Limassol or Nicosia?

Limassol lives on its seafront. Beaches of grey sand and fine shingle with sunbeds run from Dasoudi to Amathus, Lady's Mile has quieter space to the west, and the prettier spots at Governor's Beach, Kourion and Pissouri are short drives away. You can swim before breakfast without any planning.

Nicosia has no beach of its own. Larnaca and the Kyrenia coast are each about 45 minutes away, so the sea becomes an outing, and between trips a hotel pool is the only way to cool off in the city.

The two kitchens are close cousins, both built on the long meze of halloumi, tahini, kleftiko and souvla from the charcoal grill. What Limassol adds is wine and the sea. It sits below the vineyard villages that make Xynisteri, Maratheftiko and Commandaria, and its fish tavernas near the old port grill the day's catch. The seafront serves plenty of international resort cooking, but the better meals are in the old town and the hill villages.

Nicosia's difference is the Green Line. Walk across and you are eating Turkish Cypriot food, with kebab grills, lahmacun and syrupy pastries near the Selimiye Mosque, so a single day covers both of the island's cuisines. Away from Cypriot cooking, though, the capital has little international choice.

On sights, Nicosia is clearly the stronger stop. Its Venetian walls, the antiquities of the Cyprus Museum, the icons at the Archbishop's Palace and, north of the line, the Selimiye Mosque and Büyük Han fill two or three days with Lusignan, Venetian, Ottoman and British history.

Limassol's own sights, the small castle museum, the old mixed quarter and the ruins of Amathus, take about a day. Most of the heritage around it lies outside the city, at Kourion and beyond, so culture there means taking a car rather than walking.

Limassol has the livelier evenings of the two. Drinkers fill Saripolou Square and the old-town lanes until the early hours, and the marina adds smarter cocktail bars. In summer, beach bars and a few big clubs on the tourist strip stay open past midnight, helped along by a large international crowd.

Nights out in Nicosia are smaller and more local. Students and young professionals drink on the pavements around Faneromeni Square and Ledra Street, the bars only fill towards midnight, and there are just a handful of clubs outside the walls.

Both cities can reach the Troodos pines and Mount Olympos in about an hour, but Limassol has more right on its doorstep. Flamingos winter on the Akrotiri salt lake, the cliffs at Cape Aspro and Pissouri make good coastal walks, and diving and wind sports are available along the shore.

Nicosia sits on the flat Mesaoria, which turns brown and baking in summer, and its green space is mostly the moat gardens. What it has in its favour is the Kyrenia range to the north, with trails along the ridge looking out to sea, at their best in spring when the plain turns green.

Cyprus is small, so both make good bases, but they look in different directions. From Limassol the easy outings are Kourion and Kolossi to the west, the Paphos mosaics within an hour, Omodos and the painted Troodos churches inland, and Lefkara and Choirokoitia to the east.

Nicosia looks north and east instead: Kyrenia's harbour, Bellapais abbey and St Hilarion over the hills, and walled Famagusta with Roman Salamis beside it. Paphos is a long day from here, and a hire car crossing the Green Line needs extra insurance.

With children, Limassol is much the easier choice. Its city beaches shelve gently into calm water, the promenade suits scooters and pushchairs, and the resort hotels have pools and kids' clubs. A waterpark and a small zoo add a change from the sand.

Children are just as welcome in Nicosia's tavernas, but the city has little made for them beyond playgrounds and the moat gardens, and the beach needs a car. With summer heat often above 35°C, Nicosia works better as a day out from the coast.

Neither city is easy without a car, there is no railway on the island, and traffic in both keeps left. In Limassol the walkable part is the cluster of old town, castle, old port and marina, with the long seafront promenade and the coast-road buses linking the hotel strip.

Nicosia's walkable core is more compact. Everything inside the walls is a short stroll, and the Ledra Street crossing takes you into the north in minutes with a passport or ID. Beyond the walls the suburbs are built for driving and local buses are of little use to visitors.

Neither city is worth the trip for shopping, and both have the usual chain-store streets and outlying brand stores. Limassol adds a few marina boutiques and, more usefully, edible souvenirs from its market and wine villages, with Lefkara lace a short drive away.

Nicosia's distinctive extra is across the Green Line, where the covered Bandabulya market and the lanes near the Selimiye Mosque sell spices, Turkish delight, textiles and copperware. On the south side, the Cyprus Handicraft Centre brings the island's crafts together under one roof.

Nicosia is the cheaper of the two. Meze and souvla lunches fill you up for little, coffee and pastries are inexpensive, and the northern half of the city is cheaper again. Its hotels are mainly for business travellers and mid-range in price, and you will probably need to add a hire car.

In summer, Limassol's beachfront hotels, marina bars and seafront restaurants charge resort prices. Eating in family tavernas away from the coast and avoiding the peak months brings costs down noticeably.

Both scenes are modest and mostly local, but they offer different things. Limassol's highlight is seasonal and scenic: ancient Greek plays staged in the theatre at Kourion above the sea, along with touring shows at the Rialto and Pattihio and a lively carnival before Lent.

As the capital, Nicosia has the island's resident companies, the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the state theatre company. You can also hear rebetiko, folk and jazz in old-town bars and open-air concerts in the moat in summer. In both cities, most drama is in Greek.

The two differ in kind rather than degree. In Limassol, relaxing means resort life: well-equipped hotel spas along the coast and slow evening walks on the promenade.

Nicosia offers something the coast does not, a real Ottoman bathing tradition, with steam and massage in the domed 16th-century Omeriye Hammam and in the old baths of the north. For real quiet, people from both cities head up to the Troodos villages.