Andorra la Vella or Biarritz?

Andorra la Vella has no beach at all. The capital lies in a Pyrenean valley about three hours from the Mediterranean, and its glacial lakes are too cold for a proper swim, so warm water means a hotel pool or the Caldea lagoons.

Biarritz grew up around its beaches, from the Grande Plage below the casino to the sheltered Port Vieux cove and the long sands of Anglet. This is the open Atlantic, with big waves and strong currents, so you swim between the lifeguard flags.

Both kitchens are rooted in their regions, Catalan mountain cooking in one and Basque in the other, but only Biarritz is worth travelling for. In Andorra la Vella the best meals are in the bordas, stone barns in the side valleys where lamb and sausages are grilled over wood fires. The restaurants on the shopping avenues are uneven.

Biarritz gives you much more to eat. Les Halles has fish from the Bay of Biscay, sheep's cheese and pintxo bars from mid-morning, and there are piperade, chipirons, gâteau basque and a good set of modern bistros. In neither town is there much beyond the local cuisine.

Neither town is a culture destination, and each can be seen in a day or two, but their heritage is very different. Andorra la Vella's is medieval stone: the Casa de la Vall, the old parliament house in the Barri Antic, and Romanesque churches in the valleys such as Santa Coloma with its round bell tower.

Biarritz's heritage is the glamour of the nineteenth-century resort. It has the imperial villa, the Art Deco casino, Belle Époque villas and a Russian Orthodox church, and the Rocher de la Vierge, the aquarium and the Cité de l'Océan make easy visits.

Evenings in Andorra la Vella are quiet: a pub or wine bar in the centre or in Escaldes-Engordany, then an early night. The après-ski crowd stays up in the resort villages near the French border, not in the capital.

Biarritz has more life, at least in summer. Then the streets around Les Halles stay busy with wine and pintxos until late, surfers meet for sundowners above the Côte des Basques, and a few clubs and the casino stay open into the small hours. Bayonne and San Sebastián are close if you want a bigger night.

Andorra la Vella has the bigger outdoors. The town sits at about 1,000m among peaks close to 3,000m, with lift-linked skiing in winter, the UNESCO-listed Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley on the edge of town, and from late spring, trails to glacial lakes and high refuges, plus long road climbs for cyclists.

In Biarritz the outdoors means the ocean. It is one of Europe's original surf towns, with beginner breaks on the Côte des Basques. The cliff path south towards Spain and La Rhune inland add good walking, but in green foothills rather than high mountains.

Andorra la Vella's list of day trips is short. La Seu d'Urgell and its Romanesque cathedral are half an hour south, Puigcerdà and Llívia lie on the Cerdanya plateau, and Foix and its castle are about two hours away over the pass into France.

Biarritz has a far richer choice across two countries. San Sebastián is less than an hour away, Bayonne is next door and Saint-Jean-de-Luz is a short train ride down the coast. The Basque villages of Espelette and Ainhoa, walled Hondarribia and Bilbao's Guggenheim also make good days out.

Andorra la Vella suits families who will ski or hike. There are big ski schools, toboggan runs, rope courses and an animal park with Pyrenean wildlife. But the centre is a busy shopping street full of traffic, and children who are not out in the mountains may soon get bored.

Biarritz is a little better for a family trip in summer. Children can take surf lessons, the seals and sharks at the aquarium fill a wet day, and the calm Port Vieux cove suits the youngest. Its steep streets are hard going with a pushchair, though.

Both towns have compact, hilly centres that are easy to walk, and in both a car helps for the side valleys or the inland villages. The real difference is getting there. Andorra la Vella has no train, the nearest airports are a long drive away in Spain or France, and the valley road jams at weekends and in ski season, although buses do link the parishes.

Biarritz is much easier to reach. Its airport is on the edge of town, regional trains run along the coast to Bayonne, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Spanish border, and local buses go to Anglet.

Andorra la Vella is the place for shopping in quantity. Low taxes have turned the avenues into Escaldes-Engordany into one long strip of department stores, perfume, electronics, spirits and above all ski and outdoor gear, though it has little local craft or character.

Biarritz is smaller and more about taste: fashion boutiques, surf shops, striped Basque linen, espadrilles, chocolate and Espelette pepper from Les Halles. It is better for gifts and worse for bargains.

Andorra la Vella is the cheaper stay of the two. Rooms are often good value outside the peak ski weeks, set lunches are reasonable, and low taxes keep spirits and shopping cheap. Ski passes, equipment hire and the spa still cost what they do in any mountain resort.

Biarritz charges the prices of a fashionable resort, especially in July and August, when rooms book up early. You can cut costs by eating at the market bars, coming outside summer or staying in Anglet or Bayonne.

Andorra la Vella's stage life is mostly a summer affair, with a jazz festival in Escaldes-Engordany and a classical festival in Ordino, and for the rest of the year there is usually little on in the evenings.

Biarritz has a real draw in dance. Its national choreographic centre has its own ballet company, which performs at the Gare du Midi, a former station turned theatre, and an autumn festival fills the stages. Beyond dance, both towns offer only small-town programmes.

Both towns offer water cures, but of different kinds. Andorra la Vella's is Caldea, the thermal complex fed by the hot springs of Escaldes-Engordany, with lagoons, saunas and an adults-only area. It is ideal after a day on the slopes, but the town around it is busy with traffic.

Biarritz goes further. It is one of the homes of French thalassotherapy, and people build a whole vacation around the multi-day cures at its seafront seawater spas. Outside July and August the town slows to a calm pace of headland walks and long lunches.