Andorra la Vella or Bordeaux?

Andorra la Vella has no coast at all. The Mediterranean is about three hours away by road and the mountain lakes are too cold for swimming, so a hotel pool or the Caldea lagoons are as close as you get to a swim.

Bordeaux is not a beach city either, but the Atlantic is about an hour west. The Médoc and Lacanau shore has long sand beaches with serious surf. The sheltered Arcachon basin is calmer and suits small children, so a summer beach day is easy to add to a city stay.

Andorra's cooking is hearty mountain food: escudella, trinxat and meat grilled over wood. The best of it is in the bordas of the side valleys, not in the uneven restaurants along the shopping avenues. It feeds you well after a day outdoors.

Bordeaux is a city worth travelling to for its food and wine. Wine from the surrounding appellations runs through everything, from bars serving it by the glass to the Cité du Vin. Add the oysters at the Marché des Capucins, entrecôte grilled over vine cuttings and canelés, and you have a far richer food trip than the Pyrenean valley offers.

Andorra la Vella's heritage takes about a day. In town there is the Casa de la Vall, the old parliament house, and the stone lanes of the Barri Antic. A short ride out are the Romanesque churches of the valleys, such as Santa Coloma with its round bell tower. The rest of the town is mostly shops and apartment blocks, and the museums are small.

Bordeaux's whole 18th-century centre is a UNESCO site, and walking it can fill several days on its own. Your route can take in the Place de la Bourse, the colonnaded Grand Théâtre and the Gothic Basilique Saint-Michel. Add the Musée d'Aquitaine and the CAPC, and someone travelling for culture gets far more here than in Andorra.

Evenings in Andorra la Vella are short and low-key, with a few pubs and wine bars in the centre and Escaldes-Engordany. The real après-ski happens up in the resort villages.

Bordeaux offers far more: terraces in Saint-Pierre, the student bars of Place de la Victoire and late clubs along the Quai de Paludate. Even so, a typical night out here means a long dinner followed by wine bars rather than dancing.

Here Andorra la Vella is far ahead. Peaks near 3,000 m surround the town, and in winter large ski areas are a short ride away. The UNESCO-listed Madriu-Perafita-Claror valley starts at the edge of town, and once the snow retreats, trails lead to glacial lakes and mountain refuges.

Bordeaux's countryside is flat vineyards and pine forest, best seen by bike along the greenways. Its finest outdoor days are on the coast, climbing the Dune du Pilat or surfing at Lacanau, but there is no mountain walking anywhere near.

From Andorra la Vella the list is short. La Seu d'Urgell, with its cathedral and market, is half an hour south, the Cerdanya and Llívia lie to the east, and Ax-les-Thermes and Foix are over the pass in France. Mountain roads make most of these trips slow.

Bordeaux has a much richer choice of outings, many of them by train. Saint-Émilion is about forty minutes away and Arcachon about an hour. By car or on a tour you can reach the châteaux of Margaux and Pauillac and the vineyards of Sauternes, and Cognac is at the edge of a day. If you want a base with a different outing every day, Bordeaux is the better choice.

Both work for children, in different ways. Andorra la Vella is a mountain playground, with ski schools and gentle slopes in winter and toboggan runs, rope courses and an animal park in summer. The town centre, though, is one long shopping street with heavy traffic.

Bordeaux is flat, served by trams and easy with a pushchair. Children can splash in the Miroir d'eau, ride the carousel and watch the puppet theatre in the Jardin Public, and climb the dune at Arcachon. Children who do not enjoy skiing or hiking will tire of Andorra sooner, while those bored by long meals may find Bordeaux slow.

Andorra la Vella's centre is small and walkable, though the old quarter is steep, and buses link the parishes and the ski slopes. But there is no train in the country, getting there means a long drive from airports in Spain or France, and the valley road jams at weekends.

Bordeaux is much easier. The centre is flat and largely pedestrianised, the tram lines are simple to follow, there are bike lanes along the river, and trains run to Saint-Émilion and Arcachon. Only the wine estates really call for a car.

The two are about equally rewarding, for different reasons. Andorra la Vella is one long low-tax strip running from the capital into Escaldes-Engordany. It is ideal for stocking up on ski and outdoor gear, electronics, perfume or spirits, but has little local craft or character.

Bordeaux is a place to browse rather than hunt bargains. It has the chains on Rue Sainte-Catherine, luxury labels in the Triangle d'Or, antique dealers on Rue Notre-Dame in Chartrons, and wine cellars that will ship your bottles home.

Andorra la Vella is the cheaper of the two. Rooms are good value outside the peak ski weeks, and low taxes keep drink and shopping cheap, though ski passes and the spa cost what they do in any mountain resort.

Bordeaux is priced like a prosperous French city, with mid-to-high hotel rooms that cost more in summer. Set lunches and the free pleasure of walking the centre help, but wine tours and good bottles at dinner add up.

Andorra la Vella has little on outside summer, when a jazz festival in Escaldes-Engordany, classical concerts in Ordino and open-air shows fill the calendar.

Bordeaux has a full season, with opera and ballet in the gilded 1780 Grand Théâtre, the national orchestra in its own auditorium, and jazz and touring acts on the right bank. Its season pauses in high summer, the time when Andorra's festivals begin.

Andorra la Vella has the edge thanks to its hot springs. The Caldea complex in Escaldes-Engordany, with lagoons, saunas and an adults-only section, is a natural end to a day on the slopes. For real quiet, the stone villages of the side valleys are close by.

Bordeaux has no thermal water of its own. Rest there means vinotherapy at spa hotels among the vineyards, along with the slow pace of long lunches and evening walks on the quays.