Segovia or Valencia?

Segovia has no beach at all, and the coast is a long day's drive away. In summer the options are pools and the cold reservoirs and river pools of the Guadarrama foothills, which are fine for cooling off but not something to plan a trip around.

Valencia is a genuine beach city. The wide golden sand of Las Arenas, Malvarrosa and Patacona is about twenty minutes from the centre, with shallow, calm water. Further south, El Saler and La Devesa give quieter beaches backed by pine woods and dunes.

Segovia is a destination for one kind of meal: cochinillo and lechazo from wood-fired ovens, with judiones beans from La Granja and ponche segoviano to finish. Beyond those roasts the choice narrows quickly, and the dining rooms by the aqueduct are built around lunchtime coach groups.

Valencia offers more range and more everyday pleasure. Paella and the other rice dishes are at their best by the sea at Las Arenas or in the Albufera villages, the modernista Mercado Central is a sight in itself, and Ruzafa adds tapas bars and creative cooking. Horchata with fartons gives summer afternoons a local ritual Segovia has no answer to.

The two are evenly matched, but in very different ways. Segovia is a concentrated monument town: the Roman aqueduct, the late Gothic cathedral, the clifftop Alcázar and a run of Romanesque churches line one ridge, and the essentials fit into a full day. Its museums are modest; the buildings are the point.

Valencia spreads its sights across more centuries and more space. The silk exchange of the Lonja, the cathedral with its Holy Grail chalice and the medieval gates sit in Ciutat Vella, while the City of Arts and Sciences brings futuristic architecture. The Museo de Bellas Artes and IVAM give it the stronger galleries, and it needs two or three days.

Segovia's evenings are a tapas round on Plaza Mayor and the streets around it, busy on summer terraces but quiet early on weeknights and in winter. Clubs are few, and locals head to Madrid for a big night.

Valencia keeps Spanish hours. Ruzafa's cocktail and wine bars run past midnight, El Carmen and the university areas are cheaper and younger, and in summer open-air clubs near the port and Malvarrosa last until dawn. During Fallas in March the whole city parties in the street.

Segovia has the mountains. The Sierra de Guadarrama fills the view from the Alcázar, with the pine forests of Valsaín and the passes of Navacerrada and Cotos within half an hour, trails up Peñalara at 2,428m and snow in winter. The Eresma valley path and the vultures of the Hoces del Duratón gorge add gentler outings.

Valencia's outdoors is flat and watery: sunset boat trips on the Albufera lagoon among rice fields and herons, dune walks in the Devesa del Saler and about 9km of the Turia gardens for running and cycling. For climbing or hill walking you need to drive to the Sierra Calderona or Chulilla.

Segovia is the better base, because so much lies close by. The palace and fountain gardens of La Granja are twenty minutes away, high-speed trains reach Madrid in under half an hour, and Ávila is about an hour. With a car, Pedraza, Sepúlveda, El Escorial and the Ribera del Duero vineyards all make easy days out.

Valencia's outings are good but more spread out. Sagunto and Xàtiva, each with a castle, are about half an hour by train, and Cuenca's hanging houses are an hour on the fast train. Peñíscola, Elche and the Costa Blanca take closer to two hours.

Segovia works for a short visit with children, who love climbing the Alcázar tower and staring up at the aqueduct arches. After that there is little aimed at them, and the steep cobbles are hard work with a pushchair, though La Granja's gardens give them room to run.

Valencia is much easier for a family stay. The Oceanogràfic, the hands-on science museum and Bioparc fill several days, the Turia gardens have the giant Gulliver playground and flat paths for scooters, and the shallow city beaches suit small children.

In Segovia everything worth seeing lies along one ridge from the aqueduct to the Alcázar, so a morning on foot covers it, though the streets are steep and cobbled. The high-speed station is a bus ride out of town, and the villages and mountain trailheads really need a car.

Valencia is easier to move around. The centre is flat, the Turia gardens form a car-free cycling route across the city, and bike lanes and a bike-share scheme cover the rest. Metro and tram lines reach the beaches, the port and the airport, so a car is only needed for the hills.

Segovia's shopping is souvenirs on Calle Real, some local ceramics and embroidery, and boxed ponche or La Granja beans to take home. For anything more, people go to Madrid.

Valencia offers a proper shopping street scene in the Ensanche around Calle Colón, with chains, labels and luxury boutiques, plus independent and vintage shops in El Carmen and Ruzafa. Saffron and rice from the Mercado Central and ceramics from Manises make better gifts than anything in Segovia.

Costs are broadly similar, but they rise at different times. Segovia is cheapest midweek and in winter, with plenty of small family-run guesthouses, while summer weekends bring visitors from Madrid and the famous roasts make one meal a splurge.

Valencia stays reasonable for most of the year, helped by set lunch menus, cheap tapas, inexpensive public transport and free or cheap museums. The pressure points are beach hotels in high summer and Fallas in March, and the City of Arts and Sciences attractions add up for families.

Segovia's stage life comes in seasons: the Titirimundi puppet festival in spring, summer concerts in churches and palace gardens, and touring shows at the Teatro Juan Bravo. Outside those times there is little on.

Valencia has a year-round programme. The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía stages opera and ballet with its own orchestra, the Palau de la Música hosts the city orchestra, and Ruzafa has a small jazz circuit. The wind bands heard all through Fallas are a local tradition of their own.

Neither city is a spa destination, but Valencia offers a little more. Arab-style bath houses and hotel spas cover the basics, and slow walks along the seafront promenade and the shady Turia gardens set a relaxed Mediterranean pace.

Segovia's calm is of a different kind: a small old town that empties once the day visitors leave in the late afternoon, evening strolls along the walls and pine-scented air from the sierra, with only a few hotel spas.