Fes or Tangier?

The two cities are far apart here. Fes is about three hours from any coast, so swimming means a riad plunge pool or a hotel pool, which is worth arranging for the summer heat.

Tangier has its own sandy bay below the modern town, though the better swimming is to the west at Achakar and Cap Spartel, where the Atlantic beaches are wider and the water cooler. Asilah's beaches are under an hour south. Even so, it is a city trip with the sea on the side, not a beach resort.

Both cities cook Moroccan food, and both are short on variety and alcohol, but the emphasis differs. Fes is the place for refined old-city cooking: pastilla with almonds and cinnamon and tagines with quince and preserved lemon, served as long multi-course dinners in riad dining rooms.

Tangier's cooking is plainer and leans on seafood from two seas, such as sardines and fish grilled near the port. Its real pleasure is the café: mint tea on a terrace above the Strait for hours on end.

Fes has much more to see. Fes el-Bali is a car-free medieval medina where the old trades still work, and the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas are among the finest Marinid buildings anywhere. Add the Quaraouiyine, the Mellah and the Marinid tombs and you have several days of sightseeing.

Tangier's appeal is its atmosphere and a more recent, international history: the kasbah museum above the Strait, the American Legation, St Andrew's church, Art Deco streets and its links with Paul Bowles and the Beat writers. It is interesting, but two or three days cover it.

Neither city suits a big night out, but Tangier has more to do after dinner. Its seafront fills with families out walking on summer evenings, a few bars survive from its international era, and beach clubs along the bay open in summer.

Fes goes quiet early. The medina shuts with its shops, alcohol is hard to find outside the hotels of the Ville Nouvelle, and an evening means dinner on a riad rooftop followed by tea.

Both offer good outings rather than wild country on the doorstep, but the landscapes are very different. From Fes you head into the mountains: cedar forests around Azrou with wild Barbary macaques, small lakes on limestone plateaux and the caves of Tazekka, all of which need a car or a driver.

Tangier's outdoors is coastal. There are cliff paths through the pines at Cap Spartel, where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, and woods in the Perdicaris park. Storks and raptors cross the Strait in spring and autumn, and boats go out to watch dolphins.

Tangier has more within reach, in more directions. You can go to Asilah's ramparts or Tetouan's UNESCO-listed medina, make a long day of Chefchaouen, or take the fast train to Rabat. The ferry reaches Tarifa in Spain in about an hour, so you can even visit another continent.

Fes has one excellent classic: the long day west to Meknes, the Roman mosaics of Volubilis and the holy town of Moulay Idriss. Ifrane and Sefrou make quieter trips, but Chefchaouen and Rabat are too far for a comfortable day.

Tangier is the easier of the two with children, though neither city is built for them. Its summers are milder, and the promenade, city beach, Perdicaris park and Caves of Hercules make simple outings. The ferry to Spain is an adventure in itself.

Fes is harder going, with a steep medina shared with donkeys and handcarts, strong smells around the tannery and fierce afternoon heat. Older children who like watching craftsmen can love it, but small ones are better off in Tangier.

Getting around takes much the same effort in both. You walk in the old city and take a petit taxi beyond it, the buses are of little use, and sights further out need a driver.

The difference is the medina. In Fes it is a large car-free maze where getting lost is routine, so a guide helps on the first day. Tangier's medina is smaller and leads straight into the Ville Nouvelle, and its train station and central ferry port make arriving and leaving simple.

Fes is the better place to buy crafts, because much of what it sells is made on the spot. Leather from the tanneries, copper and brass from the Seffarine square, blue-and-white Fassi pottery, zellige and carved cedar often come with the workshop behind the counter.

Tangier's lanes around the Petit Socco sell slippers, rugs, lanterns and red-and-white Rif cloth, and the Saturday market by the Grand Socco is worth seeing. The choice is smaller and less refined, though, and neither city is a place for fashion.

Both are inexpensive, with cheap street food, mint tea, taxis and entry tickets, and in both alcohol is the one costly item. Where the money goes differs. In Fes it is grand restored riads, private guides and drivers for day trips. In Tangier it is sea-view hotels and seafront restaurants that serve alcohol, and medina guesthouses are best value outside summer.

Neither city has a regular theatre, opera or concert season, so live performance here mostly means festivals. Fes leans towards sacred and classical music: Andalusian music, Sufi evenings and its Festival of World Sacred Music in palace gardens. Tangier's heritage is more mixed, from the Jajouka musicians of the Rif to gnawa and a long-running jazz festival, and it has a historic art-house cinema on the Grand Socco.

Fes is better for a restful stay. Every medina quarter has a public hammam, and many riads have calm spa rooms. The hot springs of Moulay Yacoub, used for centuries, are about half an hour away, and Sidi Harazem is closer still. The medina is loud by day, but the city has fountain courtyards and silent lanes at night.

Tangier has the same hammam ritual in simpler local bathhouses and a few hotel spas, but no hot springs. Its calm comes instead from long hours on a terrace above the Strait.