Faro or Toledo?

This is the widest gap between the two. Faro's beaches are on the barrier islands of the Ria Formosa: Praia de Faro over the bridge by bus, and Ilha Deserta and Culatra by summer ferry, with kilometres of sand backed by dunes and a calm, fairly warm sea. Tavira's island beach and the cliff coves near Albufeira are within an hour.

Toledo sits on the plateau of La Mancha, several hours from any coast, and the Tagus in its gorge is not a river for swimming. In summer, a hotel or municipal pool is the only way into the water.

Both have narrow regional menus, but Faro's will please more visitors. It means clams and oysters from the lagoon, grilled sardines, fish sold by weight and cataplana, served in plain grill houses near the old town and the marina, with Olhão's seafood a short train ride away.

Toledo's food is inland and wintry by comparison: partridge stewed in wine and vinegar, game from the Montes de Toledo, carcamusas and Manchego, with convent marzipan to finish. The drawback is the set menus aimed at day-trippers around the cathedral. The better meals are in taverns a few streets away and in the bars near Zocodover.

Toledo is in another league here. The whole old town is a layered monument to Roman, Visigothic, Islamic, Jewish and Christian Spain. It holds the cathedral with its sacristy of El Greco and Goya, the mosque of Cristo de la Luz, the synagogues of Santa María la Blanca and El Tránsito, the cloister of San Juan de los Reyes and El Greco's own work in Santo Tomé.

Faro offers a pleasant day rather than a full programme. There is the walled Cidade Velha, entered through the Arco da Vila, the Sé with its view over the lagoon, a Roman mosaic in the convent museum and the bone chapel of the Igreja do Carmo.

Neither town is a place for big nights out, but Faro has a little more going on. There are bar terraces on Rua do Prior and near the marina, a few small clubs, and more life in university term and on the squares on summer evenings. Albufeira's big clubs are about forty minutes away.

Toledo's evenings are a late dinner and tapas around Zocodover, and the old town goes quiet once the day-trippers leave. Students fill a few bars at weekends, but anyone who wants to go clubbing takes the train to Madrid.

Faro has the better outdoors on its doorstep. The Ria Formosa starts at the edge of the old town, with saltmarsh channels to explore by kayak or paddleboard and flamingos and spoonbills in the salt pans at Ludo. Inland, the Via Algarviana crosses the cork-oak hills.

Toledo's best outing is the riverside path through the Tagus gorge below the walls, with views back over the city from the cigarrales on the far bank. Beyond that lies open plain, with walking in the low Montes de Toledo and red deer and raptors in Cabañeros, about two hours away.

Toledo makes the stronger base, mainly because Madrid and the Prado are half an hour away by high-speed train. Aranjuez and El Escorial are close. To the south in La Mancha are the windmills of Consuegra and the Golden Age theatre of Almagro, and Segovia, Ávila and Cuenca make long but manageable days.

Faro's options are good but gentler. Tavira and Olhão are easy by train, and there is Loulé's market and castle, the Roman villa at Milreu and the red castle of Silves. Lagos, Sagres and a long day in Seville lie further out.

Faro is the easier choice with children. Sandy lagoon beaches with calm water, boat rides to the islands, a small science centre and a flat, quiet old town all suit young families. The marine park and water parks, though, need a car to reach Albufeira or Lagoa.

Toledo has the Alcázar, shop windows full of armour and a history theme park on the outskirts. But its steep cobbled lanes defeat pushchairs, and most of the sights are churches and paintings. A short stay works better than a week.

You can cover either centre on foot, and the real difference is the ground underfoot. Faro's is flat, with the station, marina and old town close together, buses to the airport and the beach, and ferries to the islands. Its weak point is the slow coastal railway, which pushes many visitors into a hire car.

Toledo's old town takes twenty minutes to cross, but it is a steep, cobbled climb, made easier by public escalators from the car parks below the walls. The station lies across the river at the foot of the hill, a bus ride from the centre, and driving inside the walls is best avoided.

The real difference is in what you carry home. Faro sells the produce and crafts of its region: cork goods, painted ceramics, tinned fish and salt flower from the lagoon salt pans, mostly along the pedestrian Rua de Santo António, with Loulé's market for more choice.

Toledo's specialities are older and belong to the city itself: damascene work in black steel inlaid with gold, Toledo blades and convent marzipan. Much of what lines its streets is souvenir stock, so look for workshops that make their own, and go to Madrid for fashion.

Day to day the two cost about the same, but the costs fall in different places. In Faro, meals, buses and sights come cheaply, while summer rooms are priced for the beach season and a hire car adds up. In Toledo, a small tapa with each drink keeps eating cheap, but separate entry to each monument and the hotels with views inside the walls push the bill up.

Faro has a little more on an ordinary evening. The ornate Teatro Lethes stages chamber music and recitals, the Teatro das Figuras brings touring concerts, dance, occasional opera and the regional orchestra, and summer adds outdoor concerts on the waterfront. Fado turns up only at a few restaurant evenings.

Toledo has the Teatro de Rojas off Zocodover and organ and choral music in its churches. Its high point is Corpus Christi, when the cathedral's monstrance is carried through streets hung with tapestries. Otherwise, serious performance means a trip to Madrid.

In both towns, relaxing comes down to pace more than pools. Faro's resort spas sit along the golf coast west of town, and the old spring-water spa at Caldas de Monchique is over an hour away by car. Sunsets over the lagoon and quiet winters do the rest.

Toledo has a few Arab-style bath houses with warm pools in vaulted rooms. Its calm comes in the early mornings and the evenings, once the tour groups have gone and the terraces over the Tagus are quiet.