Antibes or Turin?

This is the widest gap between the two. Antibes has real sand at Juan-les-Pins and La Salis, which is rare on this coast. Around Cap d'Antibes the shore turns to rocky coves and flat rocks with very clear water.

Turin sits inland on the Po plain. The Ligurian sea near Savona is close to two hours away, so in town a swim means a lake such as Avigliana or Viverone.

Turin is the better place to eat by some distance. The cooking is rich and precise: agnolotti del plin, vitello tonnato, white truffles from the Langhe in autumn and serious Barolo. Add gianduja, bicerin in the old arcade cafés and the vast Porta Palazzo market.

Antibes eats well enough around the Cours Masséna market, with socca, pissaladière and grilled fish on a terrace. Its range is that of a coastal town, though, and the streets by the port lean on tourist menus.

Turin has the deeper culture by a wide margin. As the first capital of united Italy it has the Museo Egizio, the Royal Palace, Palazzo Madama and the ring of Savoy residences, and the Mole, the Lingotto and Castello di Rivoli carry the story into the modern age.

Antibes has one outstanding sight: the Picasso Museum in the Château Grimaldi, above the sea. Fort Carré, the old town lanes and Villa Eilenroc make a pleasant two days, but not much more.

The calendar makes the real difference here. Antibes comes alive only in July and August. Then Juan-les-Pins keeps its beach bars and clubs open into the early hours, and yacht crews fill the pubs and wine bars near Port Vauban. Out of season most places close early, and anyone wanting a bigger night goes to Nice.

Turin goes out all year and gives you more choice. Evenings start with the aperitivo and move on to the wine bars of the Quadrilatero, the pavement crowds of San Salvario or the more alternative Vanchiglia, and in summer to the Murazzi by the Po. The mood is sociable rather than wild.

This comes down to sea against Alps. In Antibes the outdoors happens mostly on and beside the water. You can walk the limestone path around the cape, snorkel or dive in the clear water off its rocks, or paddleboard across the bay. For proper hiking you go to the red cliffs of the Esterel or the Gorges du Loup, both easiest by car.

Turin goes further, because real mountains are about an hour away. Gran Paradiso has ibex and high trails, and the Susa valley and the slopes around Sestriere offer skiing in winter and hut-to-hut walking in summer. Closer in, there are paths in the hills across the Po and deer in the walled Mandria forest.

Both make excellent bases, but the trips are very different. From Antibes, a single coastal railway runs to Nice, Cannes, Monaco and Menton, and boats cross to the Lérins Islands. The art villages of Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Biot and Vallauris are just inland.

From Turin, the days out are about wine and history: Alba, Barolo and La Morra in the Langhe, and the Sacra di San Michele on its rock. Milan is an hour away by fast train, and Genoa and Aosta are about two hours.

The two are about equal, but they suit children of different ages. Antibes is for young children who want to dig and paddle. Its sandy, gently shelving beaches beat the pebbles elsewhere on the coast, though the town has little else built for children.

Turin works better for older, curious children. They get the glass lift through the Mole, the mummies in the Museo Egizio, the car museum and the rack railway up to Superga, and the arcades shade pushchairs from sun and rain.

Both centres are easy on foot, and Turin is slightly simpler overall. Its flat grid and long arcades connect the main sights, and a driverless metro line and trams cover the rest of the city, with fast trains onward across Italy.

In Antibes, the old town, market and port are close together, and the coastal railway makes the Riviera towns easy. Buses to the cape and the hill villages are slow, though, and summer traffic and parking on the coast road are hard work.

Turin is a proper city for shopping. Via Roma has the big labels under its arcades and Via Garibaldi has mainstream shops. Chocolate makers, delicatessens and the antique dealers of Via Maria Vittoria are the most memorable part, along with the Balon flea market.

Antibes is small-scale. Its best buys are olive oil and soaps from the covered market, Provençal linens from the old town lanes, and glass and pottery in Biot and Vallauris. For fashion, people go to Cannes.

Turin is clearly cheaper. Central hotels are fairly priced for most of the year, except during big trade fairs. A generous aperitivo can replace dinner, and trattorie and food from Porta Palazzo stretch a budget a long way.

In July and August, Antibes charges like a luxury resort, both for rooms near Juan-les-Pins and for beach-club loungers. Spring and autumn bring hotel rates down a lot, and market picnics and the regional trains help.

Turin has a full year-round programme. There is opera and ballet at the Teatro Regio, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, concerts at Renzo Piano's Lingotto auditorium and jazz in small clubs. Theatre at the Carignano is almost all in Italian.

Antibes has one big draw: Jazz à Juan, held each July under the pines since 1960. It is reason enough for a jazz fan to choose that month. For the rest of the year there is the Anthéa theatre, and for opera you go to Nice.

Neither has a bathing tradition, so relaxing is more about pace than spas. Antibes offers seawater thalassotherapy and the grand hotel spas on Cap d'Antibes, and it is most restful in May, June and September.

Turin is calm in all seasons, with long coffees under the arcades and afternoons in Valentino park. For real thermal waters, though, you need to travel about two hours to Acqui Terme or the Aosta valley.