Granada or Zaragoza?

Neither city is on the sea, but Granada at least has a real beach day within reach. The Costa Tropical is about an hour away over the mountains, and Salobreña, Almuñécar and the snorkelling coves of La Herradura make a good summer outing, even though the beaches are pebble and dark sand.

Zaragoza is more than 200km from the coast, and the Ebro is not for swimming, so summer swimming there means a municipal or hotel pool.

Both cities are built around the tapas crawl, and they are about equal at the table. In Granada, a small plate comes free with each drink, the food draws on Alpujarras ham and Moorish tradition, and the teterías on Calderería Nueva serve mint tea and pastries.

Zaragoza's crawl is concentrated in the lanes of El Tubo, where each bar is known for one speciality. The cooking is hearty Aragonese, with ternasco lamb and borage, and the cheap reds come from Cariñena and Somontano. Neither city offers much fine dining or international food.

The Alhambra puts Granada clearly ahead. The Nasrid palaces, the Generalife gardens and the view across to the Albaicín are worth a trip on their own, and the Royal Chapel, the Cartuja sacristy and the Sacromonte caves add depth around them.

Zaragoza has more layers than its reputation suggests. The Roman forum and theatre are open to see, the Aljafería is an eleventh-century Islamic palace, and the Pilar has ceilings painted by Goya. It also has the stronger museums. But nothing there matches the Alhambra, and the old core gives way to a modern city sooner.

Both cities have a friendly, student-driven night out rather than a scene worth travelling for. Granada's runs from Calle Elvira and Plaza Nueva to the clubs around Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, and it is lively until the students leave for the summer.

Zaragoza has a few more cocktail and music bars around Plaza San Felipe and the Casco. During the Fiestas del Pilar in October, the streets stay full until dawn for more than a week.

Granada has the much better setting. The Sierra Nevada fills the view from the city, its ski slopes are about 45 minutes away, summer paths lead up towards Mulhacén and the Veleta, and the Alpujarras offer chestnut woods and old mule tracks between villages.

Zaragoza sits on a dry steppe swept by the cierzo wind, and in town the outdoors means the Ebro riverside and the big parks. The Moncayo beech forests, the climbing towers of Mallos de Riglos and the Bardenas badlands are all fine, but each one is a separate drive.

The two cities are equally strong for excursions, in different ways. From Granada, the trips stay in Andalusia: Córdoba's Mezquita by fast train, Málaga and the Antequera dolmens, the Renaissance towns of Úbeda and Baeza, and the white villages of the Alpujarras.

Zaragoza's advantage is the high-speed line, which puts both Madrid and Barcelona about an hour and a half away. Closer to home, Loarre castle, the ruins of Belchite, Tarazona and Alquézar reward a hired car.

Zaragoza is easier with children. The centre is flat with wide pedestrian squares, and the Expo site has a river aquarium next to the playgrounds of the Parque del Agua. In October the Fiestas del Pilar add parades of giants and funfairs.

Granada has one big draw for children in the Parque de las Ciencias, with its planetarium and butterfly house, and the Alhambra's fountains hold their attention. But the Albaicín's stepped lanes are hard going with a pushchair.

Both centres are easy on foot, and neither needs a car until you head into the countryside. The difference is the ground. Granada's lower town is flat, but the Alhambra, the Albaicín and Sacromonte are steep and cobbled, so the small red minibuses do real work.

Zaragoza is level from the Pilar to the Aljafería, and it has a tram through the middle and bike-share stations for longer rides.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and they are close here. Granada is better for handmade souvenirs: taracea inlaid woodwork, blue and green Fajalauza ceramics, and guitars from local workshops, sold around the Alcaicería.

Zaragoza is better for ordinary high-street shopping, with the chains on Paseo de la Independencia and a large mall on the edge of town. Its local finds are edible, such as candied fruit and wine, plus pottery from Muel.

Both are among Spain's cheaper cities, and the costs fall in different places. In Granada, the free tapa keeps evenings cheap, but stays and terraces near the Alhambra cost more, especially on spring weekends.

Zaragoza's central hotels are good value most of the year, and the Pilar basilica is free to enter. The exception is the October fiestas, when rooms fill and prices jump.

Granada has the more memorable stage. Zambra flamenco is danced in the Sacromonte caves, the legacy of Lorca and Falla runs through the city's cultural life, and the summer festival of music and dance, held since 1952, stages performances inside the Alhambra and the Generalife.

Zaragoza's programme is solid but provincial, centred on the Auditorio and the Teatro Principal. Its own tradition, the leaping jota, is mainly on show during the Pilar fiestas, so it's worth checking the programme before you plan an evening around it.

Granada is the better place to unwind. Hammams in the lower Albaicín revive the Moorish ritual of warm and cold pools, the walled gardens of the carmenes give shade, and the spa towns of Lanjarón and Alhama de Granada are both within an hour.

Zaragoza has no bathing tradition of its own beyond hotel spas and an Arab-style bath or two. Its thermal town, Alhama de Aragón, is a separate excursion of a little over an hour. The city offers rest through its slow pace and shady parks, though the summer heat and the cierzo wind work against it.