San Sebastian or Toledo?

San Sebastian offers a proper beach vacation right in town. La Concha's sheltered sand is good for calm swimming, Ondarreta is quieter and popular with families, and Zurriola is where the surfers go. Santa Clara island and Zarautz are close by if you want more. The catch is the Atlantic, which is only warm and reliable in July and August.

Toledo has nothing to compare. It sits on the inland plateau, hours from any coast, and the Tagus gorge is for looking at, not swimming in. In the summer heat a hotel or municipal pool is the only way to cool off.

San Sebastian is far ahead for food, and for many visitors it is the reason to go. The evening means moving from bar to bar for pintxos and txakoli in the Parte Vieja and Gros. Behind that are the La Bretxa and San Martin markets, several of Spain's most celebrated restaurants in the hills, and the Astigarraga cider houses from January into spring.

Toledo offers honest Manchegan cooking, such as partridge, venison, carcamusas and migas, along with Manchego cheese and convent marzipan. The small tapa that comes with a drink near Zocodover is a pleasure. The lanes by the cathedral, though, are full of set menus for day-trippers, and a few good regional meals is the realistic aim. Neither city has much range beyond its own region.

Toledo wins clearly here. Its old town is one continuous monument where Roman, Visigothic, Islamic, Jewish and Christian Spain sit in layers. It has the Gothic cathedral with El Greco and Goya in the sacristy, the mosque of Cristo de la Luz, the synagogues of Santa María la Blanca and El Tránsito, the cloister of San Juan de los Reyes, and El Greco's work in Santo Tomé and the Hospital de Tavera.

San Sebastian is more about the look of the city than what it contains. It has elegant late 19th-century streets around Buen Pastor, the rebuilt Parte Vieja, the castle on Monte Urgull, the San Telmo Museum and Chillida's Peine del Viento. It is handsome, but someone travelling for culture will get through it faster and find less depth.

Neither is a clubbing city, but San Sebastian stays up longer. Its pintxo bars keep the old town streets lively until late at weekends, and there are late bars and a few clubs in the Parte Vieja and Gros. In summer, and above all during Semana Grande, the city stays out much later.

Toledo goes quiet once the day-trippers head back to Madrid. A night out means a late dinner, a round of tapas around Zocodover and maybe a student bar at the weekend. For anything bigger, people take the train to Madrid.

San Sebastian is ringed by green hills, with Igueldo, Urgull and Ulia right in town. The cliff path over Jaizkibel to Hondarribia is one of the finest coastal walks in northern Spain. You can also surf, kayak or paddleboard in the bay, and the Aiako Harria hills are within an hour. The greenery comes with frequent rain.

Toledo's best outdoor experience is the riverside path through the Tagus gorge below the walls, with views back from the cigarrales. Beyond that lie the flat plains of La Mancha, the low Montes de Toledo, and Cabañeros national park about two hours away. Summer heat limits walking to spring and autumn.

Both make excellent bases, but they point in different directions. From San Sebastian you follow the coast and cross a border. Bilbao and the Guggenheim, walled Hondarribia, Getaria, Pamplona and the French Basque towns of Biarritz, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and Bayonne are mostly an hour or so away by bus or train.

Toledo's great advantage is Madrid, half an hour away by fast train, with the Prado and the royal palace. Further out are Aranjuez, El Escorial and the windmills of Consuegra. The longer trips to Segovia, Ávila and Cuenca take around two hours each way and work best with a car.

San Sebastian is the easier choice with children. Calm, sheltered beaches, a flat car-free promenade, the harbour aquarium, the Eureka science museum and the funicular up to the old funfair on Igueldo fill several days. Rain is the main risk.

In Toledo, the armour shops and the Alcázar catch children's interest, and the history theme park on the outskirts is a real draw. But steep cobbled lanes are hard work with a pushchair, summer afternoons are fierce, and churches and paintings soon wear thin for young visitors. Keep the stay short.

San Sebastian is flat, and that makes the difference. The old town, La Concha, Gros and Zurriola are linked by a level walk along the river and the seafront. Bike lanes run along the water, and Euskotren trains go to Hendaye and towards Bilbao.

Toledo is compact too, but it all sits on a steep hill of narrow cobbled lanes, so walking is tiring. The station is at the foot of the hill across the river. The public escalators from the car parks help, and the fast train to Madrid is the best way out.

Neither is a shopping destination, but San Sebastian has a bit more variety. There are Spanish chains and independent boutiques in the Centro, surf and design shops in Gros, and espadrilles, berets and tinned anchovies in the Parte Vieja. The best buys come from its markets: txakoli, Idiazabal cheese and preserved fish.

Toledo's shopping is narrower but more particular to the city. Look for damascene gold-inlaid steel, Toledo blades, Talavera ceramics and convent marzipan. Much of what is sold near the cathedral is souvenir stock, so look for the workshops that make their own.

Toledo is easier on the budget. A tapa comes with each drink, tavern set lunches away from the cathedral are good value, and rooms below the walls are moderate. What adds up is a hotel with views over the Tagus and the separate entry charge at each monument.

San Sebastian is one of the most expensive places to stay in Spain, especially in summer and festival weeks, and its famous restaurants are a serious splurge. Free beaches and walks and cheap buses help, but going outside the peak season makes the biggest difference.

San Sebastian has the stronger calendar, thanks to two long-running summer festivals. Jazzaldia in July brings free concerts to Zurriola beach, and the Quincena Musical fills August with orchestral music and opera. Outside the festivals, the Kursaal and the Teatro Victoria Eugenia of 1912 put on concerts, plays and dance, and the Kursaal hosts the Basque National Orchestra.

Toledo has the Teatro de Rojas, occasional organ and choral music in its churches, and the Corpus Christi processions. On most evenings, though, little is on, and serious opera or concerts mean going to Madrid.

San Sebastian's past as a royal seaside resort lives on in the thalassotherapy spa in the old bathing pavilion on La Concha, with seawater pools that look out over the bay. The slow rhythm of promenade walks and long lunches also makes for a restful stay.

Toledo has a few Arab-style bath houses and hotel spas in vaulted rooms, and its early mornings and evenings are lovely and quiet. It suits a calm night or two, not a trip built around unwinding.