Cordoba or Sintra?

Neither is a beach destination, but only Sintra has a coast close at hand. Cordoba lies in the Guadalquivir valley, about 160km from the Costa del Sol, so a swim means either a full day out by fast train to Malaga or a hotel pool in the summer heat.

Sintra's Atlantic shore is about 20 minutes away. It has sandy Praia Grande and Praia das Maçãs, the cove under the cliffs at Adraga and the tidal pool at Azenhas do Mar. The water is cold and the surf strong, so it suits an afternoon out rather than a week of sunbathing.

Cordoba is by far the better place to eat. Its tabernas, often old houses with patios, serve dishes from the region such as salmorejo, rabo de toro and fried aubergine with cane honey, with Montilla-Moriles wine poured cold. A tapas round through Santa Marina or San Agustin makes a whole evening.

Sintra's strength is narrower: warm travesseiros and queijadas from the old pastry houses. Meals in the old town are uneven in quality, and the good eating is grilled fish in the coastal villages, or a trip into Lisbon.

Both are first-rate for sights, and each can be covered in two or three days, but they are very different in character. Cordoba centres on one great monument, the Mezquita-Cathedral with its striped arches, set among the lanes of the Juderia. The Alcazar, the Roman bridge and the caliphal ruins of Medina Azahara add Roman, Islamic and Christian layers.

Sintra is a landscape of romantic palaces spread across a wooded hill: the Pena Palace, the Moorish Castle, the National Palace and the grottoes of Quinta da Regaleira. It feels more theatrical and is more spread out, with steep walks between the sights and few museums of any weight.

Cordoba has an evening life that Sintra lacks. On warm nights the terraces of the Corredera, Las Tendillas and the riverside stay busy until late, students fill the bars at weekends, and the May fair runs until dawn, even if the club scene is small.

Sintra goes quiet once the last trains leave for Lisbon. There are a few bars and wine spots, but nothing stays open late. A night out means about 40 minutes on the train each way and planning how you will get back.

Sintra is the place for the outdoors. The Serra de Sintra is a granite ridge of damp forest and giant ferns, with trails from the town up to Cruz Alta and Peninha, and the land ends in the cliffs of Cabo da Roca. There is surfing at Praia Grande, and people ride horses and mountain bikes in the park.

Cordoba's countryside is drier, and you need a car for most of it: the holm oak hills of the Sierra Morena, Hornachuelos with its birds of prey, and the limestone Subbeticas. Spring and autumn are good for walking, but the summer heat pushes walks into the dawn hours, while Sintra's cool hills stay comfortable.

Both make excellent bases, but they lead in different directions. From Cordoba, high-speed trains reach Seville, Granada and Malaga in an hour or so, so Andalusia's great cities are all within reach. A car adds Ubeda, Baeza, Carmona and the bodegas of Montilla.

Sintra's best day out is Lisbon, a short train ride away, with Cascais and the Estoril coast close by. With a car you can explore central Portugal: Mafra, Ericeira, Óbidos, the monasteries of Alcobaça and Batalha, and Évora at the outer limit.

For families, the choice is between ease and excitement. Cordoba is the easier town with children: its small, mostly traffic-free centre lets them roam the lanes and squares, and the Alcazar fountains, the horse show and the castle at Almodovar are the highlights. The summer heat is hard on little ones, though.

Sintra does more to fire young imaginations, with castle walls to climb, the spiral well and tunnels at Regaleira, and shady parks that stay cool. The steep cobbles, crowded buses and strong surf make it better for school-age children than for toddlers.

Cordoba is the easier town to get around. The Mezquita, Juderia, Alcazar and Roman bridge are a short walk from one another, and the station for the fast trains is close to the old town. Medina Azahara and the villages need a bus, taxi or car.

Sintra's centre is small too, and the Lisbon train stops right beside it, but the Pena Palace and Moorish Castle stand high above. You reach them by a stiff climb or on a crowded tourist bus. The hill roads are narrow with little parking, so drivers do better to leave the car outside town.

Cordoba offers more, though neither is worth a trip for shopping alone. Its crafts are distinctive: silver filigree, embossed cordobán leather, and guitars and ceramics from local workshops. Cruz Conde and Las Tendillas add high-street chains and a department store.

Sintra's old town sells tiles, cork goods, linen and boxes of pastries, a few dealers sell antique azulejos, and there is the Sunday fair at São Pedro de Penaferrim. For anything more, you go to Lisbon.

Cordoba is the cheaper stay. A tapa and a glass of Montilla cost little, rooms are good value outside the May festivals, and the compact centre saves on transport.

Sintra's everyday costs are modest as well, but each palace charges its own entry, and seeing four or five quickly adds up. Rooms in the manor houses in the centre are expensive, so staying in the outlying villages or near the coast is the way to save.

Cordoba has much more to see, and most of it is flamenco: small tablaos in the old town, more serious nights in the peñas, a long-running guitar festival and the Noche Blanca del Flamenco. The Gran Teatro adds the city orchestra and touring theatre.

Sintra's highlight is its summer festival of classical music and dance, held in the palaces and quintas, along with concerts at the Olga Cadaval cultural centre. Outside that season there is little on, and regular live music means going into Lisbon.

Neither is a spa destination, and in both the calm comes from the setting rather than from treatments. Cordoba has a few Arab-style bath houses in the old town, with warm and hot pools under horseshoe arches, and patios with fountains and orange trees to sit in during the midday lull.

Sintra has no bathing tradition, just spas in a few hotels and manor houses. Its quiet comes from staying overnight in a quinta among misty gardens and forest, after the day-trippers have gone.