Valencia or Zaragoza?

Here the two cities are not really in competition. Valencia has a long stretch of fine golden sand on its doorstep. Malvarrosa, Las Arenas and Patacona are close to town, the dune-backed beaches of El Saler lie inside the Albufera park, and the sea is comfortable from June to October.

Zaragoza sits far inland on the Ebro plain, and the river is not for swimming, so in summer people cool off in municipal open-air pools. If you want time by the sea on a Zaragoza trip, you are really planning a separate stay on the coast.

Valencia eats better and more widely. Rice is at the centre of it, from paella valenciana and arroz negro at the beach restaurants of Las Arenas to all i pebre in the Albufera villages. The Mercado Central, horchata in Alboraya and a creative restaurant scene in Ruzafa give it real range.

Zaragoza's strength is the tapas crawl through El Tubo, where each counter has its one speciality. Add hearty Aragonese dishes such as ternasco lamb and migas, and generous, cheap reds. Both cities have a fine modernista market hall, but Zaragoza has little fine dining and little beyond local cooking.

The two are close, and both reward two or three days rather than a week, so the choice comes down to period. Valencia's old town is mainly Gothic, with the twisted columns of the Lonja silk exchange, the medieval Serranos and Quart gates and the cathedral's Holy Grail chalice. The white City of Arts and Sciences adds a modern counterweight.

Zaragoza reaches further back. Roman Caesaraugusta survives under its streets in a set of underground museums, the Aljafería is an eleventh-century Islamic palace, La Seo carries Mudéjar brickwork, and the Pilar has ceilings painted by a young Goya.

Valencia has the bigger and more varied nightlife. Ruzafa's grid of cocktail bars and terraces stays busy well past midnight, El Carmen and Benimaclet cater to students, and in summer open-air clubs near the port and Malvarrosa run until dawn.

Zaragoza's evenings are smaller and more driven by students. They move from the tapas of El Tubo to the bars around Plaza San Felipe and Santa Marta, there are only a few clubs, and weeknights are quiet. Each city's year peaks in a different month: Fallas in March in Valencia and the Fiestas del Pilar in October in Zaragoza.

Neither city is a great base for the outdoors, and the difference is one of kind. Valencia's nature is flat and watery, and all of it is close to the centre. There is the Albufera lagoon with its rice fields, herons and sunset boat trips, the pine dunes of the Devesa, and the 9km of Turia gardens for running and cycling.

Zaragoza's landscapes are drier and more dramatic, but further away. Beyond the windswept steppe, an hour or more out by car, lie Moncayo's beech forests, the red towers of the Mallos de Riglos, the Bardenas Reales badlands and eventually the Pyrenees. Valencia's hills need a drive too, mainly to the Sierra Calderona and the gorge at Chulilla.

Valencia has a good set of outings. Roman Sagunto and the ridge-top castle at Xàtiva are short train rides away, Cuenca's hanging houses are about an hour by fast train, and Peñíscola and the Costa Blanca lie along the coast.

Zaragoza does better still. Its place on the high-speed line puts both Madrid and Barcelona about an hour and a half away. Aragon around it is full of strong outings, including Loarre castle, the Civil War ruins of Belchite, Goya's birthplace at Fuendetodos, Mudéjar Tarazona and, with an early start, Albarracín. A hired car opens up much more.

Valencia is the easier choice with children. The Oceanogràfic, the hands-on science museum and the Hemisfèric dome all sit together in the City of Arts and Sciences. Bioparc shows African animals without visible bars, and Gulliver, the giant climbing figure in the Turia gardens, is a favourite.

Zaragoza is calm and flat, with a river-themed aquarium at the old Expo site, the playgrounds of the Parque del Agua and, during the October fiestas, parades of giants and big heads. Its sights mean more to adults, though, and July and August are hard going with small children.

Valencia has the fuller network, and it needs one. The historic centre is easy on foot, but a trip here is spread across three places: the old town, the sea and the City of Arts and Sciences. That means a tram or metro ride to the sand and a long stroll or a short pedal down the old riverbed to the white buildings. The city is flat and well laid out for bikes, so many visitors find cycling the quickest way to link them.

Zaragoza asks less of you because there is less ground to cover. The Pilar, the Casco and the Aljafería all sit in one flat core, so most days need nothing but your feet. A single tram line and the buses handle the rest, and the one ride you are likely to notice is out to Delicias for the fast trains. Neither city needs a car unless you are heading out into the hills or rural Aragon.

Valencia gives you more to browse. Calle Colón and Poeta Querol have the chains, luxury boutiques and the department store, and El Carmen and Ruzafa add vintage and independent design. Manises ceramics, hand-painted fans and silk make distinctive things to take home.

Zaragoza's shopping is the everyday Spanish sort, along Paseo de la Independencia, with older shops and pastry makers on Calle Alfonso I and a large complex on the southern edge. Its best souvenirs are things to eat and drink, such as candied frutas de Aragón and local wine, plus pottery from Muel.

Zaragoza is the cheaper stay. Valencia is reasonable for a large city, with its set lunch menus and cheap transport and bike hire. Still, summer stays near the beach, rice lunches by the sea and tickets for the City of Arts and Sciences add up.

In Zaragoza the central hotels, tapas and wine all cost less, the main sights are cheap to visit and the Pilar basilica is free. In both cities, the festival weeks are the time a budget traveller should avoid.

Valencia has the more serious stage. The Palau de les Arts gives it a proper opera and ballet season with a highly regarded orchestra, the Palau de la Música by the Turia is home to the city orchestra, and village wind bands play all through Fallas.

Zaragoza's Auditorio brings in touring orchestras and jazz, and the Teatro Principal stages plays and dance, but there is less on, so check the programme before you go. Its own sound is the jota, Aragon's leaping folk song and dance, which is easiest to see during the October fiestas.

Neither city is a spa destination, and both offer much the same instead: a slow Spanish rhythm of long lunches and evening walks, with hotel spas and Arab-style bathhouses for the rest. Valencia's calm comes from the seafront promenade and the shade of the Turia, and its mild winters suit an unhurried stay out of season.

Zaragoza is a place to unwind along the Ebro and in Parque Grande, but its summer heat and the cierzo wind wear you out. Its one advantage is the thermal waters of Alhama de Aragón, a day out a little over an hour away.