Arles or Genoa?

Neither city is built for a beach vacation, but Genoa makes swimming part of an ordinary day. You can take a dip at Boccadasse, the bathing platforms of Corso Italia or Nervi, and Camogli or Sestri Levante are a short train ride away, in clearer and warmer water, though mostly over pebbles and among rented loungers.

Arles is the opposite in kind. Its beaches are sandy, flat and wild, at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and the open strands of Piémanson and Beauduc, with plenty of room even in August. They need a drive, though, and come with little shade, the mistral and mosquitoes.

Genoa is the stronger food destination by some way. Pesto was born here, and the city has a real street food tradition in its friggitorie and farinata shops, plus trattorias serving fish fresh from the harbour and the covered Mercato Orientale.

Arles has its own character, with gardiane bull stew, Camargue rice and tellines, and its Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices is a highlight of any week in Provence. But the choice of restaurants is narrow and thins out further in winter.

Both are UNESCO towns, but of different kinds and sizes. Arles is Roman and Romanesque in miniature: arena, theatre, cryptoporticus, the Alyscamps and the Saint-Trophime cloister, plus Van Gogh's legacy and the summer photography festival, all seen in a couple of days.

Genoa offers more to fill the time. Its caruggi make up one of Europe's largest medieval quarters, the palaces of Via Garibaldi hold Van Dyck and Rubens, and Staglieno's sculpted cemetery is unlike anything in Provence.

Genoa has the livelier evenings, though it is no party city. Students and locals spill out of the small bars around Piazza delle Erbe at weekends, and in summer the crowd drifts to the waterfront and the beach clubs.

Arles, by contrast, is mostly a late dinner on the Place du Forum and then bed. Only the Easter and September ferias, when bodegas set up in the streets, keep the town awake.

Both sit at the edge of remarkable country, and Genoa has the edge for walkers. A funicular to Righi leads to the trail around the ridge fortresses, the Portofino park and the Cinque Terre paths are reachable by train, and boats go out to watch whales and dolphins.

The landscape round Arles is flat and watery rather than steep. The Camargue's lagoons, flamingos, horses and bulls are best seen by bike, on horseback or in the bird reserve, with the Alpilles for proper hill walking.

Both are first-rate bases for day trips, and the difference is in kind. Arles opens onto Roman and Provençal France. Avignon's Papal Palace and the Maison Carrée in Nîmes are a short train ride away, while the Pont du Gard, the hill village of Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and the walls of Aigues-Mortes across the delta are best reached by car.

Genoa's trips are mostly along the coast. The Riviera railway runs east to Camogli, Santa Margherita, Sestri Levante and the Cinque Terre, and west to Finale Ligure and Noli. Portofino has no station, but it is a short bus or boat ride on from Santa Margherita. Milan and Turin are about an hour and a half away by train for a day in a big city, so the whole list works without a car.

Genoa does far more for children. The Porto Antico gathers one of Europe's largest aquariums, a science centre, a biosphere and a submarine to walk through, and the funiculars and public lifts are a treat on their own, even if the steep lanes defeat pushchairs.

Arles has the arena towers and the dark cryptoporticus, and children who like animals will love the Camargue ponies and flamingos. Beyond that there is little made for them, and summer heat and mosquitoes add to the effort.

In Arles the centre is easy, everything within about fifteen minutes on foot, but leaving town usually means a hire car, since buses to the Camargue and the villages are infrequent.

Genoa is steeper and more of a maze, yet better connected. Funiculars, lifts and a short metro line handle the hills, and the coastal railway reaches Nervi and the Riviera towns, so a car is a nuisance rather than a necessity.

Genoa gives a little more scope, with the arcades of Via XX Settembre, Italian labels on Via Roma and old town workshops for silver filigree and coral, though serious fashion shoppers will want Milan.

Arles is smaller and more particular: Provençal cottons, santons, gardian shirts and good bookshops, with photography books a speciality, and the Saturday market for salt, oil and linens.

Genoa goes a bit further on a budget. Focaccia and farinata cost little, central hotels are cheaper than in Italy's best-known cities, and public transport covers most trips, though loungers and Riviera resorts add up in summer.

Arles is reasonable for Provence, but rooms grow scarce during the ferias and the summer festival, and the car most visitors need adds noticeably to the bill.

Genoa has the steadier programme. The Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari runs opera, ballet and symphony concerts, and the city honours Paganini with concerts of its own.

Arles is seasonal and outdoors: summer concerts in the Roman theatre and arena, the Les Suds world music festival in July, and the ferias with their brass bands and the course camarguaise. Out of season, there is little beyond a modest town theatre.

Neither is a spa destination, though Genoa has slightly more to offer, with Acqui Terme's thermal waters an hour or so away and the gardens and promenade of Nervi for calm hours.

In Arles the rest comes from the pace itself: siestas, shaded squares and evenings by the Rhône, with some restful farmhouse retreats with pools out in the Camargue and the Alpilles.