Coimbra or Segovia?

Coimbra can at least give you a beach day. Figueira da Foz is about an hour away by train, with a vast sweep of sand and quieter stretches further north at Quiaios and Tocha. The open Atlantic stays cool and is often windy, and in summer the river beaches in the hills offer calmer, warmer water.

Segovia has nothing similar. The coast is a long day's drive away, so swimming means a pool or a cold reservoir in the Guadarrama foothills.

The two tables are close relatives, and each is famous for roast suckling pig. In Coimbra it is leitão from the roadside restaurants of Mealhada, served with Bairrada sparkling wine. Day to day, eating there means set lunches in small tascas and convent pastries such as pastéis de Tentúgal.

Segovia's cochinillo comes from wood-fired ovens. It shares the menu with roast lamb and La Granja's big white beans, and Ribera del Duero is the wine. The town also lends itself better to an evening tapas round. Neither city goes far beyond its regional cooking.

Segovia makes the stronger impression. The Roman aqueduct, the late Gothic cathedral and the cliff-top Alcázar stand on one ridge, with Romanesque churches, the Jewish quarter and the twelve-sided Vera Cruz in between. The whole town works as a single monument, and its landmarks are famous in their own right.

Coimbra's heritage is centred on its old university and the gilded Biblioteca Joanina. Down the hill come the Sé Velha, the royal tombs at Santa Cruz and the half-buried convent of Santa Clara-a-Velha. It is a rich set, but only the library carries the international fame that Segovia's aqueduct and Alcázar do.

Coimbra is the livelier of the two. During term its students fill the bars around Praça da República and spill into the squares, a few small clubs stay open into the early hours, and the Queima das Fitas turns May into a week of street parties. It goes quiet in July and August.

Segovia's evenings are built around tapas on and near Plaza Mayor. A few later bars open at weekends, but on weeknights the town settles early. If you want a late night, take the train to Madrid.

Both are good for getting outdoors, but in different landscapes. Coimbra's surroundings are green and mid-height: the Choupal woods by the river, kayaking down the Mondego from Penacova, the fern valleys of Buçaco and the chestnut woods of the Serra da Lousã.

Segovia sits right under real mountains. The Valsaín pine forests and the passes of Navacerrada and Cotos lead to Peñalara at 2,428m, which has winter snow and glacial lakes. Further out, griffon vultures circle the Duratón gorge.

Both cities are first-rate bases, each on a main rail line. From Coimbra, Porto and the canal town of Aveiro are each about an hour or less by train. The Roman mosaics of Conímbriga are just south, and the great monasteries of Batalha, Alcobaça and Tomar can be reached by road.

Segovia leans towards royal Spain and walled towns. La Granja's palace gardens are twenty minutes away and Madrid under half an hour by fast train. Ávila, Pedraza, Sepúlveda and El Escorial all make easy day trips.

Coimbra has a little more for children. Portugal dos Pequenitos, a park of child-sized Portuguese buildings, and the Exploratório science centre were both made for them, and riverside parks give extra space to run around.

Segovia relies on the Alcázar, a real fairy-tale castle with a tower to climb, and on La Granja's gardens. It has nothing built for children. Steep cobbles make both cities hard work with a pushchair.

Both centres are walkable, and both are steep. In Coimbra the effort goes into climbing from the Baixa up to the university, though a public lift and a funicular help. A bus crosses the river to Santa Clara, and trains arrive close to the centre.

Segovia's sights run in a line along its ridge from the aqueduct to the Alcázar. The high-speed station is several kilometres out, however, so arriving or leaving by train means a bus ride of about fifteen minutes.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Coimbra has a bit more. The pedestrian streets of the Baixa have clothing and old-fashioned specialist shops, and hand-painted Coimbra faience is a souvenir worth carrying home.

In Segovia, shopping mostly means souvenirs along Calle Real, plus boxed ponche segoviano and La Granja beans. For anything more, people go to Madrid.

Coimbra is the cheaper stay. Its prices are set for students, so tasca lunches, coffee and pastries, and nights out cost little. The university ticket is the main expense.

Segovia is moderate. Small guesthouses and tapas in the newer town are fair value, but the famous roasts by the aqueduct cost more, and rooms go up at weekends when visitors arrive from Madrid.

Coimbra has its own distinctive music. Its fado grew out of student serenades and is sung by men in black capes with the Coimbra guitar, in small old-town houses on most evenings. The Gil Vicente theatre and the arts centre in the former São Francisco convent add touring productions.

Segovia's live arts mostly come in festival seasons, such as the Titirimundi puppet festival in spring and summer concerts in churches and palace gardens. Outside those seasons little is on.

Coimbra is better placed for a proper spa day. Luso, below the Buçaco forest, and Curia, with its thermal park and Belle Époque hotels, are about half an hour north and are worth an overnight stay.

Segovia has no thermal tradition. Its way of unwinding is the quiet that falls over the old town after the coaches leave, with walks along the walls and pine air coming down from the sierra.