Fethiye or Istanbul?

Fethiye is a beach destination in a way Istanbul never tries to be. Oludeniz's shallow lagoon and open bay, the cove at Butterfly Valley that you reach by boat, and sandy Kidrak are all easy to get to. Calis gives the town its own long shore for an evening swim.

In Istanbul the sea is something you look at over tea beside the Bosphorus. For proper sand you travel about an hour to Kilyos or Sile on the Black Sea, where currents and undertow mean swimming only where lifeguards are on duty, or take a ferry to the pebbly coves of the Princes' Islands.

Fethiye's best meal is the fish market ritual: you buy fish at the stalls and a restaurant on the square cooks it for you. Add gozleme from the canal market and rakı on the harbour. Out in Hisaronu and Oludeniz, menus drift towards full English breakfasts and pizza.

Istanbul brings together the cooking of the whole country: Black Sea anchovies, south-eastern kebabs, Ottoman palace dishes, lunchtime trays of stews in the lokantas, and street food from simit to fish sandwiches by the Galata Bridge. The meyhanes of Beyoglu and Kumkapi and the market streets of Kadikoy make eating a reason to go in itself.

Fethiye's history is striking but limited. The Lycian rock tombs above the town, sarcophagi standing in the streets and the abandoned village of Kayakoy over the ridge fill a day or two. Much of the town was rebuilt after the 1957 earthquake, so there is little beyond them.

Istanbul works on another scale entirely. Hagia Sophia, Topkapi, the Blue Mosque and the Basilica Cistern stand within a short walk of one another. Beyond them are the Süleymaniye, the Chora mosaics, the land walls and the Bosphorus palaces, enough to fill a week without repeating yourself.

A night out in Fethiye is pleasant rather than a reason to go: drinks under strings of lights in the Paspatur lanes, or the loud strip in Hisaronu built for package visitors. Most of it shuts between November and April.

Istanbul has whole districts for going out, and they stay up late. Beyoglu's meyhanes turn into singing and dancing, Karakoy and Cihangir serve cocktails and wine, and Kadikoy and Moda draw a younger crowd. In summer, the clubs on the Bosphorus shore at Ortakoy keep going until dawn.

Fethiye has the wilder landscape by a distance. Babadag rises behind the lagoon for tandem paragliding, and the Lycian Way follows cliff paths past Faralya and Kabak. At Saklikent Gorge you wade through icy water between canyon walls, and the bay is good for kayaking and diving.

Istanbul's outdoors are gentler and more urban: shore walks at Bebek and Rumeli Hisari, tulips at Emirgan in April, trails in Belgrad Forest and cycling on the car-free Princes' Islands. There are no mountains within easy reach.

From Fethiye, the ancient world is on the doorstep. Tlos, Pinara, Xanthos and the Letoon, the ruins behind the dunes at Patara, and the river boats that pass the rock tombs at Dalyan are all short outings. Kas, Kalkan and the summer ferry to Rhodes add variety.

Istanbul's size works against it. The Princes' Islands and a cruise up the Bosphorus make easy days, and Bursa is a rewarding outing. Edirne and Iznik make long days, though, and Gallipoli and Troy really need a night away.

Both work for families, in quite different ways. Fethiye is about the water: the sheltered, shallow Oludeniz lagoon is close to ideal for small swimmers, the pool hotels in Hisaronu and Ovacik make easy bases, and boat trips with swimming stops fill the days. There is little else built for children, though, and July and August are very hot.

Istanbul offers attractions rather than beaches: the Rahmi M. Koç Museum with its submarine, Miniaturk, the aquariums and ferry rides that children love. The price is crowds, steep cobbled streets and long transfers, which wear out small children and defeat pushchairs.

Fethiye's town and harbour are easy to walk, and dolmus minibuses run regularly to Oludeniz, Hisaronu and Kayakoy. Further out it gets harder: Tlos, Pinara and Saklikent are awkward without a hire car or a tour, and there is no railway.

Istanbul is easier to get around without a car. One card covers the metro, the T1 tram, Marmaray, the funiculars and the ferries, which are a sight in themselves. Rush-hour crowds and taxis stuck in traffic test your patience.

Fethiye's best shopping is the weekly market by the canal, for honey, spices and peshtemal towels. Paspatur has carpet and ceramics shops, and the resorts sell mostly beachwear and imitation brands. It is fine for gifts but not worth a trip of its own.

Istanbul is a shopping destination in its own right. It has the covered streets and hans of the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar and the craft lanes between them, designer labels in Nisantasi, antiques in Cukurcuma and flea markets in Kadikoy.

Overall costs come out much the same, and the way to save is the same in both: eat and stay where local people do. What drives the bill differs. In Fethiye it is the resorts of Oludeniz and Hisaronu and the extras such as paragliding, cruises and diving, while guesthouses and lokantas in the town stay cheap.

In Istanbul, transport and street food cost little, but entry fees for foreign visitors at the monuments and hotel prices in Sultanahmet, Galata and along the Bosphorus add up. Kadikoy is the cheaper base. Heavily taxed alcohol makes evenings out expensive in both.

Fethiye has almost no formal season. There is a modest cultural centre and some open-air shows in summer, but live music mostly means a saz player in a meyhane or a cover band in Hisaronu.

Istanbul has the state opera and ballet at the Ataturk Cultural Centre, modern concert halls and summer music and jazz festivals in historic courtyards. Add whirling dervish ceremonies in old lodges and small rock, folk and jazz venues in Beyoglu and Kadikoy, although most theatre is in Turkish.

Fethiye has a historic Ottoman hammam in the Paspatur quarter and spas in the larger hotels. Down the coast are yoga retreats on the terraced slopes above Kabak and Faralya, where there is little to do but look at the sea. In summer, rest means keeping away from the resort strips.

Istanbul takes the hammam much further. Sinan's sixteenth-century baths, Cemberlitas and Haseki Hürrem among them, still operate under domes pierced with star-shaped skylights, and a session in one is among the best things to do in the city. Otherwise, calm comes in short spells within a hectic city: tea on a terrace in Kandilli, or a slow ferry ride.