine alongside.

Faro looks to the lagoon and sea, with Ria Formosa clams and oysters, fish sold by weight and copper-pan cataplana, plus almond and fig sweets. Neither has much international or ambitious cooking, and in Faro the better seafood is a short train ride away in Olhão.

Coimbra is well ahead. Its old university, set in a former royal palace and listed by UNESCO, holds the gilded Biblioteca Joanina and the Sala dos Capelos. On the walk down the hill come the Romanesque Sé Velha, the Machado de Castro museum over its Roman cryptoportico and the Monastery of Santa Cruz with Portugal's first kings, and the Santa Clara convents wait across the river.

Faro's walled Cidade Velha is charming, with storks on the bell towers, a cathedral tower over the lagoon, a Roman mosaic in the convent museum and the bone chapel at Carmo. It fills a relaxed day, where Coimbra needs one or two full ones.

Coimbra has the livelier nights, at least during the academic year, when students pack the bars around Praça da República and the upper town and the May Queima das Fitas takes over the streets. In July and August it goes much quieter.

Faro's evenings are calmer still: terraces on Rua do Prior and near the marina, a few small late clubs, and most visitors calling it a night after dinner. Neither has a real club scene, and from Faro anyone wanting one has to go to Albufeira.

Both have good outdoors close at hand, but of a very different kind. Coimbra's is green and hilly: the Choupal woods and botanical garden in town, kayaking down the wooded Mondego from Penacova, the ancient trees of the Buçaco forest, slate villages in the Serra da Lousã and real mountain hiking in the Serra da Estrela.

Faro's is flat and watery. The Ria Formosa saltmarsh starts at the old town's edge, with flamingos and spoonbills in the salt pans, paddling through the channels and easy cycling along the lagoon. The cork-oak hills of the Serra do Caldeirão and the ochre cliffs to the west are there for walkers.

Coimbra is the stronger base. Sitting on the main Lisbon to Porto line, it puts Porto and canal-side Aveiro each about an hour away by train, the Conímbriga mosaics just south of the city and the monasteries of Batalha, Alcobaça and Tomar within reach by road, so a week of varied outings is easy to fill.

Faro's day trips are pleasant but more alike: Algarve towns such as Tavira, Olhão, Loulé and Silves, the Milreu Roman villa and, further off, Lagos and Sagres. Seville is the standout, though it is a long day by road.

Faro is the easier choice with children. Gentle sandy beaches, boat rides to the islands and a quiet, flat old town make for unhurried days, and the Algarve's water parks and marine park are within driving distance, though awkward without a car.

Coimbra has two attractions built for children, the miniature houses and monuments of Portugal dos Pequenitos and the Exploratório science centre, plus riverside parks. The steep cobbled climb to the old town is hard work with a pushchair, and the university sights appeal more to older children.

Both are walkable cities where you won't need a car in town, but the walking feels quite different. Coimbra's sights sit on a steep hill, climbed by cobbled lanes and stairways such as the Quebra-Costas, with a public lift and funicular to ease the climb. Faro's centre is flat, and the airport and ferry quay are close.

Beyond the city, Coimbra's position on the fast main rail line is a real advantage. Faro's coastal railway is slow, and most visitors touring the Algarve end up hiring a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and both offer a few pedestrian high streets plus a mall on the edge of town. What differs is what you take home. In Coimbra it is hand-painted Coimbra faience, convent sweets and Bairrada wine. In Faro it is cork goods, tinned fish, almonds, fig sweets and flor de sal from the lagoon salt pans, with Loulé's market close by for more choice.

Coimbra is slightly cheaper overall, because its student customers keep tasca lunches, coffee and bar drinks cheap, and rooms are fair outside the Queima das Fitas and graduation weeks. The university ticket is the main single expense.

Faro's everyday costs are moderate too, but rooms in July and August are priced for beach season, just when most people want to go, and a hire car adds to the bill for anyone touring the region.

Coimbra has more to offer, and it has something Faro lacks: its own fado, sung by men in black academic capes to the Coimbra guitar, with short concerts in old-town fado houses most evenings. The Teatro Académico de Gil Vicente and the São Francisco arts centre add theatre, film and touring dance.

Faro's calendar is smaller but has a classical side. The ornate Teatro Lethes holds chamber music, and the Teatro das Figuras brings the regional orchestra and occasional opera. Fado there is an occasional restaurant evening, and on many nights nothing is on.

Coimbra has the edge because real spa country lies about half an hour north. Luso has a thermal spa below the Buçaco forest and Curia has a thermal park and Belle Époque hotels, both easy for a day or a night away.

Faro's nearest historic spa, Caldas de Monchique, is well over an hour's drive, so wellness there mostly means resort spas along the golf coast. Its calm comes instead from the lagoon at sunset and quiet, mild winters.