Andorra la Vella or Avignon?

Neither town is a beach destination, but Avignon at least puts swimming within reach. The clear green pools of the Gardon below the Pont du Gard are about half an hour away, and the Camargue sands and Le Grau-du-Roi make a full day out to the south.

Andorra la Vella is about three hours from any shore, and its mountain lakes are too cold for a real swim. Warm water there means a hotel pool or the lagoons at Caldea.

Both serve the cooking of their region, but Avignon eats and drinks better. Andorra la Vella offers hearty Catalan mountain food, such as escudella, trinxat and lamb grilled over wood fires in the bordas of the side valleys. The restaurants along its shopping avenues are uneven.

Avignon has Provençal cooking, with daube, tians and tapenade, and the market counters of Les Halles. Above all it has Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Côtes du Rhône, poured by the glass in the side-street bistros. Choose it if eating is part of the point.

Here the gap is wide. Andorra la Vella's heritage fits into the Barri Antic, with the Casa de la Vall and Sant Esteve, plus Romanesque chapels such as Santa Coloma out in the valleys. A day covers it.

Avignon was the seat of the popes. The Palais des Papes, the cathedral, the broken Pont Saint-Bénezet and almost 4km of ramparts form a UNESCO ensemble, backed by the Petit Palais, the Musée Calvet and the Collection Lambert. It needs two full days.

Neither is a town for late nights. In Andorra la Vella the pubs and wine bars empty early because most visitors have spent the day skiing or shopping, and the real après-ski happens up in the resort villages.

Avignon is gentle too, with aperitifs on Place Pie and a few student bars. In July, though, the festival keeps its squares and terraces full until the small hours, and that gives it the edge.

Andorra la Vella is surrounded by its outdoors. Peaks near 3,000m rise all around, the ski areas are a short ride away, and the Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley begins at the edge of town. Once the snow clears, marked trails lead to lakes and refuges.

Avignon's countryside is celebrated but needs a drive: Mont Ventoux for cyclists, the Luberon and the Alpilles for walkers, and the Camargue's lagoons and flamingos. It has no skiing, and the summer heat narrows its outdoor season to spring and autumn.

Avignon is one of the best bases in France for day trips. Nîmes, Arles, Orange and the Pont du Gard are within about half an hour. Beyond them lie the Luberon villages and Châteauneuf-du-Pape, and Marseille is a short fast-train ride away.

Andorra la Vella's list is shorter. You can go south to La Seu d'Urgell for its cathedral and market, east to Puigcerdà and Llívia in the Cerdanya, or over the pass to Foix's castle in France. These are pleasant outings, but a few days use them up.

Andorra la Vella suits active children better. Winter brings ski schools and beginner slopes, summer has toboggan runs, rope courses and an animal park, and Caldea's family pools save a rainy day. Its weak point is the traffic-heavy main street.

In Avignon the tablet tour of the Palais des Papes and dancing on the broken bridge fill a morning. After that, most family days out need a car, and the cobbles and July heat are hard on small legs.

Andorra la Vella's centre is small and walkable, running along the river straight into Escaldes-Engordany, though the old-quarter lanes are steep. National buses run up the valleys and ski buses run in winter. The hard part is getting there: the country has no railway, the nearest airports in Spain and France are a long road journey away, and the main valley road clogs at weekends and in ski season.

Avignon is easier both to reach and to get around. Inside the ramparts nearly everything is within twenty minutes' walk of the central station by the walls, and regional trains from there reach Arles, Nîmes and Orange without fuss. High-speed TGV trains stop at a separate station a few kilometres south of the walls, linked to the centre by a short shuttle train. Only the hill villages, the vineyards and Mont Ventoux really call for a car.

Andorra la Vella is the place for a shopping list. Low taxes have turned the avenues running into Escaldes-Engordany into one long strip of ski and outdoor gear, perfume, electronics and spirits. What it lacks is character and local craft.

Avignon is smaller and more personal. Provençal cottons, lavender and soap fill the lanes around Rue Joseph Vernet, and olive oil and wine come from Les Halles or straight from the producers. Serious antique hunters go out to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Andorra la Vella goes a little further on a budget. Rooms are fair outside the peak ski weeks and low taxes keep spirits and shopping cheap, though ski passes and equipment hire cost what they do in any resort.

Avignon has the prices of a provincial French town that draws many tourists. Lunch menus and spring or autumn rooms are reasonable, but July rates inside the walls are steep, and a hire car is often an extra cost.

In July Avignon becomes a theatre capital. The Festival d'Avignon plays in the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes, and the Off fills every cellar and courtyard with more than a thousand shows a day. The rest of the year, the Opéra Grand Avignon and a dozen small theatres keep a programme going.

Andorra la Vella has a small national orchestra and summer festivals, with jazz in Escaldes-Engordany and classical music in Ordino. Outside summer there is usually little on in the evenings.

For a day of soaking, Andorra la Vella has the clear advantage. Caldea is fed by the hot springs of Escaldes-Engordany and has lagoons, saunas and an adults-only section, and it pairs naturally with skiing or hiking. For real quiet, though, look to the side-valley villages.

Avignon has no bathing tradition and only hotel spas. What it offers instead is a slow pace: long lunches under plane trees, and farmhouse stays with a pool among the vineyards outside the walls.