Faro or Lagos, Portugal?

Lagos has the stronger beaches, and they are on the doorstep. Golden coves such as Dona Ana and Camilo sit beneath sculpted cliffs within walking distance of the old town, and Meia Praia offers about 4km of open sand across the river.

Faro's beaches are a different kind of place. They are long, flat strands on the Ria Formosa barrier islands, such as Ilha Deserta and Culatra, with dunes behind them and the warmer water of the eastern Algarve, but you always need a bus or ferry to get there.

The two eat much alike, with charcoal-grilled fish, cataplana and almond and fig sweets. The difference is in the setting. Faro leans on the lagoon, with clams, oysters and cockles from the Ria Formosa, and stronger fish markets are a short train ride away in Olhão.

In Lagos the challenge is avoiding the photo-menu restaurants in the old-town lanes and finding the plain family places a street or two back, or the harbour grills.

Neither town is a heritage destination, and both leave the region's best-known sights to other Algarve towns, but Faro takes a little longer to see. Its walled Cidade Velha, entered through the Arco da Vila, fills a relaxed day: the cathedral tower over the lagoon, a Roman mosaic in a museum set around a Renaissance convent cloister, and the bone-lined Capela dos Ossos at the Igreja do Carmo.

Lagos fits into a morning's walk, and its sights hang together around one story, the fifteenth-century voyages down the African coast. The sixteenth-century walls, the fort at the harbour mouth, the gilded baroque interior of Santo António and the museum on the site of the 1444 slave market all belong to it.

Lagos is clearly livelier after dark. In summer its old-town streets fill with surfers and backpackers moving between bars and pubs, pub crawls are part of the scene, and a few small clubs stay open until close to dawn. Between November and March it goes quiet.

Faro's evenings are calmer and more local. There are terraces on Rua do Prior and near the marina, which are busier when the university is in term, but most visitors call it a night after a long dinner.

Lagos has the more dramatic landscape. The arches and grottoes of Ponta da Piedade are a short walk away, the Costa Vicentina offers the Fishermen's Trail and surf all year round, and the Serra de Monchique rises to about 900m inland.

Faro's outdoors is flatter and quieter. The Ria Formosa begins at the edge of the old town and is ideal for paddling among saltmarsh channels and for watching flamingos and spoonbills at Ludo, but the country around it is gentle rather than striking.

Faro is better placed for exploring. Olhão and Tavira are a short train ride away, and Loulé's market hall, the Roman villa at Milreu and Cacela Velha are all close by. Even Seville makes a long day across the border.

From Lagos the standout trip is west to Sagres and Cape St Vincent, with Silves and Monchique inland. The eastern Algarve, however, is a long journey from there, and much of it needs a car.

The two are broadly equal for children, but the beaches differ. Faro's island beaches are gentle and sandy, the boat ride out is part of the fun, and there is a small science centre by the water.

Lagos's Meia Praia shelves gently and has plenty of space, though its prettier coves are reached by steep stairways and the cobbled old town is hard work with a pushchair. Both are about forty minutes from the big marine park.

Faro is the easier place to arrive and get about without a car. The airport is next door, the flat centre puts the station, marina and old town within a short walk, and buses and ferries reach the beaches.

Lagos is walkable too, but its lanes are cobbled and sometimes steep. It sits at the far western end of a slow railway, and its regional buses are infrequent, so a hire car matters more there.

Neither town is a shopping destination, but Faro offers more choice. It has a pedestrian high street of Portuguese chains, a large shopping centre for mainstream brands, and lagoon salt flower among the local buys, with Loulé's market nearby.

Lagos is browsing on the way to dinner, with ceramics, cork goods, surf shops and medronho brandy from the market.

Faro is the cheaper of the two, because it is a working town first and a gateway to the beaches second. Everyday meals, coffee and buses cost little there.

Lagos charges resort prices on its main streets and for beachside rooms in high summer, although lunches away from those streets stay reasonable. In both towns, rooms outside July and August are far easier on the budget.

Faro offers far more for an evening out at a performance. The ornate nineteenth-century Teatro Lethes stages chamber music and plays, and the Teatro das Figuras brings dance, touring concerts and the regional orchestra.

Lagos has only a modest municipal cultural centre, plus summer guitar and fado evenings aimed at visitors. Serious concert-goers would have to travel to Faro.

Lagos is better for unwinding with intent. Yoga teachers and surf and wellness retreats gather on its quieter fringes towards Luz, and Caldas de Monchique is a little closer.

Faro's offer is mostly resort spas on the golf coast to the west, together with the simple pleasure of slow sunset walks by the lagoon in the quiet winter months.