Faro or Rabat?

Faro's beaches are a short trip away rather than outside the door, but they are the real thing. Long sandy barrier islands such as Ilha Deserta and Culatra are reached by ferry from the old town quay, with calm water in front and dunes behind, and Praia de Faro is a bus ride over the bridge.

Rabat's beach lies right below the kasbah walls, which is handy, but it is a local beach for surfing and football, and the swell keeps swimmers close to shore. Calmer sand lies south towards Temara and Skhirat, and beachwear on all of them is more modest than on the Algarve.

Rabat gives you more to discover at the table. There are tagines and Friday couscous in medina eateries, snail broth and msemen from the evening stalls, and mint tea on the terraces of the Ville Nouvelle. When you want a change, Agdal has French and Lebanese restaurants, though alcohol stays discreet and is mostly found in hotels.

Faro's cooking has a narrower range and centres on the lagoon: clams, oysters, fish sold by weight and cataplana in plain grill houses near the old town and the marina. Keen seafood eaters will find better fish restaurants a short train ride away in Olhão.

On sightseeing, Rabat is far ahead. Its UNESCO-listed sights run from Roman Sala and the Marinid tombs of the Chellah to the Almohad gate of the Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. A modern art museum and the art deco Ville Nouvelle add to them, enough for two or three full days.

Faro's Cidade Velha, which you enter through the Arco da Vila, is charming but small. The Sé with its view over the lagoon, the Roman mosaic in the convent museum and the bone chapel at the Igreja do Carmo make a relaxed single day.

Neither city is made for a big night out, but Faro offers more. Rua do Prior and the lanes by the marina have bar terraces and a few clubs that stay open late, and they are busier when the students are in town. Albufeira's clubs are also within reach.

Rabat's evenings belong to the cafés, the river promenade and walks through the medina, and drinking is limited to hotel bars and a few lounges in Agdal and Hassan. Anyone who wants to dance goes to Casablanca.

Faro has the richer outdoors, because the Ria Formosa begins at the edge of the old town. You can paddle its saltmarsh channels by kayak or board, watch flamingos and spoonbills in the salt pans around Ludo, and cycle the flat lanes beside the lagoon, which is best done early in the day in summer. Inland, the Via Algarviana crosses the cork-oak hills of the Serra do Caldeirão, and the cliff path past Carvoeiro is about an hour west.

Rabat's natural side is smaller in scope: rowing on the Bou Regreg estuary, surf schools at the river mouth, easy trails in the Maamora cork forest and birdwatching at the lake reserve of Sidi Boughaba. Its shore is low cliffs and rocky points rather than lagoon, and real hiking country in the Middle Atlas or the Rif is several hours away.

Both cities make good bases, but the trips are different in kind. From Faro they are short and regional: Tavira's Roman bridge, the market halls of Olhão, Loulé, the Milreu villa and the castle at Silves. Seville is a long day across the border, and a car helps for many of these trips.

From Rabat the railway does the work and the destinations are bigger. Casablanca and its Hassan II Mosque are an hour away, Tangier and Asilah are reached by high-speed train, and Meknes, the imperial city, is about two hours away. Salé's older medina is a short tram ride.

Faro is the easier base with children. It has gentle sandy beaches on the lagoon side, boat trips that feel like an adventure and a small science centre. The Algarve's water parks and marine park are within forty minutes by car.

Rabat is calm and welcoming for a Moroccan city, and it has a large modern zoo and the gardens of the Jardin d'Essais and Bouknadel. Beyond those, little is aimed at children, and the city beaches need close watching.

Both centres are flat and easy to walk, so the difference lies in what is beyond them. Rabat has a tram to Salé and Agdal, cheap and plentiful petit taxis, and a central station on the national rail network, so you never need a car.

In Faro, the centre, the airport and Praia de Faro are easy to reach on foot or by bus, and ferries run out to the islands. Beyond that, the coastal railway is slow and misses many places, so most visitors touring the Algarve hire a car.

Rabat has more to browse. Rue des Consuls in the medina is lined with carpet dealers and stalls of leather, brass and embroidery. Rabat's own deep-pile carpets are a real find, and the haggling is gentler than in the bigger souks. Salé, across the river, adds pottery.

Faro's Rua de Santo António is practical, with chains, cork goods, painted ceramics and tinned fish. Its best buys are things to eat: almonds, fig sweets and salt flower from the lagoon salt pans.

Rabat is the cheaper stay from day to day. Medina meals, café terraces, the tram and petit taxis cost little, and most sights are cheap or free. Business hotels and the restaurants of Agdal push the costs up, and alcohol is expensive.

Faro is moderately priced rather than cheap. Grilled fish lunches, coffee and buses are easy on the budget, but rooms in summer are priced for the beach season, and a hire car adds to the bill.

Rabat has more on, as home to Morocco's national theatre and the large Grand Theatre on the Bou Regreg, although programmes are mostly in Arabic and French and run irregularly. The best time to go is during Mawazine, when open-air stages across the city fill with pop, Gnawa and African music.

Faro's calendar is smaller: chamber music and plays at the ornate Teatro Lethes, and the regional orchestra at the Teatro das Figuras. Fado is limited to occasional evenings in restaurants.

Rabat has a living bathing culture that Faro lacks. The neighbourhood hammams of the medina and Salé offer steam and a black-soap scrub, and hotel spas add argan oil massages for anyone who wants more comfort. The Andalusian garden in the kasbah and the evening walks by the river add to the restful feel.

In Faro, wellness means resort spas along the golf coast, or the spring-water spa at Caldas de Monchique, over an hour away. Rest there comes from long lunches and sunset walks by the lagoon.