Aix-en-Provence or Colmar?

Neither town is on the coast, but Aix is close enough to make the sea a regular day out. The small city beaches of Marseille, the coves of the Côte Bleue and the inlets around Cassis are all within an hour's drive. They are mostly pebble or rock, and busy in August.

Colmar sits in the Alsace plain between the Vosges and the Rhine, a very long way from any sea. Swimming there means a municipal pool or a small lake up in the Vosges valleys, so water should play no part in choosing it.

Both towns eat well within their regions, but the regions could hardly be more different. Aix follows the Provençal market. Lunch is the main meal, with goat's cheese, olives, daube and grilled fish on a terrace, chilled rosé from the Coteaux d'Aix, and calissons to finish.

Colmar's cooking is Alsatian and much heartier. Winstubs serve choucroute, baeckeoffe and tarte flambée, with Riesling or Gewurztraminer from the slopes outside town and cellar tastings a short drive away. Colmar also has a small fine-dining tier along the wine route. In both towns, the busiest spots for tourists trade on their setting more than their cooking.

The two are equally rewarding, and both take about two days at an easy pace. They appeal in different ways, though. Aix has classical elegance: honey-coloured mansions in the Mazarin quarter, fountains on almost every square, and Cézanne's studio, family house and quarries.

Colmar is a complete late-medieval townscape of painted half-timbered houses, canals and carved façades. It also has one masterpiece that is worth the journey on its own: Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece in the Unterlinden Museum.

Aix has noticeably more going on after dark, thanks to its students. Bars around Place des Cardeurs and the lanes behind the town hall fill on warm nights, and there are a few cocktail bars and small clubs. Colmar's evenings mostly end with dinner and a glass of wine near Petite Venise. Serious clubbers go to Marseille from Aix and to Strasbourg from Colmar.

Aix has the more dramatic landscape. The limestone ridge of Sainte-Victoire rises just outside town, the white cliffs of the Calanques offer outstanding coastal walking and sea kayaking, and the Gorges du Verdon is within reach. In midsummer, though, the massifs are often closed on days of high fire risk.

Colmar's countryside is gentler and greener. There are marked paths through the vines, the forested Vosges with glacial lakes and the high Route des Crêtes, and modest skiing in winter. Autumn, when the grapes are harvested, is its finest season.

Both are excellent bases, but the outings are different in character. From Aix, the day trips take in Marseille, the papal palace at Avignon, Roman Arles and Nîmes, and the hill villages of the Luberon and the Alpilles. Those villages are spread out and need a car.

Colmar's wine villages, such as Eguisheim, Riquewihr and Kaysersberg, sit a few kilometres apart and are easy to link by bike. Strasbourg is half an hour by train, and Basel and Freiburg are just across the borders, so a trip from Colmar can take in three countries.

Colmar is much the better choice with children. In town there are flat-bottomed boats through Petite Venise, a little tourist train and storks nesting on the roofs. A short drive away are the otter park at Hunawihr, free-roaming macaques and an eagle show at Kintzheim, and Europa-Park.

Aix is safe and pedestrian but has little aimed at children. Afternoons are very hot, so families tend to rely on a pool and on outings to the zoo at La Barben or to the coast.

Both centres are compact and easy to walk, so there is little to choose between them in town. The difference is the rail link. Colmar's station is a short walk from the old town, with quick trains to Strasbourg and Mulhouse. Aix's TGV station is out on the plateau and needs a shuttle bus, although buses to Marseille are frequent. In both regions you will want your own transport for the villages: a car around Aix, a car or a bicycle on Colmar's flat vineyard roads.

Aix gives shoppers more. The lanes around Rue d'Italie and Rue Fabrot have French fashion and shoe boutiques, the Allées Provençales add high-street chains, and produce, textile and flower markets fill the squares. Calissons, santons, olive-wood ware and Marseille soap make good things to take home.

Colmar is mostly about regional goods: wine bought from the producer, Soufflenheim pottery, kougelhopf moulds, printed table linen and gingerbread. Its Christmas markets are the highlight of its year, but there is little fashion.

Colmar is the easier town on the wallet. Meals and wine are moderately priced, and tastings in the wine villages are often free. Rooms are its weak point, especially in the Christmas market weeks, but staying in a nearby village helps.

Aix is among the more expensive towns in the south of France. Hotels are few and mostly boutique, rates climb in July, and terrace dining on the Cours Mirabeau costs more than it should. A hired car adds further to the bill.

Aix is well ahead. Each July the Festival d'Aix brings major opera productions to the courtyard of the Archbishop's Palace. All year round, the Grand Théâtre de Provence and Ballet Preljocaj at the Pavillon Noir keep up a serious programme of music and dance.

Colmar has a small Italian-style theatre, a classical festival in early July and autumn jazz. For full-scale opera or orchestral concerts, people go to Strasbourg or Basel.

Aix has a real spa tradition. The Romans founded it for its warm springs, some fountains still run warm, and the Thermes Sextius spa stands on the site of the old baths. Colmar has only hotel spas. What it offers instead is quiet: evenings by the canals once the day-trippers leave, and slow walks through the vines.