Madrid or Segovia?

Neither city will give you a beach. Both sit on the landlocked Castilian plateau, a long way from any coast. The difference lies in how you cool off: Madrid has large municipal open-air pools in the city, while Segovia's alternatives are hotel pools and the cold reservoirs and river pools of the Guadarrama foothills, closer to hand but much chillier.

Madrid offers far more choice. Beyond its own cocido, callos and late-night churros, the capital draws in the cooking of every Spanish region, from Galician seafood to Basque grills, with market halls like San Miguel and a serious tier of tasting menus on top.

Segovia is a place for one memorable meal rather than a week of variety. Wood-roasted cochinillo and lechazo, La Granja's judiones beans and ponche segoviano are worth a trip, and Ribera del Duero wines come from close by. After a couple of days, though, the narrow range shows.

Madrid comes out ahead on the strength of its painting. The Prado, the Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza along one avenue add up to days of Velázquez, Goya and Picasso, and the Royal Palace and Habsburg Plaza Mayor fill out a grand but mostly post-medieval city.

Segovia offers what Madrid lacks: older stone. A Roman aqueduct, a late Gothic cathedral, the Alcázar and a run of Romanesque churches and a Jewish quarter make up a single UNESCO townscape. Its museums are modest, and a day or two covers it well.

This is the widest gap between the two. Madrid runs on a late clock, with rock bars in Malasaña, the gay scene in Chueca, terraces in La Latina and big clubs around Gran Vía that keep going past dawn.

Segovia's night is a tapas round and a terrace on Plaza Mayor, with a few student bars at weekends. On weeknights and in winter it is quiet early.

Both look to the Sierra de Guadarrama, but Segovia sits at its foot. The Valsaín forests and the high passes are within half an hour, the mountains fill the view from the Alcázar, and the Hoces del Duratón gorge with its vultures is within reach.

Madrid's own green spaces, the Retiro, Casa de Campo and Madrid Río, are good for a run or a bike ride. For La Pedriza or the lakes below Peñalara, though, you need a trip of about an hour north.

Both make good bases, but Madrid's reach is wider. Fast trains fan out to Toledo, Segovia itself, Salamanca and Cuenca, with El Escorial, Aranjuez and Alcalá de Henares closer in and Córdoba possible on a long day.

Segovia's best outings are near and royal, with La Granja's fountain gardens twenty minutes away and Riofrío close by. With a car, the walled villages of Pedraza and Sepúlveda and the Ribera del Duero vineyards are easy days out, although Toledo and Salamanca are a stretch.

Madrid gives children far more to do. The Retiro's rowing boats and puppet shows, the zoo, aquarium and funfair in Casa de Campo, and Faunia and a theme park further out fill several days, and the flat centre with metro lifts is easy with a pushchair.

Segovia has one big draw for children, the turreted Alcázar on its cliff, plus the aqueduct and the gardens at La Granja. Steep cobbles and no zoo or theme park keep it to a day or two.

Madrid is simpler to get around. Its flat central core is walkable, and a large air-conditioned metro, with a line to the airport, covers the rest without a car.

Segovia's sights all lie along one ridge you can walk in a morning, but the cobbles are steep. The high-speed station is several kilometres out and needs a bus, and the villages and trailheads that make the area special are far easier with a car.

Only Madrid is worth shopping in. It has luxury houses on Calle Serrano, flagship stores and department stores around Sol and Gran Vía, independent design shops in Malasaña and Conde Duque, and El Rastro on Sunday mornings.

Segovia keeps to souvenirs on Calle Real, local ceramics and embroidery, and boxed ponche or La Granja beans to take home.

Segovia is the cheaper stay, especially midweek and in winter, when its small family-run guesthouses cost little. The one splurge is the famous roast by the aqueduct, and weekend rooms in the old town cost more.

Madrid is mid-range for a capital: hotels are priced like a big city, but the midday menu, tapas with a drink and free museum hours keep the days themselves modest.

Madrid has a full stage calendar: opera at the Teatro Real, the national orchestra at the Auditorio Nacional, zarzuela, Gran Vía musicals, jazz clubs and nightly flamenco in the old centre.

Segovia's live arts mostly come with its festivals, chiefly Titirimundi's puppets in spring and summer concerts in churches and palace gardens, with Teatro Juan Bravo for touring shows. Outside those seasons, there is little to see.

Neither has much of a spa tradition. Madrid has a slight edge thanks to its Arab-style bathhouses under brick vaults in the old centre, though the city around them stays loud and late. Segovia's calm comes from its pace: an emptied old town in the evening, walks along the walls and pine air from the sierra.