San Sebastian or Segovia?

San Sebastian has one of the great city beaches in La Concha, a pale, sheltered bay right in the centre. Ondarreta beside it is quieter and suits families, and Zurriola across the river takes the Atlantic surf. The Bay of Biscay keeps the swimming season to July and August.

Segovia sits on the Castilian plateau, a long day's drive from any coast. Summer swimming there means hotel pools or cold reservoirs in the Guadarrama foothills.

Food is San Sebastian's strongest card. An evening means grazing pintxos with txakoli along the bars of the Parte Vieja and Gros, and the markets at La Bretxa and San Martin show off the produce behind them. For a city this small, its fine dining is exceptional, with several of Spain's most celebrated restaurants in the surrounding hills. From January into spring, the cider houses at Astigarraga give another reason to go.

Segovia eats well in a narrower, heavier way. The meal is built around wood-roasted cochinillo and lechazo, judiones beans from La Granja and a tapas round with Ribera del Duero. It makes for a memorable lunch rather than a whole food trip. Neither city offers much beyond its own regional cooking.

Segovia has the more remarkable sights. There is the Roman aqueduct and the UNESCO-listed old town climbing to the cathedral and the Alcázar. There are Romanesque churches with arcaded porches, the Jewish quarter and the twelve-sided Vera Cruz. The essentials take a day, and a second day lets you see them slowly.

San Sebastian appeals more as a townscape than for its monuments. Its highlights are the late 19th-century streets around Buen Pastor, the Parte Vieja grid, the castle on Monte Urgull, the San Telmo Museum and Chillida's Peine del Viento on the rocks. It is a pleasure to wander, but it has fewer landmarks.

Neither is a clubbing city, but San Sebastian has the longer night. The pintxo crawl keeps the Parte Vieja loud and sociable until late, and a few late bars and clubs in the old town, Gros and along the bay take over afterwards. In summer, and above all during Semana Grande, the city stays out much later.

Segovia's evening is a tapas round off Plaza Mayor, with a few student bars at weekends. On weeknights and in winter the old town goes quiet early, and a real late night means Madrid.

Both have mountains on the doorstep, but of different kinds. San Sebastian's are green coastal hills: the funicular up Monte Igueldo, the cliff path from Monte Ulia to Pasaia and the Jaizkibel walk to Hondarribia. Surfing and paddleboarding in the bay complete the picture, and so does frequent rain.

Segovia looks up at the Sierra de Guadarrama. It has the pine forests of Valsaín, high passes with trails towards Peñalara at 2,428m, snow in winter and the Hoces del Duratón gorge with its griffon vultures. Pick the Basque coast for sea views, and the sierra for higher, drier walking.

From San Sebastian the outings run along the Basque coast and over the border into France. Bilbao and the Guggenheim, walled Hondarribia, Getaria, Pamplona and the Rioja Alavesa vineyards are all within easy reach. Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biarritz and Bayonne are on the French side.

Segovia's reach is royal and Castilian. The palace gardens of La Granja and Riofrío are close by, Madrid is a short fast-train ride away, and Ávila, El Escorial and the walled villages of Pedraza and Sepúlveda are all in range. Around Segovia you need a car more often, while on the Basque side buses and trains do most of the work.

San Sebastian is the easier choice with children. It has calm, sheltered beaches in the centre and a flat, car-free promenade. There is an aquarium with a walk-through tunnel, the hands-on Eureka science museum and the old funfair at the top of the Igueldo funicular. Rainy days are the main risk.

Segovia has a real castle on a cliff in the Alcázar, and children love the giant arches of the aqueduct, but there is little else made for them. The steep cobbles are hard going with a pushchair. A day or two works well, with La Granja's gardens giving children room to run.

San Sebastian is flat and compact. The old town, the bay, Gros and Zurriola are a short walk apart, and bike lanes run along the waterfront. Euskotren trains run to the French border and towards Bilbao, so a car is rarely needed.

Segovia's sights are also walkable, strung along one ridge, but the streets are steep and cobbled. The high-speed station is about fifteen minutes out by bus, and the villages and mountain trailheads really call for a car.

San Sebastian gives a browser more to work with, though luxury labels and big department stores are thin. The Centro has Spanish chains and independent boutiques, the Parte Vieja sells espadrilles, berets and linen, and Gros has surf and design shops. The best things to take home come from the markets: txakoli, Idiazabal cheese and tinned anchovies.

In Segovia, shopping is mostly souvenirs along Calle Real, plus some local ceramics, embroidery and boxed ponche or La Granja beans. For anything more, you go to Madrid.

Segovia is clearly the cheaper place to stay. Family-run hotels and guesthouses keep room rates moderate, and the tapas bars of the newer town are fair value. Midweek and in winter it is inexpensive. Only the famous roasts by the aqueduct and summer weekends cost noticeably more.

San Sebastian is one of the most expensive cities in Spain to sleep in. Rooms are scarce and climb steeply in summer and festival weeks, and the celebrated restaurants are a serious outlay. Free beaches and walks and cheap buses soften the cost, and going out of season helps most.

San Sebastian has the stronger musical calendar. Jazzaldia comes in July, with free concerts on Zurriola beach, and the Quincena Musical fills August with orchestral music and opera. Moneo's glass cubes at the Kursaal and the ornate Teatro Victoria Eugenia keep a programme going for the rest of the year.

Segovia's highlight is Titirimundi, the puppet festival that fills its squares and courtyards in spring. Summer brings concerts to churches and palace gardens, and Teatro Juan Bravo hosts touring shows. Outside festival time little is on.

San Sebastian has a real seawater tradition dating from its days as a royal resort. The historic bathing pavilion on La Concha keeps it going as a thalassotherapy spa looking onto the bay, and the calm, orderly pace adds to the effect.

Segovia has no bathing culture and only a few hotel spas. It is restful in a different way: the old town is quiet once the day visitors leave, there are slow lunches and walks along the walls, and the air carries pine from the sierra.