Faro or Lisbon?

Faro has the better beaches, though neither city has sand on its doorstep. From Faro a bus or summer ferry takes you to the barrier islands of the Ria Formosa, where kilometres of dune-backed sand meet a calm sea that warms up properly by late summer. Tavira's island beach and the golden coves around Albufeira add variety within an hour.

Lisbon's beaches are a train ride along the Cascais line or a trip across the river to Costa da Caparica. They are fine for an afternoon, and Carcavelos suits surfers, but the Atlantic stays cool and the swell can make swimming tricky. Only the Arrabida coves match Faro's sheltered water, and they need a car.

The two share the same base of grilled fish, clams and seafood stews, but Lisbon turns it into a much richer eating city. Family tascas, seafood beer halls, a pastelaria on every corner, ginjinha counters around Rossio and good wine from across Portugal poured cheaply give a food trip real depth. The best meals are in residential quarters such as Campo de Ourique rather than in Baixa.

Faro's cooking is honest and lagoon-focused: Ria Formosa oysters and cockles, cataplana, and almond and fig sweets. The range stops there, with little fine dining or international food, and the better seafood is a short train ride away in Olhão.

This is where the gap is widest. Lisbon has the Manueline monuments of Belem, the rebuilt grid of the Baixa, the castle above Alfama, and museums such as the Gulbenkian and the National Tile Museum. That fills three or four days of serious sightseeing.

Faro offers a pleasant few hours rather than a programme. There are the walled Cidade Velha with its storks and cathedral tower, a Roman mosaic in the convent museum, and the bone chapel at the Igreja do Carmo. The Algarve's more memorable heritage lies in nearby towns.

Lisbon has a real night out and Faro mostly does not. In Lisbon the evening moves from sunset drinks at a miradouro to the street crowds of Bairro Alto and the later bars of Cais do Sodre, then on to warehouse clubs by the river that run until morning.

Faro's evenings centre on terraces along Rua do Prior and near the marina, livelier in university term and on summer weekends. For anything louder you have to drive to Albufeira.

Lisbon has the wider and wilder range of landscapes: the misty Sintra hills, the cliffs at Cabo da Roca, kitesurfing at Guincho, surf at Ericeira, and Arrabida's limestone ridges with dolphin trips from Setubal. It suits active travellers who want variety.

Faro's strength is one superb wetland. The Ria Formosa begins at the edge of town, with flamingos and spoonbills in the salt pans, paddling through the channels and flat cycling lanes, while the cork-oak hills inland are gentle rather than dramatic. It is better for birdwatchers and easy paddling than for hiking or surfing.

Faro's outings are on a small-town scale. Tavira, with its Roman bridge and riverfront, is half an hour east by train, Olhão has its fishing lanes and market halls, and inland there are Loulé's castle, the Roman villa at Milreu and the red sandstone castle at Silves. These are pleasant, easy days, though the inland places are simpler by car. Seville makes a long day across the border.

From Lisbon the excursions are bigger and more varied. Sintra's Pena Palace, Moorish Castle and Quinta da Regaleira fill a whole day only forty minutes away by train. Further out are Roman Evora among its wine estates, walled Obidos and three UNESCO monasteries at Alcobaca, Batalha and Tomar. If you want to spend several days on excursions, Lisbon gives you far more to choose from.

Both cities work about equally well for children, but in different ways. Lisbon has the bigger single attractions, with the Oceanario, the science centre and the cable car together at Parque das Nacoes, plus trams and funiculars to ride. Its steep, slippery streets are hard going with a pushchair.

Faro is flat, quiet and easy, with gentle lagoon beaches and boat trips that children enjoy. Its water parks and marine park are a drive away, though, which is awkward without a car.

Walking is easier in Faro. In its small, flat centre the old town, the marina and the station are a few minutes apart, buses run to the airport and Praia de Faro, and ferries go out to the islands. Once you leave town, the slow coastal railway and patchy regional buses leave gaps, and most visitors end up hiring a car.

In Lisbon it is the other way round. Seven hills and long stairways make even short walks tiring, but the metro, trams, funiculars, suburban trains and river ferries all run on one rechargeable card and reach Sintra and Cascais without a car. That network makes Lisbon the easier of the two to explore without driving.

Lisbon offers far more to browse. Avenida da Liberdade has the luxury houses, Chiado has the old bookshops and glove makers, Principe Real has independent designers, and there are the Feira da Ladra flea market and LX Factory, with azulejos, Burel wool and linens worth carrying home.

Faro covers the basics on Rua de Santo António and at an out-of-town mall. Its best buys are edible: lagoon salt flower, almonds and fig sweets, with Loulé's market nearby for more choice.

Day to day, the two cost about the same, with cheap coffee, wine and fish lunches in both. Faro is slightly easier on the wallet overall, and its rooms come down a long way outside July and August, though a hire car can cancel out the saving. In Lisbon the expense is central accommodation and the visitor-facing restaurants in Baixa and Chiado, so staying just outside the centre helps.

Lisbon wins on fado alone, which you can hear every night in the casas of Alfama, Mouraria and Bairro Alto, and it adds the São Carlos opera house and the Gulbenkian's concert season.

Faro has the ornate Teatro Lethes and the Teatro das Figuras with its regional orchestra, but fado is only an occasional restaurant evening, and on many nights nothing is on.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and in both, spas mean hotel facilities, along the golf coast near Faro or the Estoril coast near Lisbon. The difference is in the pace. Faro's quiet lagoon evenings and calm winters make rest easy in town, while in Lisbon resting usually means the Gulbenkian or Estrela gardens, or sleeping out in Cascais or Sintra away from the noisy, hilly old quarters.