Larnaca or Paphos?

Both are beach towns first, and the sea is just as warm in each. What differs is where the sand is. In Larnaca the beach is right in town: Finikoudes runs in front of the old centre, with fine greyish sand and shallow water, and Mackenzie has livelier beach bars further south.

The town beaches in Paphos are short, shingly and often rocky to get into, so the good beach days happen elsewhere. Coral Bay's sandy crescent is about 13km north, and Lara Bay on the Akamas is wild and undeveloped. From Larnaca, the white sand of Ayia Napa and Protaras is a longer trip east.

The food is much the same in both: Cypriot meze, kleftiko and grilled meats, with a tourist-facing seafront to avoid. The difference is where you go to eat well. Larnaca's strength is fish, cooked near the old fishing harbour and along the coast towards Mazotos.

In Paphos the better meals are inland, in the tavernas of Ktima and the hill villages, with local wine from Laona and Kathikas. Neither has fine dining, and from Larnaca it is easier to get to Nicosia or Limassol when you want more variety.

Here Paphos has much more to offer. The Kato Paphos archaeological park, inscribed by UNESCO, has Roman villas whose floor mosaics, above all in the House of Dionysus, rank among the finest in the Mediterranean. Add an odeon, the Tombs of the Kings by the shore and St Paul's Pillar, and you have several days of sightseeing.

Larnaca's highlights fit into a day or two: the ninth-century Church of Saint Lazarus, Hala Sultan Tekke on the edge of the Salt Lake, the foundations of ancient Kition and a stroll through the old Skala quarter. These are worthwhile, but they are not a reason to plan a trip.

Neither is a big night out, but Paphos has a bit more going on. Its Bar Street in Kato Paphos packs pubs, karaoke and a few clubs into one strip that stays open into the small hours in summer, which suits groups.

Larnaca's evenings mean cocktail bars along Finikoudes and DJs at the Mackenzie beach bars. For proper clubbing you have to go to Ayia Napa, about forty minutes away. Both towns go quiet in winter.

Paphos has the wilder and more varied landscape. The protected Akamas peninsula has roadless coast, sea caves and turtles nesting in summer, Avakas Gorge cuts between limestone walls, and the Paphos Forest shelters mouflon and the Cedar Valley.

The country around Larnaca is flatter and drier. Its main draws are the flamingos on the winter Salt Lake and the Zenobia wreck offshore, one of the world's best-known dives. Cape Greco's cliffs and sea caves are an hour east.

Both make good bases for touring, but they open up different halves of the island. From Larnaca, Nicosia is only about forty minutes away. Lefkara's lace village, the Neolithic site at Choirokoitia and the Stavrovouni monastery are close, and you can cross north to walled Famagusta.

Paphos looks west and up into the mountains. Along the coast road are the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, Kourion and Kolossi, and inland are the wine villages around Omodos and the painted Troodos churches. Nicosia is a much longer drive from here.

Paphos gives families more to do. Coral Bay's shallow sand suits small children, resort hotels along the coast have kids' clubs, and there is a water park, a zoo near Peyia, boat trips, and mosaics and tombs that keep older children interested.

Larnaca makes the travel easier: the airport is minutes away and the gently shelving town beach is right on the promenade. Once you are there, though, there is less to do, and the waterpark is in Ayia Napa. The midsummer heat is hard on children in both towns.

Larnaca is the easier town to manage without a car. The seafront, old town, Saint Lazarus and the fort are all a flat walk apart, the airport is a short ride, and intercity buses link it with Nicosia, Limassol and Ayia Napa.

Paphos is more spread out. Hotels stretch a long way along the coast, the upper town of Ktima is a steep climb from the harbour, and buses do little for the gorges and villages. Most visitors hire a car in both, and Cyprus drives on the left.

Shopping is thin in both, and the best buys are local crafts. Larnaca has a little more of the ordinary kind, with high-street chains on Ermou and Zinonos Kitieos and a mall, plus pottery workshops in Skala and Lefkara lace nearby. Paphos has the old covered market in Ktima, and you buy honey, carob products and wine in the villages where they are made.

The two cost about the same, and they follow the same pattern: meze is generous for what you pay, sights and buses are cheap, seafront hotels cost more in July and August, and winter is clearly cheaper. In Larnaca you save by eating a few streets back from Finikoudes. Paphos spreads further, so car hire is more of an essential than an option.

Neither town has a regular programme to plan a trip around, but each has one summer or autumn event worth timing a visit for. Larnaca has the summer Larnaca Festival, with open-air music and dance at the fort, and Nicosia's concerts and theatre are close. Paphos has the Aphrodite Festival, open-air opera in front of the harbour castle in early autumn, and an occasional performance at the ancient odeon.

In both towns a spa means a large resort hotel, and the slow pace does most of the relaxing. In Larnaca those hotels are east of town, and the appeal is long seafront coffees and a mild, quiet winter. In Paphos the spas are on the seafront itself, and the calm is in the villages a short drive inland, best outside the summer peak.