Arles or Bergamo?

Arles is the only one of the two with real sea swimming. The Camargue shore begins about 40km south, at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, where you find sand and dunes. Further on are the huge empty strands of Piémanson and Beauduc, where the shallow Mediterranean is gentle for paddling, as long as the mistral and the mosquitoes behave.

Bergamo's answer is lake swimming at Iseo or on the Lecco arm of Como. The lake shores are pebble, grass or concrete platforms rather than sand. Both cities give you a day out rather than a beach vacation, but Arles's day is the more memorable.

Bergamo gives you more to eat. Casoncelli with butter and sage, polenta with braised game, and cheese counters stacked with Taleggio, Branzi and Strachitunt fill the Città Alta. The lower town adds everyday trattorias and aperitivo bars, there are fine-dining restaurants in the province, and Franciacorta comes from just over the border.

Arles has its own strong identity: bull gardiane, Camargue rice, tellines and Alpilles olive oil. Its high point is the long Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices. Beyond that the choice of restaurants is narrow and thins out in winter.

The two are equally rich in sights, but in different eras. Arles is about antiquity you walk through: the working Roman arena, the theatre, the cryptoporticus galleries, the Alyscamps tombs and the Romanesque cloister of Saint-Trophime. Photography and the Luma tower add a modern layer.

Bergamo is Venetian and Renaissance. It has the walled Città Alta, the marble front of the Cappella Colleoni and Santa Maria Maggiore. The Accademia Carrara holds Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna, which makes Bergamo the stronger choice for paintings. Each takes about two days.

Neither is a place for a big night out, but Bergamo has a little more going on. Long aperitivi spill into wine bars around Via XX Settembre and Borgo Santa Caterina, students keep a few bars busy, and summer evenings are spent drinking on the upper-town squares. Milan is a short train ride away.

In Arles, a late dinner on the Place du Forum is usually the whole evening. The exceptions are the Easter and September ferias, when street bodegas keep the town up for a few nights.

Both have fine country close by, but of opposite kinds. Arles opens onto the flat Rhône delta of lagoons, salt flats and rice fields. You explore it on horseback or by bike along the dykes, watching flamingos, white horses and migrating waders, and the Alpilles ridges add hiking among olive groves.

Bergamo rises into mountains. Paths through the Colli park start at the upper town, and Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead to rifugi, high lakes and small winter ski areas, with Iseo and Como for sailing and lakeside cycling. Arles is best in spring and autumn, while Bergamo's mountains come into their own in summer.

Both make outstanding bases, so the question is what you want to see. From Arles, Avignon's Papal Palace is about twenty minutes by train and Nîmes about half an hour, and the Pont du Gard, Les Baux and Saint-Rémy add more Roman sites and hill villages. Many of these places are much easier with a car.

Bergamo pairs a major city with lakes. Milan's Duomo and Last Supper are under an hour away, and Lake Iseo's Monte Isola and the towns of Lake Como are close. Brescia, Cremona and Verona can all be reached by rail.

Bergamo is easier with children. The funiculars up to the Città Alta and San Vigilio are a treat in themselves, the walls make a gentle walk, and the city parks have playgrounds. Leolandia, aimed at younger children, is about twenty minutes away, and Le Cornelle wildlife park makes an easy half day.

Arles appeals more to older children who like history and animals. They can climb the arena towers, explore the dark cryptoporticus and ride ponies at Camargue ranches. The lack of organised attractions, the summer heat and the constant drives make it harder work.

Arles's old town is tiny: everything is within about fifteen minutes' walk, and a free shuttle loops the centre. Trains serve Avignon, Nîmes and Marseille. The Camargue reserves and beaches, though, really need a car or a bike.

Bergamo has more ways to get around. Funiculars climb between the two towns, buses run to the station and the airport, and a light-rail line goes up Val Seriana. Only the upper valleys and lake shores are much quicker by car.

Bergamo gives a shopper slightly more to do, though Arles has the more distinctive things to bring home. In Arles, look in the old-town shops for printed Provençal cottons, santons, pottery and gardian shirts and hats. Arles is also a publishing town, so its bookshops are good for photography books and prints. For clothes, people go to Aix or Marseille.

Bergamo has more variety. The arcaded Sentierone and Via XX Settembre in the lower town are lined with Italian chains and mid-range fashion. The lane through the Città Alta is packed with cheese shops, salumi and Valcalepio wine to take home. Milan, under an hour away, covers anything more serious.

Bergamo is a little easier on the budget. Hotels in the lower town are fairly priced, and the cheap buses and funicular mean you can explore Lombardy without hiring a car. Staying inside the Città Alta costs more.

Arles is reasonable by Provençal standards and cheaper than the Luberon. However, most visitors hire a car to reach the Camargue and the villages, and rooms are tight during the ferias and the photography festival.

Bergamo takes this clearly, thanks to Donizetti. The Teatro Donizetti runs a season of opera and concerts with an autumn festival of his works, the Teatro Sociale stages smaller productions, Bergamo Jazz has a long history, and La Scala is within reach for an evening.

Arles's live performance is mostly in summer and outdoors. There are concerts in the Roman theatre and arena, world music at Les Suds in July, and the ferias and the bloodless course camarguaise. There is no opera, and little happens in winter.

Bergamo has proper spa water nearby. The Belle Époque thermal resort of San Pellegrino Terme is about forty minutes up the valley, and Trescore Balneario's sulphur springs have been used since Roman times.

Arles has no thermal tradition, so relaxing there is about pace. You get shaded squares, a siesta through the summer heat and perhaps a few days at a Camargue or Alpilles farmhouse with a pool.