Girona or Valencia?

Girona has no beach of its own. The Costa Brava is about 40 minutes away, with pine-backed coves around Begur and sandy bays at Tossa de Mar, so a swim is a planned day out and much easier with a car.

In Valencia the beach is part of the city. Las Arenas and Malvarrosa offer wide, shallow golden sand a short tram ride from the centre, the water is warmer, and the wilder dunes at El Saler are close by. For a trip built around swimming, Valencia is clearly ahead.

Girona eats well for a small city. It has Catalan home cooking, xuixos from the pastry shops, Empordà wine and a reputation for fine dining with serious tasting menus, but the range beyond that is narrow.

Valencia gives a food lover more to explore. Rice dishes are the main draw, from paella valenciana to arroz negro, eaten at lunch by the sea or in the Albufera villages. The Mercado Central is one of Europe's great markets, horchata in Alboraya is a summer ritual, and Ruzafa adds tapas bars and creative kitchens.

Girona's appeal is one beautifully kept medieval quarter. You get the climb to the cathedral with its huge Gothic nave, the Call's narrow alleys, the walk along the walls and the painted houses over the Onyar. Its museums are small, and a day or two covers it.

Valencia has more to see and a wider span of history. The Gothic Lonja de la Seda, the cathedral with its Grail chalice and the great medieval gates stand in the old town, with the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences at the other end of the old riverbed. The Museo de Bellas Artes and IVAM give it real gallery depth, so it rewards two or three days.

Evenings in Girona mean terraces, a long dinner and student bars around Plaça de la Independència in term time. For a proper night out, people take the train to Barcelona.

Valencia goes out late and has distinct areas for it. Ruzafa has cocktail and wine bars, El Carmen has older, rougher bars, and in summer there are open-air clubs near the port that run until dawn, along with days of street parties during Fallas.

Girona is one of Europe's great cycling bases. Quiet lanes lead to real climbs, and old railway lines turned into greenways run to Olot and the coast. Within about an hour you reach the Garrotxa's beech forests and cinder cones, the Costa Brava coast-guard path and Cap de Creus, with the Pyrenees not far beyond.

Valencia's nature is flatter and closer to the water. You can take a sunset boat on the Albufera lagoon among rice fields and herons, walk the pine dunes of the Devesa del Saler and use the 9km Turia gardens. For hills and gorges such as Chulilla, you need to drive inland.

Girona is the better base for day trips. Barcelona is under 40 minutes by high-speed train, Figueres and the Dalí Theatre-Museum are half an hour away, and Besalú, Peratallada, Empúries and Cadaqués are all close. You can even cross into France for Perpignan or Collioure.

Valencia has good day trips too, including Roman Sagunto, the ridge castle at Xàtiva and Cuenca's hanging houses by fast train. Beyond those, places like Peñíscola, Elche and Altea take an hour and a half to two hours each way.

Girona is calm and safe, and children enjoy walking the walls, but almost nothing is built for them. Families usually stay there and spend their days at the coast.

Valencia gives children plenty to do in the city itself: the sharks and belugas of the Oceanogràfic, the hands-on science museum, Bioparc, and the Gulliver figure to climb in the Turia gardens. Add shallow sandy beaches and a flat centre for pushchairs, and it is the easier choice with children.

Both centres are walkable, but they feel different. Girona is compact and steep, with plenty of stairs in the Barri Vell. The trains are good for Barcelona and Figueres, but the buses are infrequent, so many visitors rent a car to reach the villages and coves.

Valencia is flat and easier all round. Bike lanes and the car-free Turia corridor cross the city, and metro and tram lines run to the airport, the port and the beaches. Most visitors never need a car.

Girona's shopping is small and local. There are independent shops along the Rambla, Empordà cheeses and oil from the Mercat del Lleó, and a surprising number of cycling shops, but anyone serious about fashion goes to Barcelona.

Valencia has proper city shopping. The Ensanche around Calle Colón has the chains, luxury boutiques and the department store, while El Carmen and Ruzafa cover vintage and design. Souvenirs to look for include Manises ceramics, painted fans and saffron and rice from the Mercado Central.

Costs are broadly similar, and both cities have a good weekday set lunch. The difference is in where the money goes. In Girona the main costs are the limited rooms in the old town, which get expensive in summer and the cycling season, and the car you will probably rent.

Valencia's hotels are reasonably priced most of the year, and transport is cheap, so you don't need a car at all. Prices jump during Fallas and near the beach in high summer.

Valencia has the bigger stage life. The Palau de les Arts presents a full opera and ballet season with its own respected orchestra, and the Palau de la Música is home to the city orchestra, with jazz in Ruzafa throughout the year.

Girona's best season is autumn, when the Temporada Alta festival brings international theatre and dance. At other times there are touring concerts at the Auditori and mostly Catalan-language plays, with no resident opera or orchestra.

Both cities are equally good places to slow down, with long lunches and evening walks, and neither has a bathing tradition you can still use in town. What Girona has is the thermal-spring town of Caldes de Malavella about 20 minutes south, where hotels offer thermal pools. Valencia has no springs, so relaxing there means the seafront promenade, the shady Turia paths and a hotel spa.