Girona or Malaga?

Girona has no beach of its own. The Costa Brava starts about 40 minutes away, with long sandy bays at Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Platja d'Aro and pine-backed coves of rock and coarse sand around Begur and L'Escala, where the water is some of the clearest on the coast. It makes a good day out, but every swim is a trip, and without a car the bus timetables decide how far along the coast you get.

Malaga puts the sand a short walk from the cathedral. La Malagueta leads east to the old fishing quarters of Pedregalejo and El Palo, and the suburban train runs west to the resort beaches. The grey-brown sand is practical rather than pretty, and for coves and clear water you go about an hour east to the cliffs of Nerja and Maro, much as Girona's visitors drive out to Begur. Still, for a stay built around the beach, Malaga is far easier.

The two eat about equally well, in different ways. Girona leans to Catalan cooking with mar i muntanya dishes, botifarra and weekend rice. It also has a serious tasting-menu reputation, and Empordà wine and cava are on most lists.

Malaga is about tapas and fish: sardines grilled over beach fires, plates of fried fish in El Palo, and sweet moscatel poured from the barrel. Its strength is casual eating rather than fine dining, so go to Girona for one memorable dinner and to Malaga for grazing.

Both reward two unhurried days, but the history is different. Girona is medieval and Catalan: the walled Barri Vell, the cathedral with its huge Gothic nave, the Jewish Call and the walk along the walls with views to the Pyrenees.

Malaga's layers are Roman and Moorish, with the theatre below the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro castle above it. It is stronger on art, too: the Picasso Museum, Picasso's birthplace and the Carmen Thyssen collection give it more museum depth than Girona's small collections.

Girona's evenings end with dinner and a drink on a terrace. Apart from student bars in term time and a few small clubs at weekends, people who want a real night out take the train to Barcelona.

Malaga keeps going much later. The lanes around Plaza Uncibay and Calle Granada stay full past two on summer weekends, and beach bars keep pouring. Torremolinos's clubs and gay scene are a short train ride away. The crowd is mixed in age rather than wild, but there is far more to do.

Girona has the edge, mainly because so much starts at its door. Cyclists ride straight out onto quiet farm lanes, up Rocacorba and along traffic-free greenways towards Olot and the sea, and the Gavarres hills begin at the city's edge. The beech woods and cinder cones of the Garrotxa, the coast-guard path above the Costa Brava coves and the high Pyrenees are all within easy reach.

Malaga has its own drama: the pine forest of the Montes de Malaga behind the city, the Caminito del Rey pinned to its gorge, the stacked limestone of El Torcal and serious hikes in the sierras above Nerja. Most of it is a drive away, though, and the Sierra Nevada is about two hours off. In both places midsummer heat pushes walks and rides into the early morning.

Both are excellent bases. What differs is what the day trips offer. From Girona you reach Barcelona by fast train, Dalí's museum at Figueres, the medieval villages of Besalú, Pals and Peratallada, and even French towns such as Perpignan and Collioure.

From Malaga the day trips are to great Andalusian cities: Cordoba's Mezquita and Granada's Alhambra by train, plus Ronda on its gorge and the white villages. For famous monuments choose Malaga. For small villages and a taste of France, choose Girona.

Malaga is much easier with children. It has gentle city beaches, a flat pedestrian centre and the Alcazaba ramparts to explore. The Bioparc zoo, Sea Life aquarium and dolphin and safari parks are all along the coast by suburban train.

Girona is safe and calm, and children enjoy walking the walls, but almost nothing there is built for them. The old town's stairs make pushchairs hard work, and beach days mean leaving the city.

Both centres are walkable, but Malaga's is flat, while Girona's Barri Vell is all stairs and slopes. Malaga's bigger advantage is the suburban train, which takes you to the airport in about ten minutes and along the coast to the beaches.

From Girona, the fast trains to Barcelona and Figueres are excellent, but buses to the coast and villages are infrequent, and many visitors rent a car. In Malaga a car only becomes useful for El Torcal, the Caminito and the white villages.

Malaga has more to offer. Calle Larios is a polished street of Spanish chains, there is a national department store across the river, and Soho has independent shops. Marbella's luxury boutiques are an hour away.

Girona has independent fashion shops and delicatessens along its Rambla, plus plenty of cycling shops, but shoppers who want more than that go to Barcelona. Both cities have a market that is good for edible souvenirs.

The overall cost is similar, and in both cities rooms are what push the bill up. Girona's limited old-town rooms get expensive in summer and in the cycling season, and a hire car adds to the budget.

Malaga's tapas, fried fish and cheap suburban trains make daily spending easy to control. Its rooms can be much cheaper if you come in winter or stay just outside the centre.

Malaga has a little more on stage. It has a resident philharmonic at the Teatro Cervantes, and flamenco in the tablaos and in the more authentic peñas, where locals perform for each other. The Semana Santa processions are a spectacle in their own right.

Girona's stage life is mostly seasonal. Its highlight is the Temporada Alta theatre and dance festival in autumn, and the rest of the year is thin, with many plays in Catalan.

Both cities are restful mainly because of their slow pace: long lunches and evening walks. The bathing options are different. Girona's Arab Baths are only a monument, but the thermal-spring town of Caldes de Malavella, about 20 minutes south, has real spring-water pools.

Malaga has an Arab-style bathhouse in the old town that you can actually use, and larger resort spas along the coast towards Marbella. Its mild, sunny winters also make it the more relaxing choice in the off season.