Cordoba or Valencia?

For beach time, there is no contest. Cordoba lies deep in the Guadalquivir valley, and a swim in the sea means a long day out to the Costa del Sol by train. In summer, locals make do with pools and reservoirs.

Valencia has kilometres of wide golden sand on its doorstep: Las Arenas and Malvarrosa with their promenade, Patacona to the north, and the pine-backed dunes of El Saler and La Devesa to the south. The water is shallow and calm, and a morning on the beach fits easily round a day of sightseeing.

Both cities eat late and well, but Valencia has more depth and range. Its table is built on rice, from paella valenciana and arroz negro on the beachfront at Las Arenas to all i pebre in the Albufera villages. Add the Mercado Central, horchata in Alboraya and a creative restaurant scene in Ruzafa.

Cordoba is narrower but very much its own. You eat salmorejo, flamenquin and fried aubergine with cane honey in old tiled tabernas, with chilled Montilla-Moriles in small glasses, and the best rounds are in Santa Marina and San Agustin rather than by the Mezquita.

Cordoba has the stronger draw for sightseeing. The Mezquita-Cathedral, with its striped arches and a cathedral set inside the mosque, has no equal in Valencia. Around it are the Juderia's synagogue, the Roman bridge, the Alcazar gardens, the patios of San Basilio and Viana, and the caliphal ruins of Medina Azahara.

Valencia gives a wider span of eras rather than one overwhelming monument. There is the Gothic Lonja de la Seda, the cathedral with its Grail chalice, the medieval gates, then the white futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, the Museo de Bellas Artes and IVAM for modern art.

Valencia gives you far more choice after dark. Ruzafa's cocktail and wine bars stay full past midnight, El Carmen has older bars and a student crowd, and in summer open-air clubs near the port and Malvarrosa run until dawn. In March, Fallas turns whole neighbourhoods into street parties.

In Cordoba, a night out means late tapas on the terraces around the Corredera and Las Tendillas. The city only really stays up in summer and during the May fair, and the club scene is small.

Valencia has more countryside within easy reach. The Albufera lagoon, with its rice fields, herons and sunset boat trips, starts about 10km from the centre, the Devesa's pine woods and dunes are beside it, and the Turia gardens give 9km of green space for running and cycling. Chulilla's gorge and the Sierra Calderona are around an hour's drive.

Cordoba's landscapes are drier and harder to reach without a car: the holm oak and cork hills of the Sierra Morena, the birds of prey of Hornachuelos and the limestone Subbeticas. Its summer heat rules out most outdoor activity except at dawn.

Cordoba is the stronger base. Seville, Granada with the Alhambra and Malaga are all within about an hour and a half by fast train, so Andalusia's great cities come within reach from one hotel. With a car you can add Ubeda and Baeza, Carmona, Priego de Cordoba and the Montilla bodegas.

Valencia's outings are good but less famous. You can reach Roman Sagunto and Xàtiva's castle in about half an hour, Cuenca's hanging houses in about an hour by fast train, and the sea-girt castle town of Peñíscola in about an hour and a half.

Cordoba has a few things children enjoy, while Valencia has a whole district built for them. In Cordoba the fountains of the Alcazar gardens, the horse show at the royal stables and the castle at Almodovar del Rio make good outings. The traffic-free lanes are a safe place to let children run ahead, but the Mezquita and the patios are pleasures for adults, so a family soon runs out of plans.\n\nValencia can keep children busy for several days without repeating itself.

The City of Arts and Sciences puts sharks and belugas, a hands-on science museum and the domed Hemisfèric screen side by side, and the Turia gardens let children scoot and cycle across the city away from cars. The catch is distance: those attractions are a ride or a long walk from the old town, whereas Cordoba's small centre keeps every walk short.

Both have historic centres you can walk, but Valencia is easier to get around. It is flat, one of Spain's best cities for cycling along the Turia, and metro and tram lines reach the airport, port and beaches.

Cordoba's sights sit within a few minutes' walk of each other on narrow cobbled lanes. Buses are basic, though, Medina Azahara needs a tourist bus or taxi, and the surrounding countryside needs a car.

Valencia offers the fuller shopping trip. Calle Colón and Poeta Querol have chains, international labels and luxury boutiques, and Ruzafa and El Carmen have independent and vintage shops. The Mercado Central is good for saffron, rice and turrón to take home.

Cordoba is for a few well-chosen crafts: silver filigree, the embossed guadameci leather, ceramics and guitars from local workshops. There is little fashion beyond the chains around Cruz Conde.

Both are easy on the budget, and Cordoba is slightly cheaper. Its tapas and Montilla cost very little, and the small centre means you rarely pay for transport. In Valencia, set lunch menus and cheap trams and bike hire keep costs down, but a rice lunch on the beachfront and the City of Arts and Sciences add up.

The two cities get expensive at different times. In Cordoba it is May, with the patio festival and the fair. In Valencia it is Fallas in March and high summer by the beach.

Valencia has the bigger programme. The Palau de les Arts stages a serious opera and ballet season with its own orchestra, and the Palau de la Música, the Teatro Principal and a small jazz circuit in Ruzafa add to it.

Cordoba's strength is narrower but more personal. You hear flamenco in small tablaos and in the peñas where aficionados gather, and the city has its guitar festival and the free all-night Noche Blanca del Flamenco. The Gran Teatro covers orchestra and theatre.

Neither is a spa destination. Both offer Arab-style bath houses and hotel spas, and both keep the ruins of a Moorish bath, Cordoba's Caliphal Baths and Valencia's Baños del Almirante. The difference is where you go to unwind: in Cordoba, a shaded patio with a fountain and orange trees and the enforced summer siesta; in Valencia, a slow walk along the seafront promenade or under the trees of the Turia gardens.