Aix-en-Provence or Genoa?

Genoa lets you swim without leaving the city. There is Boccadasse's little cove, the bathing establishments along Corso Italia and the swimming platforms below Nervi's promenade, and Camogli, Sestri Levante and Varazze are a short train ride along the coast. Aix is inland, so a swim means about an hour's drive to the Cote Bleue, Marseille or the calanques near Cassis.

Most of the shore near both cities is pebble or rock, and it gets crowded in high summer. Varazze's longer sandy beaches west of Genoa are the main exception. In practice, a swim in Genoa fits into an afternoon, while from Aix it takes a whole day, so many visitors use their pool instead.

Both cities cook regional food rather than international, but Genoa's is the more distinctive and the easier to eat well from at any hour. Focaccia at breakfast, trofie with pesto, farinata and fried fish from the old friggitorie in the caruggi, and seafood in the harbour trattorias add up to a street-food culture that Aix doesn't have.

Aix is about the sit-down Provencal lunch: produce from the market on Place Richelme, daube and vegetable tians, local rosé, and calissons to finish. The settings are lovely, but the best-known terraces on the Cours Mirabeau charge for the view more than for the cooking.

Genoa has much more to see. Its caruggi make up one of Europe's largest medieval quarters, and the Rolli palaces on Via Garibaldi show Van Dyck and Rubens in painted halls. With San Lorenzo, the Palazzo Ducale and the marble sculpture of Staglieno cemetery as well, there is enough for several days.

Aix is smaller and more harmonious: the Cours Mirabeau, the mansions of the Mazarin quarter, fountains on almost every square, and the Cezanne trail of studio, family house and quarries. It is a beautiful town to wander for two or three days, while Genoa repays a longer stay.

In Aix, students on the terraces around Place des Cardeurs set the tone of the evening, and there are a few cocktail bars and small clubs. The town goes quiet in term breaks, and anyone who wants a proper club night goes to Marseille.

Genoa's evenings start with aperitivo in the medieval squares around Piazza delle Erbe, and in summer they move to the waterfront bars and beach clubs along Corso Italia and the Foce. Weeknights are quiet there too, so in either city expect a late glass of wine rather than a big night out.

Both are excellent for the outdoors, but the landscapes are quite different. Aix has dry limestone country: Sainte-Victoire on the edge of town, the Calanques, cycling in the Luberon and Alpilles, and the Gorges du Verdon further out. Summer fire closures and the need for a car shape how you visit.

Genoa's outdoors is greener and closer to the water. You can walk the fort trail above Righi or the cliff paths of Portofino and the Cinque Terre, all reached by funicular or train, and go whale watching in the Pelagos Sanctuary.

From Aix, the TGV gets you to Avignon's Palais des Papes in about twenty minutes, Marseille is half an hour away, and Arles with its Roman arena is about an hour by road. Add Nimes and the Pont du Gard, and Aix gives you Roman Provence and the hill villages of the Luberon, though Gordes and Roussillon really need a car.

Genoa's best trips are along one coastal railway. Camogli, Santa Margherita and Portofino are under an hour away, and the Cinque Terre take about an hour and a half. Milan and Turin are close enough for a day in a big city. These are fishing harbours and cliffside villages rather than Roman monuments, and in summer it is best to set off early.

Genoa has far more for children. The Porto Antico alone has the aquarium, a science centre, the glass biosphere and the Galata museum's submarine, and the funiculars and public lifts are fun in themselves. The drawback is the steep, stepped lanes, which are hard going with a pushchair.

Aix is safe and largely pedestrian, with fountains and ice cream to keep younger children happy, but its sights are mansions and museums. Families there usually rely on a pool and drive out to the zoo at La Barben or to the coast.

In both cities you explore the centre on foot, but the ground is different. Aix's old town and the Cours Mirabeau make up a compact, mostly pedestrian area, while Genoa climbs steeply from the port, with funiculars, public lifts and a short metro line to help. Further out, Genoa has the advantage of a coastal railway to the Riviera. From Aix the villages need a hire car, and the TGV station sits out on the plateau.

Aix is the more enjoyable town to shop in. The lanes around Rue d'Italie and Rue Espariat have French fashion and shoe boutiques, and on market days the main squares fill with fabrics, bric-a-brac and flowers. The things to take home are calissons, santons, olive-wood ware and Marseille soap.

Genoa has the familiar Italian labels along Via XX Settembre and Via Roma, but its character lies in the long-established food shops of the old town and the filigree and coral workshops. Neither city has real luxury shopping.

Genoa is clearly the cheaper place to stay. Focaccia and farinata cost little, central hotels are fair by Italian standards, and the funiculars and trains do the job of a hire car. Costs go up mainly in the Riviera resorts and when you rent loungers.

Aix is one of the pricier towns in southern France. It has few central hotels, terrace dining comes at a premium, and most visitors also pay for a car. Market picnics and lunch menus in the back streets help keep costs down.

Aix has the edge, mostly because of July, when the Festival d'Aix stages opera in the courtyard of the Archbishop's Palace. For the rest of the year, Ballet Preljocaj and the Grand Theatre de Provence keep dance and music going. Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice has a steady season of opera and concerts and the city honours Paganini, but its plays are in Italian and its singer-songwriter tradition survives mainly in small clubs.

Aix was founded on warm springs. The Thermes Sextius spa stands on the site of the Roman baths, some fountains on the Cours Mirabeau still run warm, and outside July the market mornings keep the pace restful. Genoa has no spa tradition of its own, so thermal waters mean a trip to Acqui Terme, and you find calm in Nervi's gardens and promenade rather than in the busy port centre.