Lagos, Portugal or Seville?

There is no real contest here. In Lagos the sea is at the end of the streets. Sheltered coves such as Camilo and Pinhão sit beneath the cliffs, the long open sand of Meia Praia lies across the river, and the west coast surf beaches are half an hour away.

Seville is inland, so the sea means a trip to the Huelva coast at Matalascañas or Mazagón, well over an hour by road. A beach day is perfectly possible and the water is pleasant in summer, but in the city itself, swimming means a hotel rooftop or a municipal pool.

Seville is the better place to eat. Tapas are a way of life there. You stand at tile-fronted counters in Triana or El Arenal and work through salmorejo, pork cheek and fried fish with a fino or manzanilla, which makes every evening a meal worth planning.

Lagos is simpler and narrower. Grilled sardines and octopus, cataplana and the catch at the riverside market are very good. But the photo-menu restaurants of the old town pull the average down, and the best meals take some finding in the family places and harbour fish restaurants.

Here Seville is far ahead. The Real Alcázar, the cathedral with the Giralda and the Archivo de Indias together make one of Europe's great clusters of monuments. Casa de Pilatos, Plaza de España and the Museo de Bellas Artes add several more days.

Lagos has a story of its own as a base for the fifteenth-century voyages along the African coast. It is told through its walls, the harbour fort, the gilded interior of Santo António and the slave market museum, but all of it fits into a morning.

Seville has the fuller evening. Dinner starts at ten, and the night then moves on to the terraces of Triana, the mixed and LGBT-friendly bars of the Alameda de Hércules and, in summer, the bars along the river. It is a local scene that runs all year. Neither city is built for serious clubbing.

Lagos is younger and rowdier in summer. It is a bar town of backpackers, surfers and pub crawls, with a few small clubs open until near dawn, but it goes quiet from November to March.

Lagos puts the outdoors at the edge of town. From the walls you can walk out along the clifftops towards Luz and Burgau, with the sea below you all the way. Boats leave the harbour to look for dolphins, and the Alvor estuary just east of town is a quiet place for watching wading birds. Summer gets hot and dusty once you leave the shore, so spring and autumn are the seasons for long walks.

Seville's outdoor life in town is mostly along the river. You can cycle the riverside paths or row and kayak on the old channel of the Guadalquivir, and María Luisa Park has shade. For wilder country you need a full day out, either a guided 4x4 trip into the Doñana wetlands to see flamingos and migrating birds or an easy hike in the cork-oak hills of the Sierra Norte.

Seville is much the better base. Córdoba and its Great Mosque are under an hour away by high-speed train, and Jerez and Cádiz are easy by rail. Carmona, Itálica and the white villages fill further days.

From Lagos, the best outing is to Sagres and Cape St Vincent at the south-western tip of Europe, with Silves's Moorish castle and Tavira for longer days. It is a pleasant list, but you need a car, and many visitors simply move from beach to beach instead.

Lagos is the easier family choice, mainly because the vacation can be built around the sand. Meia Praia shelves gently and has room to spread out, and children enjoy the boat trips to the grottoes. The cliff coves mean steep stairways, though, and the cobbles are hard work with a pushchair.

Seville has a flat centre, rowing boats at Plaza de España, the maze in the Alcázar gardens, and a theme park and water park on La Cartuja. Its summer heat, which often passes 40°C, is the real problem, so it works best for families in spring or autumn.

Both centres are walkable, but Seville's is flat while some of Lagos's cobbled lanes are steep. Seville also has a tram, a metro line, buses and a bike-share scheme on a wide network of lanes, plus fast trains for days out. Only the midday summer heat gets in the way.

Lagos is easy within town, and a footbridge crosses to Meia Praia. Beyond it, though, the trains are slow and the buses infrequent, so most visitors hire a car for the west coast or the hills.

Seville has more to buy, and much of it is the real thing. There are tiles and ceramics from the Triana workshops, and flamenco dresses, mantillas and fans on Calle Sierpes and Calle Cuna, made for locals preparing for the Fair. Add the high-street chains and the Thursday market on Calle Feria.

In Lagos, shopping is browsing on the way to dinner: painted ceramics, cork goods, sardine tins and surf gear, with honey and medronho at the market. Neither city has much luxury shopping.

Overall the two cost much the same, with Seville a little cheaper day to day, mostly because tapas evenings and a walkable centre keep spending down. Its hotel rates climb steeply during Holy Week and the April Fair but are good value in the summer heat.

Lagos works the other way round. July and August are its expensive months, with resort prices on the main streets, while rooms are much cheaper from October to May. Its beaches are free all year.

Seville is the home of flamenco. There are performances every night in tablaos, cultural centres and local peñas, and the Bienal de Flamenco is held in autumn of even-numbered years. The Teatro de la Maestranza adds opera and the city's symphony orchestra, fitting for the city where Carmen and The Barber of Seville are set.

Lagos offers fado and guitar evenings for visitors, cover bands in the bars and a modest programme at its cultural centre. For serious concerts you have to go to Faro or Lisbon.

Neither city is a spa destination, and in both the real luxury is the slow pace, though it takes different forms. Lagos offers sea air, sunset walks on the cliffs and a scattering of yoga and surf retreats around Luz and the west coast. The thermal springs of Caldas de Monchique, used since Roman times, are an hour inland.

Seville's version is urban: Arab-style baths in old mansions, cool tiled courtyards and the Alcázar gardens during the afternoon lull. For rest, both are best outside their busiest times, August in Lagos and Holy Week and the Fair in Seville.