Arles or Lille?

Neither is a beach town, but Arles at least has the Mediterranean within a drive. There are sand and dunes at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, about 40km south, and the long, open strands of Piémanson and Beauduc lie beyond Salin-de-Giraud, with shallow, warm water in high summer. You need a car, and there is little shade on the wilder stretches.

Lille's nearest sand is at Malo-les-Bains on the North Sea, an hour away by train. It is wide and windy and the water is cold, so it suits a bracing walk more than a swim.

Lille has more to offer at the table. Its estaminets in Vieux-Lille serve carbonnade, potjevleesch and the welsh, Maroilles cheese turns up in almost everything, and beer bars and brewery taps fill the evening. The Sunday market at Wazemmes adds variety.

Arles eats well within narrower limits: gardiane, Camargue rice, tellines and the long Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices, with rosé on the Place du Forum. It is good for long lunches, but there is less choice and many kitchens close in winter.

Arles packs more into less space. The arena, the antique theatre, the cryptoporticus, the Alyscamps and the carved portal of Saint-Trophime form a UNESCO-listed Roman and Romanesque group, all within a short walk. The Luma tower and the summer photography festival give the town a modern side.

Lille's strength is one great museum rather than a whole townscape of antiquity. The Palais des Beaux-Arts with its Flemish masters, the brick baroque of Vieux-Lille and La Piscine in Roubaix reward painting lovers, but the city has fewer sights you could not see somewhere else.

Lille is the one for going out. Students fill the bars of Rue Masséna and Rue Solférino, especially on Thursdays. The brick cellars of Vieux-Lille hold beer cafés and cocktail bars for a calmer drink, and Belgium is close for later nights.

Arles winds down after a late dinner and a glass on the Place du Forum. Only the ferias at Easter and in September keep it up late, when bodegas set up in the streets.

Arles has the Camargue on its doorstep: lagoons, salt flats and reed beds with flamingos, white horses and black bulls. You can explore on horseback, by bike along the dykes or on foot in the bird reserve, and the Alpilles add proper hill walking among olive groves and pines.

Around Lille the land is flat and farmed. The Citadel park, the canal towpaths and the low Monts de Flandre make for gentle outings, and the cliffs of the Opal Coast are a long day away.

Both are first-rate bases, but for different trips. From Arles the outings are Provençal and Roman: Avignon and Nîmes by train, and the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and Aigues-Mortes, which are far easier by car.

Lille's day trips cross borders and go by rail. Brussels, Ghent, Bruges and Paris are all close by fast train. On the French side there are Arras, Amiens and the First World War battlefields.

Lille is the easier city with children. The Citadel park has a small zoo, playgrounds and flat paths, the natural history museum and the Forum des Sciences cover rainy days, and the metro gets you around. Pairi Daiza and Nausicaá are within reach for bigger outings.

Arles appeals more to older children who like history and animals. They can climb the arena towers, explore the dark cryptoporticus, ride ponies at Camargue ranches and see flamingos near Saintes-Maries. Summer heat, mosquitoes and the need for a car make it harder work.

Lille is simpler to get around. The centre is flat and walkable, the automated VAL metro and the tram reach Roubaix and Tourcoing, and both main stations are beside the old town, so you need no car.

Arles is just as easy on foot inside its old centre, and the station is close. But buses to the Camargue, the villages and the wild beaches are infrequent, so you need a bike or a hire car.

Lille has far more choice. The chains are on Rue Neuve and Rue de Béthune, there is the Euralille mall, and Vieux-Lille has independent fashion and design shops. Each September the Braderie turns the whole city into one huge flea market.

Shopping in Arles is smaller and Provençal: printed cottons, santons, Camargue salt and rice from the Saturday market, and good bookshops for photography. For fashion, people go to Aix or Marseille.

Day-to-day costs are much the same, in line with provincial France. What differs is what pushes the bill up. In Arles it is the hire car most visitors need, and dearer rooms in July and during the ferias. In Lille it is the Braderie and the trade fairs, while the inexpensive metro keeps getting around cheap.

Lille has a year-round season that Arles lacks. The Opéra de Lille and the Orchestre National de Lille both have full seasons, the Théâtre du Nord is one of France's national theatres, and touring acts play the Zénith and the Aéronef.

Live performance in Arles happens mostly in summer: concerts in the Roman theatre and the arena, the Les Suds world music festival in July, and the brass bands of the ferias and the course camarguaise in the warm months. Out of season there is little beyond the town theatre.

Neither is a spa destination, and in both, treatments mostly mean hotel spas. Arles offers a southern pace instead, with siestas, shaded squares and farmhouse retreats with pools in the Camargue and the Alpilles. Lille's calm is found in tea rooms and on café terraces, with a real thermal bath a short train ride away at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux.