Madrid or Zaragoza?

Neither city has a beach. Madrid sits in the middle of the plateau and Zaragoza is more than 200km from the Mediterranean, so in both a summer swim means a municipal open-air pool. The one difference is that madrileños also drive out to the reservoirs below the Sierra de Guadarrama, while Zaragoza's Ebro is not used for swimming.

Both cities eat the same way, standing at tapas counters late into the evening, but Madrid has far more range. Alongside Castilian cocido and calamares sandwiches, the capital brings in Galician seafood, Basque grills and a serious tier of tasting menus, and its market halls double as places to eat.

Zaragoza's food is narrower and more local. A crawl through the El Tubo lanes, where each bar is known for one speciality, is memorable, and ternasco lamb and the nearby reds are worth seeking out. Fine dining and international food are thin, though.

Madrid is the city for great painting. The Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen-Bornemisza can fill several days between them, with the Royal Palace, Plaza Mayor and Goya's frescoes in San Antonio de la Florida on top.

Zaragoza's history is older and comes in more layers: the Roman forum and theatre, the eleventh-century Islamic Aljafería, the Mudéjar wall of La Seo and the Pilar basilica with its Goya ceilings. It has the medieval fabric Madrid lacks, but its sights take two or three days rather than a week.

Madrid's nights are among the latest in Europe. They go on every weekend of the year and all week in summer, and the choice runs from indie bars in Malasaña and the gay scene in Chueca to big clubs around Gran Vía and Sol.

Zaragoza has a friendly night out, driven by students, around Plaza San Felipe and the Casco. It is busy from Thursday through the weekend but quiet on ordinary weeknights, with only a handful of clubs. The great exception is the Fiestas del Pilar in October.

Both cities sit on hot, dry plains with the real scenery an hour or more away, so the difference lies in how easily you reach it. Madrid's Sierra de Guadarrama is about an hour north, with the boulders of La Pedriza, the lakes below Peñalara and winter skiing at Navacerrada. In town, the Retiro, Casa de Campo and Madrid Río give plenty of room to run.

Zaragoza's surroundings are more varied but more spread out: beech woods on Moncayo, the climbing towers of the Mallos de Riglos, the Bardenas Reales badlands and the Pyrenees two hours north. Most of these need a car.

From Madrid, fast trains reach Toledo and Segovia in about half an hour, with Ávila, Salamanca and Cuenca not far beyond, so a week of historic cities without a car is easy. Zaragoza's great advantage is its position: Madrid and Barcelona are each about an hour and a half away by train. Around Aragon, Loarre, Tarazona, Belchite and Albarracín are rewarding, but most of them need a hired car.

Madrid gives children more to do. There are rowing boats and puppet shows in the Retiro, the zoo, aquarium, cable car and funfair in Casa de Campo, and a Warner Bros park and Faunia further out. Zaragoza is smaller and calmer, with the river aquarium on the Expo site, the Parque del Agua and a modest amusement park at Parque Grande. In both cities children out late are normal, and July and August are hard going.

Both centres are flat and walkable, and you don't need a car in either city. Madrid also has one of Europe's largest metro systems, with a line to the airport. Atocha and Chamartín connect directly to the high-speed network, which matters in a city this spread out.

Zaragoza has a single tram line, buses and bike-share. That is enough, because its main sights lie between the Pilar and the Aljafería, and a car is only useful for rural Aragon.

Madrid is a real shopping destination. It has luxury houses on Calle Serrano, flagships on Gran Vía, independent and vintage shops in Malasaña and Chueca, and El Rastro on Sunday mornings. Zaragoza covers the chains and a department store around Paseo de la Independencia, but it has little luxury or independent design. Its best buys are candied fruit, local wine and ceramics from Muel.

Madrid is mid-range for a Western European capital. Hotels charge what you would expect in a big city, but food keeps the rest of the day reasonable: a midday menú del día, tapas with a drink, and free entry at set times to the Prado and its neighbours.

Zaragoza costs less across the board, and the gap is clearest once you leave the hotel. Tapas in El Tubo and the set lunches are generous for what they cost, the Aljafería and the old-town museums cost little to visit, and the compact centre means you mostly walk rather than pay for transport. The one time to budget more is October, when the Fiestas del Pilar fill the rooms and push prices up.

Madrid has the stage life of a capital: opera at the Teatro Real, the national orchestra at the Auditorio Nacional, zarzuela, musicals on Gran Vía, jazz clubs and flamenco every night in the tablaos of the old centre.

Zaragoza's programme is reliable but provincial. It centres on its Auditorio and the nineteenth-century Teatro Principal, so you plan around what is on. Its own tradition is the jota, Aragon's leaping folk dance, rather than flamenco.

Neither city is built for relaxing. Both offer hotel spas and Arab-style baths rather than a bathing culture of their own, so the difference is pace. In Madrid's late, noisy rhythm, calm comes in pockets, such as a long lunch or the Botanical Garden. Zaragoza's provincial pace and evening walks along the Ebro feel easier, and the thermal waters of Alhama de Aragón are an excursion away.