Arles or Lausanne?

Neither city has its own shore, but Arles has the real sea about 40km away. There are the long sandy beaches either side of Saintes-Maries and the huge open strands of Piémanson and Beauduc, with shallow, easy water in summer. In return you get a drive, little shade, mosquitoes and the occasional mistral.

Lausanne's swimming is lake bathing from lawns, piers and pebble shores at Vidy, Bellerive and Lutry. It is easy to fit into a city afternoon, but the season ends in early September and there is no sand to speak of.

Both are regional kitchens built around a Saturday market, but the flavours are quite different. Arles cooks Camargue bull in gardiane and serves red rice and tellines. Its best meal is a long terrace lunch near the Place du Forum after the market on the Boulevard des Lices, though many places close in winter.

Lausanne leans on lake perch, papet vaudois and fondue, and its wine is the bigger draw: Lavaux Chasselas tasted straight from the growers in village caveaux. It also has the more celebrated top tables, while its everyday middle is plainer.

Arles carries far more history for its size. The arena, the antique theatre, the cryptoporticus, the Alyscamps and the Saint-Trophime cloister form one UNESCO-listed group, and the archaeology museum holds a Roman barge raised from the Rhône. Van Gogh's legacy and the Luma tower add a later chapter.

Lausanne's sights are fewer and more recent in date: the Gothic cathedral with its night watchman, the steep old town, and museums led by the Olympic Museum, Plateforme 10 and the Collection de l'Art Brut. Each city takes two or three days, but Arles packs more into them.

Lausanne is the livelier of the two after dark, largely thanks to its students. Old warehouses in the Flon hold clubs and late bars that fill up at weekends, and the waterfront at Ouchy draws crowds on summer evenings, though weeknights are quiet and drinks are dear.

In Arles most nights end with dinner and a glass on a square, and there are no clubs to speak of. The exception is the ferias at Easter and in September, when bodegas in the streets keep the town up for a few days.

Lausanne has the grander outdoors. It has the Lavaux terraces for walking, sailing and paddleboarding on the lake, and the Vaud Alps and the Jura within about an hour for hiking and skiing, up to the glacier at Glacier 3000.

Arles offers flatter, wilder country in the Camargue delta. Flamingos, white horses and bulls live in the marshes, migrating waders bring birdwatchers, and you can ride or cycle along the dykes, with the Alpilles nearby for hill walks. Summer mosquitoes and the mistral make spring and autumn the seasons for it.

Both are first-rate bases, and the difference is in what surrounds them. From Arles the outings are Roman and Provençal: Avignon and Nîmes by train, the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and walled Aigues-Mortes. The villages are far easier with a car.

From Lausanne the trains do almost everything. Montreux and the Château de Chillon are along the lake, Geneva, Bern, Fribourg and Gruyères are all within reach, and boats cross to Évian. It is the easier region to explore without driving.

Lausanne gives children much more to do. There is the hands-on Olympic Museum, the aquarium-vivarium, the pedal boats and animal park at Sauvabelin, the lakeside pools at Bellerive and paddle steamers on the lake. The steep streets and the cost of eating out are the drawbacks.

Arles appeals mainly to older children who like history and animals. They can climb the arena towers, explore the dark cryptoporticus, ride at the ranches and watch the flamingos. Nothing is built for children, the cobbles are hard on buggies, and the summer heat and mosquitoes tire families out.

Both centres are compact, but Lausanne is much better connected beyond its centre. The m2 metro climbs the hill from Ouchy to the upper town, buses and lake boats fill the gaps, and the Swiss rail network means most trips need no car.

Everything in Arles is within about fifteen minutes' walk, a free shuttle loops the centre, and trains run to Avignon, Nîmes and Marseille. The Camargue's ranches, reserves and beaches need a car or a bike, though, and most visitors staying several days hire one.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Lausanne has more choice. Rue de Bourg has Swiss watches, jewellery and chocolatiers, the streets around Place Saint-François have the international names, and the Flon has a few design shops.

Shopping in Arles is smaller and more local: Provençal cottons, santons, gardian shirts, and Camargue salt and rice from the Saturday market, plus good bookshops and photography prints. It is better for things that come from the region than for fashion.

This is where the two differ most. Arles costs what a French provincial town does: lunch menus, market food and mid-range hotels at ordinary prices, and a combined pass for the sights. Car hire and the festival weeks are the main extra costs.

Lausanne is expensive in the usual Swiss way, from rooms to taxis to a simple lunch. Visitors on a budget rely on supermarket picnics and the free lakeside promenades, and a glass of Chasselas in a Lavaux caveau is one of the few bargains.

Lausanne has a stage life that is rare for a city of its size, and it runs all year. It is home to the Béjart Ballet and the Prix de Lausanne, it has the Théâtre de Vidy, a full opera season and a respected chamber orchestra, and the Montreux Jazz Festival is a short ride along the lake in July.

In Arles, live performance is mostly a summer and festival affair. There are concerts in the Roman theatre and arena, world music at Les Suds, and brass bands and the course camarguaise around the ferias. Out of season, serious programmes mean a trip to Avignon or Nîmes.

Lausanne is better set up for pampering. The grand lakeside hotels have extensive spas, and there are thermal springs at Yverdon-les-Bains and Lavey-les-Bains, both within an hour by train. The calm is on the lake promenades and the Lavaux paths rather than in the steep centre.

Arles offers a simpler kind of rest: shaded squares, siestas, evenings by the Rhône and a few farmhouse retreats with pools. It has little in the way of spas.