Goreme or Izmir?

Goreme has no beach at all. You can swim in a cave-hotel pool, but the river near Avanos is not for swimming, and many travellers simply add a few days on the coast to their Cappadocia trip.

You can't swim off Izmir's own waterfront either, but the coast starts an hour west. Ilica has shallow sand, the coves near Altinkum are clearer, and Gumuldur and Ozdere have long sandy strips to the south. Plan on beach day trips rather than a resort stay.

Goreme eats simply. There is testi kebab cracked open at the table, manti, gozleme from roadside stalls and good Cappadocian wine, but the menus look alike after a couple of nights.

Izmir is a proper food city with its own Aegean style. Olive oil, wild greens and grilled fish fill the meyhane tables, and the street gives you boyoz, gevrek and kumru. The lanes of Kemeraltı sell olives, spices and old-fashioned desserts, and Urla's vineyards keep the wine local here too.

Goreme's culture is concentrated in one remarkable valley. Izmir has nothing like the frescoed rock churches of the Open Air Museum, above all the Dark Church and Tokali Church. Still, together with the village's cave dwellings, they take only a day or two to see.

Izmir offers more range. The Roman Agora of Smyrna, Kadifekale above the gulf, the Clock Tower on Konak Square, the hans and synagogues of Kemeraltı and two solid museums give you more to see, even though the fire of 1922 left the centre mostly modern.

A Goreme evening ends with local wine or raki on a terrace, watching the lights on the rocks. There are no clubs, and most visitors are asleep early because the balloons go up before dawn.

Izmir goes out properly. Sunset drinks on the Kordon lead into the bar lanes of Alsancak, which stay crowded until late. In summer the beach clubs of Alaçatı and Çeşme take over the bigger nights.

The landscape is the reason to go to Goreme. Rose, Red, Love, Pigeon and Zemi valleys start at the edge of the village and give hours of walking among pink and pale tuff pinnacles, and the dawn balloon flights over them are unlike anything on the coast. What it lacks is variety, with no water and little forest.

Izmir's outdoors covers more ground but is less striking. There are flamingos in the Gediz Delta, cliffs and olive groves on Karaburun, some of the Mediterranean's best windsurfing at Alaçatı, and pine-forest walks on Spil Mountain an hour inland.

Goreme is well placed for the Cappadocian circuit. The underground cities of Kaymakli and Derinkuyu, Uchisar's citadel, the cave villages of Zelve and Cavusin and the potters of Avanos are all less than an hour away, though much of it is rock-cut heritage in different forms.

The trips from Izmir are richer and more varied. Ephesus is an hour away by train, Pergamon and Sardis are about two hours, and Priene, Miletus and Didyma make a full day. Şirince, Alaçatı and Old Foça make a change from the ruins.

Older children will love Goreme: sleeping in a cave room, crawling through the tunnels of an underground city and riding horses in the valleys. Toddlers are harder, with steep paths and unfenced drops, lanes that are tough with a buggy, and minimum ages for balloon flights.

Izmir is easier at any age. The flat Kordon is good for scooters, the Sasalı Wildlife Park and Kültürpark can fill a day, and the bay ferries are an outing in themselves. Ilica's shallow sand suits small children in the summer heat.

In Goreme you walk around the village and into the nearby valleys. Beyond that you depend on tours, taxis or a hire car, because buses to Avanos, Urgup and Nevsehir are slow and infrequent, and the underground cities are hard to reach without your own transport.

Izmir has a real network: the metro, the İZBAN line along the gulf, trams and buses all on one card, plus ferries across the bay. Rush-hour traffic is heavy, though, and Cesme or Pergamon are still easier by car.

Goreme sells mostly souvenirs, plus two genuine crafts: carpets and kilims in large showrooms, and Avanos pottery made in front of you. Beyond that there is little to buy.

Kemeraltı in Izmir is a working bazaar where locals buy fabrics, copperware, leather and spices, with Kızlarağası Han at its heart. Alsancak adds boutiques and Turkish chains. Olive oil soaps, Aegean herbs and local wine are the typical things to take home.

In Goreme the costs pull in two directions. A cave hostel, gozleme and walking keep things cheap, but the things people come for, a boutique cave hotel and the balloon flight, are expensive, and tours and site fees add up.

Izmir is easier on the budget overall. Street breakfasts, lokanta meals, transport and ferries cost little, and mid-range hotels are fairly priced. The bill goes up for seafood, alcohol and a summer stay on the Cesme peninsula.

Goreme's performances are put on for visitors. There is a Turkish night dinner show in a cave venue, or the more rewarding Sema ceremony of the whirling dervishes in a caravanserai near Avanos.

Izmir has the State Opera and Ballet at the Elhamra, the State Symphony and Turkish-language theatre. In summer the International Izmir Festival holds concerts in the ancient theatre at Ephesus, and bars in Alsancak have live rock and jazz.

Goreme's calm comes from quiet evenings and slow terrace breakfasts over the rocks, and it has a few village hammams and small cave-hotel spas. The early balloon starts and full tour days work against rest.

Izmir has real thermal water close at hand. Balçova's springs, the ancient Baths of Agamemnon, feed pools on the city's western edge, Ilıca has warm springs by the shore, and old hammams in Kemeraltı still offer the traditional scrub and steam.