Izmir or Kusadasi?

Kusadasi has the better beaches because the sand is right there. Ladies Beach is at the edge of the centre, Long Beach and Pamucak are a short ride away, and the clearer pebble and sand coves of the Dilek Peninsula are about half an hour south. The trade-off is that the town beaches are built up and crowded in summer.

Izmir's own waterfront is not for swimming, so a beach day means travelling about an hour west to Ilica and the wilder coves of the Çeşme peninsula, or south to the family strips at Gümüldür. The water is just as warm. Expect stronger northerly winds on the peninsula, and the beaches are a day out rather than part of the stay.

Izmir eats far better. It has its own Aegean cooking built on olive oil, wild greens and herbs, street classics like boyoz, gevrek and kumru, a fish and spice market in Kemeraltı, and Urla wine from just outside the city. Meze-and-rakı evenings by the water are part of the reason to come.

Kusadasi serves the same kind of Aegean food, but the resort strip leans on international menus and hotel buffets. The good meals are in the meyhanes of Kaleiçi and the plain lunchtime lokantas, so it is worth making the effort to find them.

Izmir has much more to see within the city itself. The excavated Roman Agora of ancient Smyrna, the walls of Kadifekale above the gulf, the Clock Tower on Konak Square, the old caravanserais of Kemeraltı and two worthwhile museums fill a couple of days. The 1922 fire left the centre mostly modern, but the old layers are still there to find.

Kusadasi's town sights are the little fortress on Pigeon Island, the Öküz Mehmet Pasha caravanserai and a few lanes of Kaleiçi, and an hour or two covers them all. Its history is out of town, at the ancient sites.

Izmir has more going on, and it runs all year. Evenings begin with drinks on the Kordon at sunset and move into the crowded bar lanes of Alsancak, where small pubs and rock bars spill into the street, with student bars in Bornova as well. The big summer clubs are an hour away in Alaçatı.

Kusadasi does have clubs of its own, along Bar Street and the open-air venues near Long Beach. They are loud, young and full of package travellers in July and August, and almost nothing is open out of season.

Both have fine landscapes, and in both the best of it is by the sea. Izmir's stands out for the flamingos of the Gediz Delta, the cliffs and olive groves of Karaburun, world-class windsurfing at Alaçatı, and mountains inland, with Bozdağ even offering winter skiing.

Kusadasi's highlight is the Dilek Peninsula national park on its doorstep, where you can walk a canyon, spot wild horses and snorkel or dive in clear water. Further inland are the granite Latmos mountains above Lake Bafa. For walkers in both, spring and autumn are the seasons to go.

Both make excellent bases, but they point in different directions. Kusadasi is the closer base for Ephesus, about 20 minutes away, and for Priene, Miletus and Didyma to the south. In summer it also has a ferry to Samos, so you can add a Greek island.

Izmir has the wider range. Ephesus is an hour away by train, but Pergamon and Sardis are also within reach, along with Alaçatı, Old Foça and the Urla vineyards. The southern Ionian sites are a long day from Izmir.

Kusadasi suits a simple family beach vacation better. It has sandy beaches with gentle entry into the water, resort hotels with kids' clubs and pools, and two water parks on the edge of town. The downsides are a hilly centre with busy roads and nothing for children besides water.

Izmir offers more variety, though you need a bit more planning to use it. Children can scoot along the flat Kordon, visit the Sasalı Wildlife Park and ride the bay ferries, but the shallow beaches at Ilica are an hour away.

Izmir is the easier place to get around. The flat walk from Konak to Alsancak covers the centre, and a metro, the İZBAN suburban railway, trams, buses and the bay ferries all run on one card. The city is spread out, though, and the coastal roads clog at rush hour.

Kusadasi's harbour and Kaleiçi are compact but steep in places, and pavements are patchy. Dolmuş minibuses handle the beaches and Selçuk well, but hotels strung along the coast road are often far from the centre. In both places, a hire car or tour is the easier way to reach most of the ruins.

Izmir is better for shopping, and Kemeraltı is the main reason. It is a working bazaar where locals buy fabrics, copperware, olive oil soap and spices in old hans, with few souvenir sellers. Alsancak and the malls cover fashion.

Kusadasi's bazaar is aimed at cruise passengers, with leather, carpets, jewellery and imitation designer goods sold with a hard pitch. The weekly market is the better buy there, for figs, olive oil and spices.

Costs are similar in both, and in both the money goes on similar things. Izmir is cheapest for daily life: street breakfasts, lokanta lunches and ferry rides cost little. Seafood dinners with alcohol are what push the bill up.

Kusadasi's savings are in the hotels, with mid-range rooms and all-inclusive packages that undercut other Aegean resorts. What costs more there is eating and drinking on the harbour front. In either place, entry fees to Ephesus and other sites add up.

The gap is wide. Izmir has state opera, ballet, symphony and theatre companies, performing in venues such as the historic Elhamra, and its summer festival stages concerts in the ancient theatre at Ephesus. Outside the festival, much of the theatre is in Turkish.

Kusadasi has no theatre, opera or concert season, only Turkish-night dinner shows, covers bands and the odd open-air summer concert.

Izmir has the edge, because its bathing belongs to the city rather than being laid on for visitors. Thermal water from the Balçova springs, used since ancient times, feeds pools and hotels on the western edge of town. Ilıca has warm springs rising near the beach, and a few old hammams in Kemeraltı still serve local people. Even so, Izmir's spas are mostly inside hotels, and none of them is worth the journey on its own.

Kusadasi has nothing like the thermal pools. Apart from one historic bath in the old quarter, a scrub and steam usually means a resort hotel, with foam massage pitched at guests rather than locals. How restful the stay is depends on timing. The centre is noisy in July and August, so the shoulder months and the quiet coves south of town are the better choice for unwinding.