Malaga or Rabat?

Malaga is a real beach city. La Malagueta is a short walk from the cathedral, family beaches continue through Pedregalejo and El Palo, and the suburban train runs to the long resort beaches of the Costa del Sol. The sand is plain, but for clearer water the coves at Nerja and Maro are about an hour away.

Rabat's beach below the kasbah walls faces the open Atlantic. It is used for football and surfing, and the currents keep swimmers close to shore. The calmer beaches towards Temara and Skhirat are better, but most visitors will treat the beach as an afternoon out rather than a reason to choose the city.

Malaga gives a visitor more to eat and drink. Tapas bars fill the lanes off Calle Larios, sardines roast on the beach at El Palo, the Atarazanas market has counters where you can eat, and sweet moscatel is poured at old bodegas.

Rabat offers honest Moroccan home cooking, such as Friday couscous, harira and snail broth from evening stalls, without the tourist show of the larger medinas, and Agdal adds Lebanese and French restaurants. With alcohol hard to find outside hotels and a narrower range overall, it is pleasant eating rather than a reason to travel.

The two are evenly matched, but their strengths differ. Malaga's appeal is art and layered history in a small core: the Alcazaba and Roman theatre on one hillside, an unfinished cathedral, and the Picasso Museum and Carmen Thyssen collection a few streets away.

Rabat's strength is monuments and the look of the city itself, listed by UNESCO as a whole. There is the blue-and-white Kasbah of the Udayas, the Hassan Tower among its broken columns, and the stork-covered ruins of the Chellah. It also takes a little longer to see, at two or three days against Malaga's two.

There is a large gap here. Malaga's old town stays full past two on summer weekends, beach bars at Pedregalejo stay open late, and Torremolinos and Marbella are close for clubbing.

Rabat is quiet after dark. Evenings mean cafés, family walks along the Bou Regreg and a few hotel bars and lounges in Agdal, and anyone after a big night out goes to Casablanca.

Malaga has far more landscape within reach. The pine-covered Montes de Malaga start at the city's edge, the Caminito del Rey gorge walk and El Torcal's limestone formations are about an hour away, and the Sierra Nevada offers skiing in winter.

Rabat's outdoors is gentler: surfing at the river mouth, paddling on the estuary, cycling in the Maamora cork oak forest and birdwatching at Sidi Boughaba. With the mountains several hours away, there is no serious hiking without an overnight trip.

Malaga makes the stronger base for days out. Cordoba's Mezquita and Granada's Alhambra are both within easy reach by train, and Ronda, Antequera's dolmens and Nerja with Frigiliana fill out a long list of good options.

Rabat's advantage is Morocco's best rail line, which reaches Casablanca, Tangier, Asilah and Meknes, with Salé's medina a short tram ride across the river. The choice is still narrower than Malaga's, and Fez and Volubilis need an overnight stay.

Malaga is easier with children. Its city beaches shelve gently into calm water, children are welcome in tapas bars late into the evening, and the suburban train reaches the Bioparc zoo, Sea Life and Selwo Marina along the coast.

Rabat is relaxed and welcoming, with little hassle in the medina, a large modern zoo and gardens where children can run around. Beyond those, there is little aimed at children, and the strong surf on the city beach needs a close watch.

Both centres are flat and easy to walk, but Malaga is slightly easier. Its pedestrianised core puts the museums, market and beach a few minutes apart, and the suburban train reaches the airport in about ten minutes. A car only becomes useful for the white villages and the gorges.

Rabat's sights are spread along the river and linked by the tram and cheap petit taxis. Its central station means the main day trips need no car at all.

Malaga has more range for general shopping. Calle Larios is lined with Spanish chains, Muelle Uno has shops along the port, and the Atarazanas market sells olive oil, ham and sweet wine to take home.

Rabat's draw is craft. On Rue des Consuls you can find the city's own deep-coloured carpets, leather and brass, with gentler haggling than in other Moroccan souks. Its modern shops are limited, though, and its souks are less extensive than those elsewhere in the country.

Rabat is the cheaper stay day to day. Medina meals, mint tea on café terraces, the tram and petit taxis cost little, and the main sights are nearly free. The costs to watch are business-style hotels and alcohol.

Malaga is fair value for eating, with tapas and fried fish, but rooms near the old town and the beach are in high demand from spring to autumn. Staying slightly outside the centre or coming in winter helps.

Neither city is a destination for the performing arts, and they are close, but the experience differs. In Malaga there is regular programming at the Teatro Cervantes and flamenco, which is best heard in the local peñas, along with the street processions of Semana Santa.

In Rabat the big event is the Mawazine festival, with international and Gnawa acts on open-air stages. The rest of the year, theatre programmes are irregular and mostly in Arabic and French.

Rabat is the more restful choice. The hammam is part of everyday life there, with simple local bathhouses in the medina and Salé, or more comfortable hotel versions with argan oil massage, and the city's calm adds to the effect.

Malaga's offer is one Moorish-style bathhouse in the old town and resort spas towards Marbella. Long lunches and the siesta are more restful there than the facilities.