Malaga or Tangier?

Malaga has much the stronger beach life. La Malagueta is a short walk from the cathedral, the shore runs on through the old fishing quarters of Pedregalejo and El Palo, and the suburban train reaches the resort beaches of the Costa del Sol. The sand is plain, but Nerja's clear-water coves are an hour away.

In Tangier the city beach is nicer to look at than to swim from. A proper swim means a taxi west to the wide Atlantic beaches around Achakar and Cap Spartel, where the water is cooler and there is surf, or a trip down to Asilah. Beachwear is more modest, and the sea is a side note to the city rather than a reason to come.

Both are fish cities, but Malaga offers more choice. You can eat at the tapas bars in the old-town lanes, have espetos grilled over driftwood on the sand and stop at the counters in the Atarazanas market. Moscatel is poured from the barrel at old bodegas, and a modest tier of ambitious restaurants sits on top.

Tangier serves Moroccan home cooking: tagines, harira, bissara at breakfast and fish chosen at the port. The day centres on the café terrace and mint tea. The range is narrower, fine dining is scarce, and a glass of wine with dinner takes some planning.

Malaga packs more into its small core. The Roman theatre and the Moorish Alcazaba stand side by side below the unfinished cathedral, and a run of good museums is led by the Picasso Museum and the Carmen Thyssen collection. It is a city of art collections as much as monuments.

Tangier's draw is atmosphere and story rather than galleries. The kasbah museum, the American Legation and the Art Deco streets of the Ville Nouvelle recall its international era and the Beat writers who passed through. Often the whitewashed medina itself is the main sight.

The gap here is wide. Malaga's nights start with dinner at ten and carry on through the bars around Plaza de la Merced and Calle Granada. Beach bars at Pedregalejo stay open late, and the clubs of Torremolinos are a short train ride away.

Drinking in Tangier is discreet and confined to a few old bars, hotel lounges and the summer beach clubs on the bay. The medina goes quiet after dark, and most evenings mean a walk along the seafront and a glass of tea.

Malaga has more and bigger landscapes within reach. The Montes de Malaga pine forest starts at the edge of town, and further out are the Caminito del Rey gorge walkway, the stacked limestone of El Torcal and the Tejeda and Almijara ranges above Nerja. The Sierra Nevada, about two hours away, adds skiing in winter.

Tangier's outdoors centres on the Cap Spartel headland, with its cliff paths, the lighthouse, the Caves of Hercules and Perdicaris park. What it adds is the Strait itself, with storks and raptors crossing in spring and autumn and boat trips to watch dolphins. To walk in the Rif mountains you need to stay overnight.

Both are fine bases, but Malaga's list is longer and its connections faster. Fast trains bring Cordoba and Granada within easy reach. Antequera's dolmens, Ronda's gorge, Nerja with Frigiliana and the white villages can fill most of a week.

Tangier's trips offer the more unusual mix. Asilah and the UNESCO-listed medina of Tetouan are close, Chefchaouen makes a long day, and the high-speed train runs to Rabat. A ferry to Tarifa puts a second continent about an hour away.

Malaga is far easier with children. Children are welcome in tapas bars and on the squares on late summer evenings, the city beaches are calm, and the Bioparc, Sea Life and Selwo parks are along the coast by suburban train.

Tangier is warm towards children but has little built for them. Its steep, stepped medina and persistent touts wear families down. The best plan there is a hotel with a pool, short outings to the promenade, Perdicaris park and the Caves of Hercules, and a ferry day to Spain.

Malaga is much simpler to get about. The flat, pedestrianised centre puts the sights a short walk apart, and the suburban train reaches the airport in about ten minutes before running on along the coast. From the main station, fast trains leave for Cordoba, Seville and Madrid.

Tangier's core can be walked, but the medina's stairways take some learning and there is no metro or tram. Cheap petit taxis do most of the work, including the run out to Cap Spartel and the Atlantic beaches. The ferry port in the city centre makes the crossing to Spain easy.

Malaga offers the wider and more comfortable range. Spanish chains line the marble Calle Larios, El Corte Ingles stands across the river, and there are shops on the Muelle Uno promenade and a few independents in Soho. Luxury shopping is an hour west in Puerto Banus.

Tangier is about crafts in the medina lanes: leather slippers, lanterns, rugs and the red-and-white striped cloth of the Rif, all bought with bargaining and some hard selling. The goods are more distinctive, but the offer is smaller and shopping takes more effort.

Malaga is the dearer of the two, mostly because of the bed. Rooms in the old town and near the beach are in heavy demand from spring to autumn, so a winter stay or a base a little outside the centre makes a real difference. Day to day the city is reasonable for Western Europe: breakfast coffee and toast, the suburban train along the coast and several of the main sights all cost little.

Tangier is the cheaper city overall, and timing stretches it further. Medina riads and guesthouses are at their best value outside the summer peak, when the seafront places popular with summer visitors also charge more. Alcohol is the one clear exception to the low prices, so a stay built around mint tea rather than wine goes furthest.

Neither city has a big stage scene, but Malaga at least has a regular programme. The Teatro Cervantes hosts the Malaga Philharmonic and touring drama. Flamenco can be seen in tablaos or, more genuinely, in the peñas, and the Semana Santa processions are a spectacle of their own.

Tangier's musical past outweighs what is on today. Gnawa, Jilala and Andalusian classical music appear at festivals and at the yearly jazz festival, but there is no theatre or concert season on an ordinary night. The historic cinema on the Grand Socco is the main cultural venue.

Tangier has the edge here because the hammam is a living habit rather than a revival. Neighbourhood bathhouses in the medina offer steam, black soap and a scrub with the kessa glove, and riad and hotel spas offer a gentler version. Riad rooftops above the medina invite long, idle hours.

Malaga has a single Arab-style bathhouse in the old town, plus hotel and resort spas along the coast towards Marbella. There, rest comes more from the rhythm of the day: long lunches, a siesta through the heat and an evening walk along the Paseo Maritimo.