Salamanca or Valencia?

Salamanca has no beach worth the name. It lies far inland on the Castilian plain, and in summer locals cool off in municipal pools or at river beaches along the Tormes, which are fine for an afternoon but nothing to plan a trip around.

Valencia has a long stretch of fine golden sand right on its edge. Las Arenas and Malvarrosa are reached by tram from the centre, and the pine-backed dunes of El Saler and La Devesa lie further south for a quieter day. The calm, shallow water stays good for swimming from early summer well into autumn.

Valencia has the richer table. It is the home of paella and of a whole family of rice dishes, from arroz negro to fideuà, eaten at lunch in beachfront restaurants or in the Albufera villages. Its modernista Mercado Central overflows with huerta vegetables and seafood, and Ruzafa adds a serious creative restaurant scene. Summer brings horchata from the old horchaterías of Alboraya.

Salamanca has a market of the same name, but here it is all about ham and charcuterie. Ibérico from nearby Guijuelo, hornazo and roast suckling pig set the tone, eaten at tapas counters around the Plaza Mayor. It is generous and satisfying food, but there is little seafood and not much range beyond Castilian cooking.

Both cities reward two or three days of sightseeing, but in different ways. Salamanca is a single, unified ensemble: a UNESCO old town built in golden stone, with the baroque Plaza Mayor, the Plateresque university façade and the Old and New Cathedrals side by side, all glowing under floodlights after dark. Its museums are slight, with Casa Lis the only real draw.

Valencia covers more centuries and more media. The Gothic Lonja de la Seda and the cathedral, home to the chalice venerated as the Holy Grail, sit in Ciutat Vella. Across the old riverbed stands the white, futuristic City of Arts and Sciences, and the Museo de Bellas Artes and IVAM give art lovers far more to see indoors.

The two are about equal for going out, but the crowd is different. Salamanca's nights belong to its students. From Thursday to Saturday the bars around the Plaza Mayor and Calle Bordadores fill with young people and Spanish-language learners, ending in small dance clubs. The city goes quiet in high summer, when term is over.

Valencia's scene is older and more varied: cocktail and wine bars in Ruzafa, rougher student bars in El Carmen. Summer is its peak rather than its lull, when open-air clubs near the port and Malvarrosa run until dawn.

Valencia has more nature on its doorstep. The Albufera lagoon, with its rice fields, herons and sunset boat trips, begins about 10km from the centre, the Devesa pine woods and dunes lie beyond it, and the Turia gardens give the city a long green corridor for running and cycling. For hills and climbing, Chulilla's gorge is about an hour inland.

Salamanca's surroundings are flat wheat plain, with only the river paths close at hand. Its better landscapes, the chestnut forests of the Sierra de Francia and Las Batuecas, the granite canyon of the Arribes del Duero and peaks above 2,000m, are all about an hour away and need a car.

From Salamanca, most day trips are drives. Ávila's walls, Zamora's Romanesque churches and the ramparts of Ciudad Rodrigo are all within reach, along with the half-timbered mountain villages of La Alberca and Mogarraz. Many of these villages are hard to reach without a car, so plan to hire one if they are the point of the trip.

From Valencia, many outings are a train ride. Roman Sagunto and the castle of Xàtiva are about half an hour away, and high-speed rail reaches Cuenca's hanging houses in about an hour. The coast adds longer days out, from the castle of Peñíscola on its rock in the sea to the white towns of the Costa Blanca.

Valencia is much easier with children. The Oceanogràfic aquarium, the hands-on science museum and the domed Hemisfèric cinema share one site, Bioparc houses African animals without visible bars, and the giant Gulliver figure in the Turia gardens is a playground in itself. Add shallow sandy beaches and most of a week fills itself.

Salamanca is safe and largely pedestrian, and children enjoy spotting the carved frog and astronaut and climbing the cathedral towers. Beyond that there is no zoo, aquarium or theme park, so it works best as a day or two within a wider trip.

Salamanca is a city to walk, and Valencia is one to cycle. You can cross Salamanca's old town on foot in about twenty minutes, from the Plaza Mayor down to the Roman bridge, so most visitors never need a bus. Getting out into the province is harder, and the villages and sierras really call for a car.

Valencia is more spread out but flat, with bike lanes, a bike-share scheme and the car-free Turia gardens running from the centre to the City of Arts and Sciences. Metro and tram lines go to the airport, the port and the beaches, and you only need a car if you are heading into the hills.

Valencia gives shoppers far more to do. The Ensanche around Calle Colón has international labels and luxury boutiques, and El Carmen and Ruzafa have vintage and independent design shops. The best local buys are Manises ceramics, porcelain figurines, hand-painted fans and silk.

Salamanca has little beyond the high-street chains on Calle Toro and Calle Zamora and university souvenirs. The things worth taking home are edible, ham and cheese from the market, or a piece of charro silver filigree, the province's traditional jewellery.

Salamanca is the cheaper of the two. Student demand keeps bar prices low, a drink at the counter often comes with a free tapa, and since everything is within walking distance you spend almost nothing on transport. The main extra cost is admission to the cathedrals, towers and university.

Valencia is reasonable for a large city, and its multi-course set lunch is one of the best deals in Spain. Costs rise near the beach in summer and steeply during Fallas, and the City of Arts and Sciences attractions add up for a family.

Valencia is the place for a proper night at the theatre or concert hall. The Palau de les Arts stages a serious opera and ballet season with its own highly regarded orchestra, and the Palau de la Música on the Turia gardens is home to the city orchestra. Below that sits a steady jazz circuit in Ruzafa and the wind bands heard all through Fallas.

Salamanca has the Teatro Liceo, university choirs and touring shows, but no opera season. Its signature sound is informal: caped student tunas singing under the arcades of the Plaza Mayor in the evening.

Neither city has its own bathing tradition, and in both a spa day means a hotel or an Arab-style bath house. The difference is what lies around them. Salamanca has real mineral springs within a short drive, at the old balneario of Ledesma and the Roman-era spa town of Baños de Montemayor, and an old town of siestas and quiet cloisters such as San Esteban.

Valencia relaxes by the water instead, with slow walks along the seafront promenade, shady paths in the Turia gardens and a mild winter. The resort hotels along the coast are the place for real pampering.