Toledo or Zaragoza?

Neither city has any beach, and neither river is used for swimming. Toledo sits on the Castilla-La Mancha plateau, several hours from the sea. Zaragoza lies more than 200km from the Mediterranean. In both, a hot day ends at a municipal open-air pool or the hotel pool, so beach time means adding a separate stretch on the coast.

Zaragoza is the better city to eat in. El Tubo's lanes of single-speciality counters, serving croquetas, mushroom skewers or anchovies, make an evening crawl in their own right. Ternasco lamb, borage with clams and the Mercado Central add depth, and nearby wine regions keep the glasses generous.

Toledo has a narrower La Mancha repertoire: partridge stewed in wine and vinegar, game from the Montes de Toledo, carcamusas and Manchego. The streets nearest the cathedral are lined with tourist set menus. A few good regional meals in the side-street taverns and the convent marzipan are the highlights rather than a reason to come.

Toledo comes out ahead because the whole old town is the monument. On one granite hill you find the Gothic cathedral with its El Greco and Goya sacristy, the mosque of Cristo de la Luz, the synagogues of Santa María la Blanca and El Tránsito, and San Juan de los Reyes, with El Greco's work in Santo Tomé.

Zaragoza has fine individual sights but a more scattered setting. The Pilar basilica with its young Goya ceilings, La Seo's Mudéjar wall, the Aljafería palace and the underground Roman remains are well worth two or three days, though much of the city around them is modern.

Zaragoza offers a real night out. Tapas in El Tubo turn into cocktail and music bars around Plaza Santa Marta and the Casco, students fill the streets from Thursday, and a few clubs run until early morning. During the Fiestas del Pilar in October the streets stay full until dawn.

Toledo's evenings are a late dinner and a few tapas bars near Zocodover, then quiet lanes. That calm is part of its appeal, but anyone wanting to dance takes the train to Madrid.

Zaragoza is the better base for the outdoors, though it needs a car. The beech woods and summits of the Moncayo, the red towers of the Mallos de Riglos, the Bardenas Reales badlands and the Pyrenees valleys about two hours north all have far more variety. In town, the Ebro path and the big parks are good for cycling.

Toledo's best outdoor moment is the walk along the Tagus gorge beneath the walls, with views back from the cigarrales. Beyond that, the low Montes de Toledo and Cabañeros, with its red deer, are gentle rather than dramatic.

Both are excellent bases, but in different ways. Toledo's trump card is Madrid, half an hour away by fast train, along with Aranjuez, El Escorial, the Consuegra windmills and the long run to Segovia, Ávila or Cuenca.

Zaragoza sits between two capitals, with Madrid and Barcelona each about an hour and a half by train. Its own region gives castles and villages such as Loarre, Tarazona, the ruins of Belchite, Alquézar and Albarracín, most of them easiest with a hired car.

Zaragoza is more relaxed with children. The centre is flat with wide pedestrian squares, and the river aquarium, the Parque del Agua playgrounds and the small amusement park by Parque Grande give children things made for them. The Pilar fiestas add parades of giants and big-heads.

Toledo has the swords, armour and castle-like Alcázar to fire young imaginations, plus the history-show theme park on the outskirts. Its steep cobbles defeat pushchairs, though, and its churches and paintings hold children only briefly, so a short stay works best.

Both centres are compact enough to walk, so the difference lies in the ground underfoot. Zaragoza is flat from the Pilar to the Aljafería, with a tram, buses and bike-share for longer hops.

Toledo is smaller but steep, with twisting cobbled lanes. The public escalators from the car parks ease the climb, and the station sits below the hill across the river, a bus ride from the centre.

Zaragoza is the more useful place to shop. Paseo de la Independencia has the fashion chains and a department store, Calle Alfonso I keeps older shops and pastry makers, and the candied fruit and Muel ceramics make good gifts.

Toledo's shopping is narrower but more particular: gold-inlaid damascene work, swords from a city famous for its blades, and convent marzipan. A lot of the stock near the cathedral is souvenir quality, and for clothes people go to Madrid.

Zaragoza stretches a budget further. Central hotels are good value most of the year, the Pilar basilica is free to enter, and tapas and local wine cost little. October's fiestas are the exception.

Toledo is moderate, and the free tapa with a drink helps, but rooms with Tagus views inside the walls cost more, and separate entry fees at the cathedral, synagogues and El Greco sites soon add up over a day.

Zaragoza has the steadier programme. The Auditorio brings touring orchestras, chamber music and jazz through the season, the Teatro Principal stages plays and dance, and the jota, Aragon's leaping folk dance, comes out in force at the Pilar fiestas.

Toledo has the Teatro de Rojas off Zocodover and occasional church music. Its standout moment is the Corpus Christi procession under awnings and tapestries, and on most evenings serious performances mean a trip to Madrid.

Neither city is a spa destination, and both offer little more than hotel spas and Arab-style bathhouses. Zaragoza has a slight edge: the thermal waters of Alhama de Aragón are reachable in a little over an hour, and long lunches and shady afternoons in Parque Grande set an easy pace.

Toledo's form of calm is the hush of its lanes and terraces at dawn and after dark, once the tour groups have left.