Arles or Avignon?

Arles has the sea on its side. The Camargue beaches at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer are about 40km away. Past Salin-de-Giraud, the open strands of Piémanson and Beauduc have room to spread out even in high summer, so shallow, easy swimming fits into a stay without much planning.

From Avignon, the same Camargue sands and the resort beaches around Le Grau-du-Roi are well over an hour's drive, so the sea is an occasional outing. Its local swim is in the river instead, in the clear green pools of the Gardon below the Pont du Gard, and otherwise in the hotel pool.

Arles has the more distinctive local cooking: gardiane made with Camargue bull, red rice from the delta and tellines from the beaches. Its Saturday market along the Boulevard des Lices is the bigger food event of the two. But the choice of restaurants is narrow and many close in winter, so the town is better for market shopping and long lunches than for evenings of eating out.

Avignon gives you more choice of where to eat. Les Halles on Place Pie is a covered morning market whose small counters cook lunch from the stalls around them. With the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and the Côtes du Rhône villages close by, the side-street bistros around Rue des Teinturiers serve good local wine by the glass.

Both have a UNESCO-listed group of monuments in a compact centre that two days will cover, so the real difference is the period. Arles is Roman and Romanesque: the arena that is still in use, the antique theatre, the cryptoporticus, the Alyscamps and the carved portal of Saint-Trophime. The Luma tower adds modern art, and photography is the town's summer theme.

Avignon is medieval and papal. The huge Gothic Palais des Papes dominates it, along with the broken bridge and almost 4km of ramparts, and the Petit Palais holds Italian painting. The charterhouse at Villeneuve-lès-Avignon is just across the river.

Neither is a town for clubbing, but Avignon has a little more going on after dinner. It has aperitifs on Place Pie, student bars near the university and the late-night crowds of the July festival, though most of the year the streets inside the walls are quiet by midnight.

Arles winds down sooner. Evenings are a drink on the Place du Forum and not much after that, except during the Easter and September ferias, when bodegas fill the streets for a few nights.

Both are close to the same remarkable country, but they look out on different sides of it. Arles has the Camargue on its doorstep: flamingos, white horses and bird reserves you can reach by bike along the dykes, with the Alpilles to the north-east for hiking. Avignon looks north and east instead, to the climb up Mont Ventoux, the Luberon's ochre trails, the Dentelles de Montmirail and canoeing on the Gardon, and the Camargue is a longer drive away.

Both make superb bases, and each counts the other among its best outings. Arles is better placed for the south and west, with Les Baux, Saint-Rémy, Montmajour, Aigues-Mortes and Saintes-Maries close by.

Avignon is better placed for the north and east: Orange's Roman theatre, the wine villages of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and the Luberon hill villages. Its high-speed trains also reach Aix and Marseille in about half an hour, where from Arles it takes about an hour.

Neither town has much made for children, and in both the best family days are outside the town. Arles has the arena towers and the dark cryptoporticus, then pony rides at Camargue ranches and gentle delta beaches, which suits older children who like animals.

Avignon has the tablet tour of the Palais des Papes, the playground in the Rocher des Doms and the bridge from the song, with swimming and canoeing at the Pont du Gard. July's festival crowds make spring a better time to bring children there.

Both centres are easy to walk, but Avignon has the better connections. A shuttle train links it to its TGV station, and regional trains run to Arles, Nîmes, Orange and Marseille. That makes a stay without a car realistic, at least for visiting the towns.

Arles has a station near the old town and a free shuttle bus around the centre. But its real draws, the Camargue reserves, the ranches and the wild beaches, depend on infrequent buses, so most visitors staying a few days hire a car.

Shopping is modest in both, and mostly Provençal cottons, soaps and olive oil. Arles leans towards books and photography prints, gardian shirts and Camargue salt from the Saturday market. Avignon adds the high-street chains on Rue de la République and a few independent boutiques around Rue Joseph Vernet, and the antiques dealers of L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue are within easy reach.

Costs are much the same in both, those of a French provincial town that gets plenty of visitors, and in both a hire car adds to the bill. Arles has a combined pass that covers most of its sights.

The difference is when rooms get scarce and dear. In Arles that happens in July and during the ferias and the summer photography festival. Avignon's prices peak in July, when the theatre festival fills every room inside the walls.

This is where the two differ most. Avignon's festival, founded in 1947, fills the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes every July, alongside the Off fringe with well over a thousand shows a day. The rest of the year, the opera house on Place de l'Horloge, the small theatres and a jazz club keep a regular programme going.

In Arles, live performance is mostly outdoors and in summer: concerts in the Roman theatre and arena, world music at Les Suds in July and the course camarguaise in the warm months. For opera or anything serious in winter, people go from Arles to Avignon, Nîmes or Marseille.

Neither has a spa tradition, but Avignon offers a bit more for a restful stay. There are day spas and massage studios as well as hotel spas, the quiet of the Rocher des Doms in the late afternoon, and vineyard farmhouses with pools just outside the walls, as long as you avoid July. Arles relies on its slow pace instead: siestas and evenings by the Rhône, plus a few farmhouses in the Camargue and the Alpilles run as retreats.