Antibes or Lausanne?

This is where Antibes pulls clearly ahead. It has true sand, rare on this coast, at Juan-les-Pins and La Salis, plus rocky coves such as La Garoupe around the cape. The sea is warm enough for swimming from June into October. Private beach clubs take much of the sand, and the free stretches fill early in high summer.

Lausanne swaps the sea for Lake Geneva. You swim from lawns, piers and pebble edges at Vidy, Bellerive and Lutry, and the old Bellerive lido is the classic afternoon. It is a pleasant summer extra, but the season is short and there is no sand to lie on.

The two are fairly evenly matched, but they eat very differently. Antibes is about southern produce and outdoor eating. The covered market on Cours Masséna, socca and pissaladière, grilled fish and rosé on a terrace are the highlights, though tourist menus crowd the streets near the port.

Lausanne is Alpine and lakeside: perch fillets, papet vaudois, fondue in winter. Its real strengths are wine, with Chasselas tasted at the growers' caveaux in Lavaux, and a top tier of celebrated restaurants. Cheap, casual meals are harder to find there.

Lausanne offers more to see. The painted portal of its cathedral, where a watchman still calls the hours, sits above a steep old town of covered stairways. Below it are the Olympic Museum at Ouchy, the museum cluster at Plateforme 10 by the station and the unusual Collection de l'Art Brut.

Antibes is smaller in scope but has one standout: the Picasso Museum in the Château Grimaldi, holding work he made there in 1946. Add the ramparts, Fort Carré over Port Vauban and the Garoupe chapel, and two relaxed days cover it all.

Neither is a party destination, and they differ mostly in when they come alive. Antibes is a summer affair: Juan-les-Pins runs late with beach bars and a few clubs in July and August, and the yacht crews fill the pubs by Port Vauban. Out of season it goes quiet and people head to Nice.

Lausanne keeps going all year thanks to its students. Weekends gather in the Flon, a former warehouse valley packed with clubs and late bars, and in summer the evenings spill onto the lakefront at Ouchy. Weeknights are calm, and drinks cost a lot.

Lausanne has the bigger landscape on its doorstep. The French Alps rise straight out of the lake opposite, and the UNESCO-listed Lavaux terraces make a superb walk between Lutry and Saint-Saphorin. Within about an hour you can hike or ski at Villars, Les Diablerets and Glacier 3000, or head into the Jura for cycling and cross-country trails.

Antibes is more about the sea. The limestone path around Cap d'Antibes, snorkelling and diving in clear water, and sailing in the bay are the local pleasures. Proper hiking means a drive to the red cliffs of the Esterel or the Gorges du Loup.

Both are excellent bases, so the choice comes down to what kind of outing you want. From Antibes, the coastal train strings together Nice, Cannes, Monaco and Menton, and boats run to the Lérins Islands. Inland are perched villages such as Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Eze, perfume-making Grasse and Picasso's Vallauris. Sanremo in Italy is within reach too, though the hill villages are easier by car.

From Lausanne the outings are Swiss towns and castles: Montreux and Chillon along the lake, Bern's arcades, Gruyères and walled Murten, with Évian across the water by boat. Almost all of these work by train alone.

Lausanne has more laid on for children. The Olympic Museum is hands-on, there is a freshwater aquarium-vivarium, and the Sauvabelin woods have an animal park, pedal boats and a lookout tower. Paddle steamers turn a lake crossing into an outing of its own. Steep streets and costly restaurants are the catch.

Antibes has one strong card: shallow, sandy beaches that suit toddlers better than the pebbles found elsewhere on the Riviera. Beyond the beach, the boats in the port and the walk to Fort Carré, there is little aimed at children, and August heat and crowds take planning.

Lausanne is easier, even with its hills. The m2 metro climbs from the lakeshore through the Flon to the upper town, buses and lake boats fill the gaps, and Swiss trains reach almost anywhere you would want to go. A car is only worth having for remote mountain valleys.

In Antibes, the old town, market and port are pleasant on foot, and the coastal railway handles the Riviera towns well. Beyond that, buses to the cape and the hill villages are slow, and summer traffic and parking on the coast road can be a real trial.

Lausanne has somewhat more choice. Rue de Bourg is the place for Swiss watches, jewellery and chocolatiers, with international brands around Place Saint-François and a few design shops in the Flon. It is still a short list, and few people travel there to shop.

Antibes is smaller and more local. You will find olive oil, herbs and soaps at the covered market, and Provençal linens and ceramics in the old town boutiques. For fashion, people go to Cannes or Nice, and glass and pottery are best bought in Biot and Vallauris.

Neither is a bargain, but Antibes costs noticeably less. Its high-summer rooms and beach clubs are expensive, yet rates fall sharply in spring and autumn, the old town has cheaper places to eat, and the coastal trains are good value.

Lausanne is costly in every season, from hotels and wine to a simple lunch. Budget travellers there live on supermarket picnics, the free lakeside promenades and the odd glass of Chasselas in a village caveau.

Lausanne has a far richer stage life for its size. Dance leads it, with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne and the Prix de Lausanne for young dancers. Add the Théâtre de Vidy's contemporary productions, a full opera season and a respected chamber orchestra, with Montreux's July jazz festival just along the lake.

Antibes revolves around one event, Jazz à Juan, held each July under the pines since 1960. Otherwise the Anthéa theatre runs a regional programme, and opera means a trip to Nice.

Lausanne is the more restful choice. You can wander the lakeside promenades and the quiet Lavaux vineyard lanes, the grand lakeside hotels have spas, and real thermal springs are close by train at Yverdon-les-Bains and Lavey-les-Bains.

Antibes offers seawater thalassotherapy and the hotel spas on Cap d'Antibes, but no warm springs. It is at its most relaxing in May, June and September, with slow market mornings and evening walks on the ramparts. High summer crowds make it anything but calm.