Madrid or Santiago de Compostela?

Neither is a beach destination, but Santiago at least has the sea within reach. The white-sand inlets of the Ría de Muros e Noia and the Ría de Arousa are about 35km away. They are sheltered and calm, though the water is cold and the season is short.

Madrid has no coast within a day's travel. Swimming there in summer means the municipal open-air pools or the reservoirs below the Sierra de Guadarrama.

Madrid offers more range. It has its own Castilian dishes such as cocido and callos, the tapas counters of La Latina and Lavapiés, cooking from every Spanish region and a serious tier of tasting menus. Eating late and standing up is part of the pleasure.

Santiago does one thing superbly. Octopus, scallops and percebes from the Mercado de Abastos, with a glass of Albariño on Rúa do Franco, are Galician seafood at the source. Madrid has Galician seafood houses of its own, though, and once you look beyond the seafood Santiago has much less choice.

Madrid is by far the stronger art city. The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen stand along one avenue and hold Velázquez, Goya and Guernica. The Royal Palace and Plaza Mayor add royal grandeur, although little of the city is medieval.

Santiago works the other way round: one great building and its setting. The cathedral, the Pórtico da Gloria and the Obradoiro square, with the UNESCO-listed granite old town around them, give a more complete sense of age. Two or three days see it all.

Madrid is one of Europe's great late-night cities. The clubs run from two until dawn, and Malasaña, Chueca, La Latina and Huertas each have their own scene.

Santiago's nights are smaller and more intimate: wine on Rúa do Franco, pub-like bars around Praza de Cervantes, folk sessions and a student Thursday. In summer the university is out and the pilgrims go to bed early, so the gap between the two cities grows even wider.

The two are about level for the outdoors, but the landscapes are very different. Madrid's outdoors is mountains. The Sierra de Guadarrama, an hour north, has granite peaks above 2,400m, the boulders of La Pedriza, the lakes below Peñalara and some winter skiing. The plains nearer the city are dry farmland.

Santiago's outdoors is green, wet and coastal. Camino paths lead straight out of town. The cliffs of the Costa da Morte, the old woodland of the Fragas do Eume and kayaking in the rías are an hour or two away, but there are no high mountains.

Madrid has one of the best rings of day trips in Europe, and fast trains make them easy. Toledo and Segovia are about half an hour away, walled Ávila, Salamanca and Cuenca a little further, and El Escorial and Aranjuez close in. These are the Roman and medieval towns Madrid itself lacks.

Santiago's range is good but more regional. A Coruña's Tower of Hercules, Lugo's Roman walls and Ourense's springs are easy by train. The Rías Baixas wine villages and the fishing ports of Fisterra and Muxía really need a car or a tour.

Madrid is much the easier city with children. The Retiro's rowing boats and puppet shows, the zoo, aquarium and funfair in Casa de Campo, and metro stations with lifts keep things simple, as long as you avoid the heat of July and August.

Santiago is safe and welcoming, but beyond its parks it has little made for children, and its cobbles and slopes are hard work with a pushchair. Most families will rely on A Coruña's aquarium and the coast.

Both centres are walkable, but Madrid adds a large, air-conditioned metro with a line to the airport. Its stations at Atocha and Chamartín link straight into the high-speed network, so you need no car anywhere in the city.

You can cross Santiago's old town on foot in twenty minutes, on granite that turns slippery in the rain and with a few climbs. Buses and coastal trains reach the main towns, but the beaches and wine country are hard to reach without a car.

Madrid is a proper shopping city. It has luxury houses on Calle Serrano, flagship stores around Gran Vía and Preciados, independent and vintage shops in Malasaña and Chueca, and El Rastro on Sunday mornings.

Shopping in Santiago means crafts and food rather than fashion. Jet carved in the Azabachería, Sargadelos ceramics, tetilla cheese and tinned seafood make good gifts. Beyond these, the shops sell mostly pilgrim souvenirs or are ordinary high-street chains.

Santiago is the cheaper city. Free tapas with a drink, cheaper seafood and wine, pilgrim hostels and a centre that costs nothing to cross all keep a stay modest. The exception is the feast of Saint James in July, when rooms cost more.

Madrid is mid-priced for a capital. Hotels cost what you would expect in a major city, but the menú del día, cheap tapas and the museums' free hours keep the cost of each day under control.

Madrid has a full stage calendar. The Teatro Real stages opera opposite the Royal Palace, the Auditorio Nacional is home to the national orchestra, and the Teatro de la Zarzuela keeps Spain's own light opera alive. Gran Vía has its long-running musicals, and the better tablaos in the old centre put on serious flamenco every night. There are also long-established jazz clubs, and Malasaña has a busy circuit of rock and indie venues.

Santiago's offer is smaller and more local. The Real Filharmonía de Galicia plays a season at the Auditorio de Galicia, and the Teatro Principal stages drama, mostly in Galician and Spanish. The sounds most visitors remember are bagpipes in old-town bars and student tunas singing in their capes. There is no opera to speak of.

Madrid is not built for rest. It keeps late, noisy hours, and calm comes in small doses: an Arab-style bathhouse in the old centre, a hotel spa, or a lazy afternoon in the Retiro or the Botanical Garden.

Santiago is the easier place to unwind. Once the day's pilgrims have arrived, the arcades go quiet for slow evening walks. The old spa towns of Caldas de Reis and Cuntis, or Ourense's riverside thermal pools, make an easy outing to rest walking legs.