Antibes or Geneva?

This is Antibes' clearest advantage. Juan-les-Pins and La Salis have long, gently shelving sand, which is rare on this coast, and the rocky coves round Cap d'Antibes, such as La Garoupe, have very clear water. Private beach clubs take much of the sand, and the free stretches fill early in high summer.

Geneva's swimming is a lake affair: diving off the jetty at the Bains des Pâquis, or lawns and pools at Genève-Plage. It is fun on a hot August afternoon, but it is lido rather than beach, and the water is cold until June.

The two are close for eating well, but the food could hardly be more different. Antibes cooks in the Niçoise way, with socca, pissaladière, stuffed vegetables and grilled fish, and its days revolve around the morning market on Cours Masséna. Its range is that of a coastal town, and the lanes by the port lean on tourist menus.

Geneva is about lake perch, fondue and raclette in wood-panelled brasseries, with Chasselas and Gamay from the canton's own vineyards. It also has a wider international and fine-dining spread, and Carouge is at its centre. You will pay more for every meal, and there is little casual street food.

Geneva has more to see and more variety in it. It mixes Reformation history, with Calvin's cathedral and the Reformation Wall, and the world of diplomacy and science at the Palais des Nations, the Red Cross museum and CERN. Watchmaking at the Patek Philippe Museum adds a further thread.

Antibes has one outstanding sight, the Picasso Museum in the Château Grimaldi, with the works he painted there in 1946. Around it are the ramparts, Fort Carré and the old town lanes, which fill a pleasant day or two rather than a programme.

Neither is a place for big nights, and they are quiet in different ways. Antibes comes alive only in summer. Juan-les-Pins then has beach bars and a few clubs open into the small hours, and yacht crews fill the pubs and wine bars by Port Vauban, but much of it shuts out of season.

Geneva goes out more steadily through the year but winds down early on weeknights. The late bars are in the Pâquis, the terraces in Carouge and the club nights in the alternative cultural centres of Plainpalais and Jonction.

Antibes' outdoors is the sea and the cape. There is the coastal path over wind-carved limestone, snorkelling and diving in clear water, and sailing in the bay. The Esterel's red cliffs and the hills above Grasse are a drive away.

Geneva is the stronger base for anyone who wants mountains. The Salève is just over the border with a cable car and paragliding, and the Jura has forest hikes and cross-country skiing. Chamonix, the high Alps and winter ski resorts are about an hour or so away.

Both are excellent bases, and Antibes has the edge for sheer density. Nice and Cannes are minutes away by train, and Monaco, Menton and the Lérins Islands are easy outings. The hill villages are close too, from Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Eze to Grasse, Biot and Vallauris.

Geneva's outings cover more ground and more variety. The lake steamers call at Nyon, Lausanne, the Lavaux vineyards and Chillon, and on the French side Yvoire and Annecy are within easy reach. Gruyères and Bern each make a longer day.

Both work about equally well with children, for different reasons. In Antibes it is the sand: shallow, gently shelving beaches that suit toddlers far better than the pebbles elsewhere on the Riviera, plus boats in the harbour and ice cream on the ramparts. There is little else built for children, and August is hot and crowded.

Geneva has no beach to fall back on, but it has the Natural History Museum's dioramas, the small animal parks at Bois de la Bâtie, lakeside playgrounds and the yellow harbour boats. Its flat streets and trams make it easy with a pushchair.

Geneva is much easier to get around. The centre is walkable, and trams, buses and the harbour boats run as one punctual network. The airport is a few minutes from the main station by train, and trains run on to the rest of Switzerland.

Antibes is easy on foot between the old town, the market and the port. The coastal railway takes care of Nice, Cannes and Monaco, but buses to the cape and the hill villages are slow, and summer traffic and parking on the coast road are a real problem.

Geneva is the far better place to shop, above all for watches and jewellery on the Rue du Rhône. Chocolatiers, Carouge's design workshops and the Plainpalais flea market give it a less formal side as well.

Antibes keeps things small and local: olive oil, herbs and soaps at the covered market, Provençal linens and ceramics in the old town. For glass and pottery, go to the workshops in Biot and Vallauris, and for fashion, to Cannes or Nice.

Neither is a cheap trip, but Antibes is the gentler on the wallet. Its prices peak near the beaches in July and August, and spring and autumn bring hotel rates down sharply. The old town has cheaper places to eat, and the coastal trains are good value.

Geneva is expensive all year, for rooms, meals and even a glass of wine. Free museums, free transport for hotel guests and cheap lake lidos help a little, and many careful spenders sleep or eat across the border in France.

Geneva has a proper year-round stage, with opera and ballet at the Grand Théâtre, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande in Victoria Hall, French-language theatre and concerts at the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices in the middle of the Rhône.

Antibes rests on one great event, Jazz à Juan, one of Europe's oldest jazz festivals, held each July under the pines by the sea. Outside it there is the regional programme at the Anthéa theatre, and the nearest opera is in Nice.

Geneva has the more distinctive bathing culture. In winter the Bains des Pâquis becomes a sauna and hammam, with plunges into the cold lake, and Évian and Divonne are close by. The orderly pace and very calm Sundays help too.

Antibes offers a thalassotherapy centre and the spas of the grand hotels on the cape. Its restfulness depends on the season: slow market mornings in May, June and September, but crowds and traffic in high summer.