Seville or Malaga?

This is where the two cities differ most. In Malaga the sand starts at La Malagueta near the cathedral and continues through the old fishing quarters of Pedregalejo and El Palo. The long Costa del Sol strip is on the suburban train, and the clearer coves at Nerja and Maro are close. The grey-brown beaches are practical rather than lovely, but a swim fits into any afternoon.

Seville has no sea of its own. The Atlantic sands of Huelva and Cádiz are pleasant in summer, but getting there takes a car or coach and most of a day. In town, cooling off means a hotel rooftop or a municipal pool.

Both are tapas cities, and Seville edges ahead for the classic bar crawl. You order at the counter in the old tiled bars of Triana, El Arenal and Santa Cruz: spinach with chickpeas, pork cheek, salmorejo, with a glass of manzanilla or fino. There are more inventive kitchens around the Alameda.

Malaga's table looks to the sea. Its specialities are sardine espetos roasted on beach fires and plates of fried fish in Pedregalejo, along with sweet moscatel wine poured from the barrel and the market counters at Atarazanas. Neither city is strong on fine dining.

Seville has the grander historic centre. The Real Alcázar's Mudéjar courtyards, the vast Gothic cathedral with the Giralda and the Archivo de Indias stand together in the middle of town. Beyond them are Plaza de España, Casa de Pilatos and the Museo de Bellas Artes, enough to fill three or four days.

Malaga is smaller but has many layers: a Roman theatre below the Moorish Alcazaba, the walls of Gibralfaro above, and the unfinished cathedral. Its strength is art, with the Picasso Museum, the Carmen Thyssen and the CAC, and two days cover it well.

Evenings are much alike in the two cities: dinner after ten, then terraces and small bars until well past midnight, with little serious clubbing in either. Malaga adds beach bars along La Malagueta and Pedregalejo, and anyone who wants clubs takes the train to Torremolinos or goes west to Marbella. Seville stays in town, with the Alameda de Hércules for a younger, LGBT-friendly crowd, riverside bars in summer and the all-night casetas of the April Fair.

Malaga has far more wild country close by. The pine-covered Montes de Malaga rise from the city's northern edge, and the Caminito del Rey gorge and El Torcal's limestone plateau are about an hour inland. The Tejeda and Almijara sierras and the Maro cliffs add hiking, kayaking and snorkelling, and there is Sierra Nevada skiing about two hours away.

The land around Seville is flat farmland and orange groves. Its great prize is Doñana, a wetland of flamingos and migrating birds best seen on a guided 4x4 trip. The Sierra de Aracena offers gentle walking.

Both are excellent bases, but Malaga reaches further. The Alhambra in Granada, Ronda's gorge, Antequera's dolmens and the Nerja and Frigiliana pairing are all comfortable days out, and even Seville is just within range.

From Seville, the highlights are Córdoba, Roman Itálica and hilltop Carmona, with Jerez, Cádiz and the sherry towns to the south. Granada is better done with an overnight stay, and that is where Malaga's position in the middle of the region helps.

Children are welcome late into the evening in both cities, but Malaga gives a family more to do. Calm city beaches, the palm-lined Paseo del Parque and the Alcazaba ramparts are all close by. The suburban train reaches the Fuengirola zoo, Benalmadena's aquarium and the Selwo parks.

In Seville, the options are mainly the rowing boats in María Luisa Park, the Alcázar maze, and the theme park and summer water park on La Cartuja. Its bigger drawback is the inland summer, which makes sightseeing with small children tiring.

Both centres are flat, compact and largely pedestrianised, so walking does most of the work. Malaga's advantage is the suburban train, which reaches the airport in minutes and runs along the coast. Seville's is cycling, with a wide network of bike lanes and a public bike scheme, plus a tram and a single metro line. A car is only useful outside either city, and in Seville the summer midday makes even short walks tiring.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but they offer different things. Malaga leans towards the high street on marble-paved Calle Larios, the port promenade at Muelle Uno and food to take home from Atarazanas, with real luxury an hour west at Puerto Banus. Seville is the place for crafts: hand-painted tiles from Triana's pottery workshops, and flamenco dresses, shawls, fans and guitars around Sierpes and Cuna.

Costs are much the same in both. Tapas and drinks are cheap, and accommodation is the main expense. In Malaga, rooms near the old town and the beach are in demand from spring to autumn, so winter is when you save. Seville works the other way round: rooms are good value in the summer heat, while Holy Week and the April Fair push rates sharply up.

Seville is the home of flamenco, and it shows. Tablaos in Santa Cruz and Triana, cultural centres devoted to the art and local peñas have shows every night, and the Bienal brings the leading performers in even-numbered years. The Teatro de la Maestranza stages opera in the city where Carmen and The Barber of Seville are set.

Malaga has flamenco too, in tablaos for visitors and a few peñas, and the Malaga Philharmonic plays at the Teatro Cervantes. Beyond that, it offers small bar stages and open-air concerts in summer.

For rest and recovery the two are close, and what differs is where you find the calm. Malaga has an Arab-style bathhouse in the old town, with warm pools and steam beneath brick arches, and beyond it the larger resort and golf spas along the coast towards Marbella. Evening walks on the Paseo Maritimo do the rest, and the mild, sunny winter is its most restful season.

Seville's few Arab-style baths sit in old mansions in the centre and make an atmospheric evening, but its real refuge is the cool tiled courtyards and the Alcázar gardens during the afternoon heat. Noise in the narrow streets at night and the crowds of Holy Week and the April Fair make it a harder place to switch off.