Faro or Malaga?

The beaches are about equally good, but they are very different. Faro has no beach in town. Its sand is out on the barrier islands of the Ria Formosa: Praia de Faro is a short bus ride away, and in summer ferries cross to Culatra and Ilha Deserta, where long empty strands are backed by nothing but dunes.

Malaga puts the beach on the edge of the old town. La Malagueta and the fishing quarters of Pedregalejo and El Palo are on the doorstep, and the resort beaches of the Costa del Sol are a train ride west. The sand is greyer and more ordinary than Faro's island beaches. To find proper coves, you have to travel east to Nerja.

Malaga is the stronger place to eat. Faro does lagoon clams, oysters, cataplana and grilled fish well at honest grill houses, but there's little range beyond that, and the better seafood is in Olhão.

Malaga gives you whole lanes of tapas bars, sardine espetos and fried fish by the sea, the Atarazanas market with counters where you can eat, and its own sweet wines poured from the barrel in old bodegas. Here, eating out is an evening's entertainment rather than just a meal.

The gap here is wide. Faro's Cidade Velha, with its cathedral tower over the lagoon, the Roman mosaic in the convent museum and the Capela dos Ossos, makes for one relaxed day, and then the town runs out.

Malaga has much more. The Moorish Alcazaba climbs above a Roman theatre, Gibralfaro castle sits on top, and the half-finished cathedral stands below. Add the Picasso Museum and his birthplace, the Carmen Thyssen collection and the Museo de Malaga, and you have two full days of sights.

Faro's evenings are quiet. There are bar terraces on Rua do Prior and by the marina, which liven up when the university is in term, but most visitors call it a night after dinner.\n\nMalaga keeps Spanish hours: dinner rarely starts before ten, and afterwards people drift between bars around Plaza de la Merced and Plaza Uncibay until well past two in summer. Torremolinos is a short train ride away for clubs.

Faro's outdoors is flat and watery. You kayak or paddle through the channels of the Ria Formosa, watch spoonbills and flamingos at Ludo, and cycle the lagoon lanes, with gentle cork-oak walking inland.

Malaga has more variety and more drama. The pine hills of the Montes de Malaga start at the city's edge, and within reach are the gorge walkway of the Caminito del Rey, the limestone stacks of El Torcal, serious hikes above Nerja and the Sierra Nevada, which has skiing in winter.

From Faro, the easy outings are small Algarve towns: Tavira, Olhão, Loulé, Silves and the Roman ruins at Milreu. Seville is a long day across the border.

Malaga is one of the strongest bases in southern Spain. Fast trains put Cordoba's Mezquita an hour away and the Alhambra in Granada not much further. Ronda, the dolmens of Antequera, Nerja and Frigiliana and the white villages also make good days out, so you could fill a week here without repeating yourself.

Faro is gentle and safe, with calm lagoon beaches, boat rides to the islands that children love and a small science centre. The trouble is that the water parks and marine park near Albufeira are awkward to reach without a car.\n\nMalaga is easier with children. The city beaches are a walk away, the centre is flat and pedestrianised, and older children enjoy the Alcazaba ramparts. The zoo, aquarium and dolphin park along the coast are all on the suburban train.

Both centres are small and flat, and the airports are close. Inside Faro, everything is a short walk, with buses to the beach and ferries to the islands. Beyond the town, the slow coastal railway leaves gaps, and most visitors end up hiring a car.

Malaga is easier to explore without a car. The suburban train runs to the airport in about ten minutes and along the coast, and fast trains from the main station reach Cordoba and Seville. You only really need a car for the white villages and Nerja's coves.

Faro's shopping is practical: Portuguese chains on Rua de Santo António, cork goods, painted ceramics, tinned fish and flor de sal from the lagoon salt pans, with Loulé's market for more choice. Malaga offers more to browse. There's the marble-paved Calle Larios, El Corte Inglés, the port shops at Muelle Uno and independent shops in Soho, and Puerto Banús is an hour away for luxury.

Both cities cost about the same, and in both the expense is in the rooms rather than in eating out. Faro is a provincial town where fish lunches, coffee, pastries and buses are cheap, but a hire car is often an extra cost. Malaga's tapas, fried fish and trains are also reasonable, and you don't need a car. However, rooms in the old town and near the beach are in demand from spring to autumn, so staying a little outside the centre helps.

Malaga has more to see on stage. The Teatro Cervantes hosts the Malaga Philharmonic, drama and dance, flamenco is performed in tablaos and in the more authentic peñas, and the Semana Santa processions are a spectacle of their own. Faro has the ornate little Teatro Lethes and the Teatro das Figuras for touring shows and the regional orchestra, but fado is an import here, and on many nights nothing is on.

Neither city has a bathing tradition. Malaga at least has an Arab-style bathhouse in the old town, with warm pools and steam under brick arches, plus resort spas towards Marbella. Faro's spas are in the golf hotels west of town, and the nearest real spring-water spa is at Caldas de Monchique, well over an hour away. Faro's quiet lagoon evenings are restful in their own way.