Jerez de la Frontera or Marbella?

Jerez has no beach of its own. The Atlantic sands of Valdelagrana, Cádiz and, further out, Sanlúcar or La Barrosa are a train ride or a short drive away. They are wide and golden but exposed to the Levante wind, so a swim there means planning a day out.

Marbella has the sea on its doorstep, with more than two dozen beaches along roughly 27km of shore, chiringuitos grilling sardines and generally calmer, clearer water. The sand is greyer, but a beach is part of every day rather than an excursion.

Both eat well, but in different directions. Jerez goes deep into one tradition: sherry tasted in the bodegas and tabancos, oxtail and kidneys cooked in it, berza stew, and fish from the nearby coast at late tapas around Plaza del Arenal.

Marbella has the wider range, from sardines skewered over beach fires to tasting menus on the Golden Mile and around Puerto Banús. The middle ground by the port is weak, though, and the good everyday cooking is a few streets inland in the old town.

Jerez has far more to see, and much of it is unique to the town. There is the Almohad Alcázar with its Arab baths, the Baroque cathedral, the old parish churches, the barrel-filled bodegas as working heritage, and the dressage horses of the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art. Two or three days are well spent here.

Marbella's old town around the Plaza de los Naranjos, the Spanish prints museum and the Dalí bronzes on the Avenida del Mar fill an afternoon. For major monuments you have to drive elsewhere.

Marbella is the place for a big night out in summer. Beach clubs with DJs run into evening parties, and the champagne bars and clubs at Puerto Banús stay open until dawn for an international, well-off crowd. From November to March it goes quiet.

Jerez keeps to tabancos, copa bars and late tapas terraces, which are friendly but provincial. The exception is Feria del Caballo week in May, when the casetas carry on until morning.

Marbella has the mountains closer. Sierra Blanca rises right behind the town, La Concha is a demanding half-day climb with views to Morocco, and the fir forests of the Sierra de las Nieves are under an hour away. On the water there is paddleboarding and dolphin-watching, and the mild winters allow walking all year.

Around Jerez the vineyards on white albariza soil are gentle country. The gorges of Grazalema, the cork oaks of Los Alcornocales and Doñana need a drive or a boat from Sanlúcar, and the summer heat limits hiking to spring and autumn. In return Jerez offers horse riding and birdwatching in the Bay of Cádiz marshes.

Both make strong bases, but they point in different directions. From Jerez, Seville and Cádiz are easy by train, the other sherry towns are close, and Arcos and the white towns of the hills open up by car.

Marbella faces east and inland, towards Málaga, Ronda, Mijas and Casares, with Granada as a long day. There is no train, so nearly all of it is done by road.

Marbella is the easier choice with children. The town beaches are sheltered and lifeguarded, the long flat promenade suits buggies, many apartments are built around pools, and the coast has an animal park, a zoo, water parks and an aquarium within driving distance.

Jerez has a good zoo and botanical garden, the dancing horses, and wide, gently sloping beaches nearby. Beyond those there is little built for children, and the town is hotter in July and August.

Jerez is much easier without a car. The sights, bodegas and tapas streets are a short, flat walk apart, and the station near the centre has direct trains to Seville, Cádiz and the airport. You only need a hire car for the hills and the white towns.

Marbella stretches from San Pedro to Cabopino and has no railway. The old town and the promenade are pleasant on foot, but reaching the port, the beach clubs and most day trips means buses, taxis or your own car.

Marbella is a real shopping destination if you are after luxury. International fashion and jewellery boutiques line Puerto Banús, a department store and malls stand nearby, and the old-town lanes have linen, leather and ceramics.

Jerez offers little browsing, but what it has is its own: sherry and brandy bought at the bodegas, saddlery and leather riding boots made for the horse world, and flamenco dresses, shawls and guitars near the old quarters.

Jerez is much the cheaper stay. Sherry and tapas in the tabancos cost little, central hotels are moderately priced, bodega tours are inexpensive and you seldom pay for transport. Rooms only become expensive during the Feria, the flamenco festival and the motorcycle race weekends.

Marbella is expensive, especially in July and August around Puerto Banús and the beach clubs. To cut the cost, eat at old-town tapas bars, come outside summer or stay in a neighbouring town.

Flamenco is the dividing line. In Jerez, the home of the bulería, it is still a local art. You can hear it close up in the peñas of Santiago and San Miguel and in the tabancos, and the late-winter festival brings major dancers to the Teatro Villamarta.

Marbella has big summer pop and rock concerts in its quarry amphitheatre, and flamenco shows staged for visitors. For opera, classical music or serious flamenco, people travel to Málaga.

Marbella has the spa resorts, retreats and detox clinics of the Golden Mile and the hills behind it. From October to May it is calm and mild, with promenade walks and golf, though high summer is anything but restful.

Jerez has one Arab-style bathhouse and a few hotel spas. Its restfulness comes from long lunches, shaded patios and a quiet afternoon rhythm, not from treatments.