Palermo or Valletta?

Palermo has the better beach: Mondello's pale, shallow bay sits under Monte Pellegrino, about half an hour away by bus. For deep-water swimming off the rocks, head north to Sferracavallo and Capo Gallo, and Cefalù's long town beach is an hour away by train.

Valletta has something Palermo lacks: you can swim right in town, climbing down ladders from limestone ledges below the bastions. Its sandy beaches, such as Golden Bay and Mellieha, are small, close to an hour away and crowded in August. That makes them a half-day outing rather than a base.

This is where the two cities differ most. Palermo's markets are full of fryers making panelle and arancine, and its cooking still carries Arab flavours: raisins, saffron and sweet-and-sour sauces in pasta con le sarde and caponata. Add cannoli filled to order, granita with brioche and Sicilian wine on every list, and food becomes a reason to come.

Malta's cooking borrows from Sicily, but there is less of it to explore. Pastizzi, ftira and rabbit stew are worth trying, and Marsaxlokk is the place for fish. Inside Valletta's walls, many restaurants cater to cruise passengers.

The two are about level on heritage, but the experience is very different. Palermo's highlights are spread across a large, partly crumbling centre: the Palatine Chapel's gold mosaics under an Islamic wooden ceiling, the red domes of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, and Serpotta's stucco oratories. It also has stronger museums, with the Selinunte metopes at the Salinas and Antonello's Annunciata at Palazzo Abatellis.

Valletta is a single planned city built by the Knights after 1565, all honey-coloured limestone and enclosed balconies. Its peak is one room, St John's Co-Cathedral, with Caravaggio's Beheading of Saint John. The whole city fits into a few days, with the Three Cities and the Hypogeum just beyond.

Palermo has the livelier evenings. At night the Vucciria becomes an open-air drinking spot, with grills smoking and small bars playing music. The Kalsa and the streets off Via Maqueda stay busy past midnight on warm nights, though there are few clubs.

Valletta empties after dinner, apart from the wine bars of Strait Street and tables set out on the steps of side streets. For dancing until dawn you go to Paceville in St Julian's, half an hour away, where the crowd is mostly students and language-school visitors.

Palermo sits in the Conca d'Oro, a bowl of limestone mountains that rings the city on its landward side and opens onto the sea. Monte Pellegrino rises straight above the streets, and an old switchback path climbs it to Santa Rosalia's sanctuary. Further out, the Zingaro reserve has a coastal trail past quiet coves, and the Madonie's beech woods and peaks near 2,000m make proper hiking country. A car helps with most of it.

Malta is small, dry and built-up, so its strength is the sea. Clear water, wrecks and Gozo's Blue Hole make it a serious diving destination. On land, though, there is little beyond short walks along Dingli Cliffs.

From Palermo you can reach some of the great sites of the ancient Mediterranean. Monreale's mosaics are half an hour up the hill and Cefalù is an hour away by train. Segesta's lone temple, hilltop Erice and Agrigento's Valley of the Temples are all within about two hours, though a car makes them far easier.

Valletta's trips are shorter and easy by bus: silent Mdina and Rabat's catacombs, the prehistoric temples of Hagar Qim above the cliffs, and Gozo by ferry. They are rewarding, but they all share one small island's character.

Valletta is the easier base with children. English is spoken everywhere, the island is safe and journeys are short. The aquarium at Qawra, Popeye Village and the noon cannon at the Upper Barrakka Gardens give children something of their own. The city's stepped streets are hard with a pushchair, which is why many families stay in Sliema.

Palermo welcomes children in restaurants late into the evening, and Mondello's shallow bay and the puppet theatres are real treats. Beyond those there is little aimed at them, and the narrow lanes without pavements, full of scooters, wear parents out.

Valletta is easier to get around. The walled city is about a kilometre long, a lift drops to the harbour, and ferries cross to Sliema and the Three Cities. Buses from the city gate reach nearly the whole island, so you never need to drive, though roads are congested and journeys are slow.

Palermo's main sights line two flat, walkable streets, Via Maqueda and Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Outside the centre, buses crawl through traffic, and a hire car is the practical way to reach Segesta and Erice despite the stressful driving.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Palermo has a little more choice. Via Libertà has Italian fashion and a few luxury labels, and the markets are good for capers, pistachio pesto and almond paste to take home. Painted ceramics and handmade marionettes make distinctive souvenirs.

Valletta's Republic Street is mostly chains and jewellers. Its real crafts are silver filigree, Gozo lace and blown glass, best seen being made at Ta' Qali. For anything bigger, Sliema is across the harbour.

Palermo is the cheaper of the two. A meal of several market stops costs very little, and trattorie and guesthouses in the old centre are fairly priced for most of the year, though July, August and a hire car push the bill up.

Valletta is the dearer place to sleep on an island that is already mid-priced. Rooms inside the walls are mostly boutique townhouses, and Sliema or Gzira is cheaper. Low bus fares and cheap pastizzi help, and you won't need to hire a car.

On an ordinary night, the choice is wider in Palermo. The Teatro Massimo runs a full season of opera, ballet and concerts in one of Italy's largest opera houses, and the symphony orchestra plays at the Politeama nearby. Then there is the Opera dei Pupi, where armoured marionettes fight Charlemagne's battles in small family-run theatres.

Valletta's gem is the Manoel Theatre, a tiny gilded auditorium from 1731. Otherwise its calendar depends on festivals, such as baroque music in winter and jazz by the Grand Harbour in summer. Between them, the choice on a given night is small.

Neither city is a place for a spa break. Both offer only hotel spas, though Palermo at least has thermal waters at Termini Imerese, forty minutes away by train.

What differs is the quiet. Palermo stays noisy, and its calm is found in the Orto Botanico, the cloisters and the evening walk along the Foro Italico. Valletta settles down every evening once the cruise passengers leave, and its harbour gardens then become peaceful places to watch the light change on the limestone.