Arles or Lucerne?

Arles has the real seaside, though it is a drive away. The Camargue shore at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, and the wide, empty strands of Piémanson and Beauduc beyond Salin-de-Giraud, give you sand, dunes and shallow Mediterranean water, with little shade and the occasional mosquito.

Lucerne's swimming is in the lake, from the Lido, the old wooden lake baths and the lawns at Ufschötti. The water is clean and calm and the mountains make a fine backdrop, but there is no sand and the season is short. In both places a swim is a day out rather than the purpose of the trip.

Arles eats better and more distinctively. Gardiane bull stew, Camargue rice, tellines and Alpilles olive oil give it a clear regional identity, and the long Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices, with lunches on the Place du Forum, is reason enough for a visit.

Lucerne's tables are hearty but predictable: Chügelipastete, fondue, rösti and lake perch in panelled guild houses. Too many places near the Chapel Bridge cater to coach tours, and the bill is steep for what arrives.

Arles has more to see. Its UNESCO-listed Roman ensemble of arena, theatre, cryptoporticus and Alyscamps, plus the carved portal of Saint-Trophime, the Roman barge in the archaeology museum and Gehry's Luma tower, makes for two very full days. The summer photography festival adds a modern side.

Lucerne's sights are fewer but iconic: the Chapel Bridge and Water Tower, the Musegg Wall towers and the Lion Monument. The Rosengart Collection's Picasso and Klee are a highlight. Both towns can be covered in a day or two, and Arles is the richer of the two.

Neither is a place for a big night out, but Lucerne has slightly more going on. Cocktail bars and a small club scene in the Neustadt, kept busy by students at weekends, give you somewhere to go after dinner, and Fasnacht turns the whole town into a costumed party until dawn.

In Arles the evening usually ends with a drink at the café tables on the Place du Forum. It only comes alive late during the Easter and September ferias, when bodegas take over the streets.

Lucerne is in another league for scenery. Pilatus, Rigi, the Stanserhorn and glaciated Titlis are all reachable by rail, cable car or steamer, so a single day can combine a boat trip, a summit and a ridge walk. In winter the same mountains offer skiing and sledging.

Arles offers flat, wide-open wetland instead. The Camargue starts at the edge of town, with flamingos, white horses and black bulls, best seen on horseback or by bike along the dykes. The Alpilles add gentle hill walking among olive groves.

Arles has the denser set of outings. Avignon and Nîmes are short train rides away, and the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Saint-Rémy, Aigues-Mortes and Saintes-Maries are close, so you could fill a week without repeating yourself, though a car is needed for the villages.

Lucerne's trips are fewer but very easy. Zurich, Bern and Basel are each under an hour by train, and the lake steamer to the Rütli meadow and Altdorf is a day out in itself.

Lucerne works better for children. The Swiss Museum of Transport is a full day of trains, planes and a planetarium, the Glacier Garden's mirror maze is close to the Lion Monument, and paddle steamers, cogwheel trains and the Pilatus toboggan run make each journey part of the fun. The centre is flat and the lakeside lawns are ideal for picnics.

Arles appeals most to older children who like history and animals. They can climb the arena towers, explore the dark cryptoporticus and ride ponies on Camargue ranches. Summer heat, mosquitoes, cobbles and the need for a car make it harder work with small children.

Lucerne is far easier. Station, boat piers and Old Town sit together on the lakefront, and integrated tickets carry you onto steamers, mountain railways and cable cars, so a car is never needed.

Arles is easy to walk around and has good trains to Avignon, Nîmes and Marseille. However, the Camargue and the Alpilles villages are served by infrequent buses, and most visitors staying several days end up hiring a car.

Shopping is modest in both, with Lucerne a little ahead because of its trade in Swiss watches, army knives and chocolate around Schwanenplatz. Arles offers Provençal printed cottons, santons, gardian shirts, Camargue salt and good bookshops full of photography titles. Neither town has much fashion, so serious shoppers head to Aix, Marseille or Zurich.

Arles costs far less. Meals and rooms are priced like any French provincial town and noticeably cheaper than the Luberon. A combined pass covers the sights, though car hire and the festival weeks push up the total.

Lucerne is expensive whatever you do. Central hotels, ordinary restaurant meals and especially the mountain railways eat into any budget, and supermarket picnics by the lake can only soften the cost.

Lucerne is the place for music lovers. The Lucerne Festival brings leading orchestras and soloists to Jean Nouvel's acoustically celebrated concert hall, which keeps a year-round programme with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, while the city theatre stages opera and dance.

Arles has seasonal, open-air performance instead. There are summer concerts in the Roman theatre and arena, world music at Les Suds in July and the course camarguaise in the warm months, but there is no opera, and the town is quiet outside summer.

Lucerne has more for a restful stay. The Mario Botta mineral bath high on the Rigi offers a soak with a mountain view, hotel and resort spas are easy to find, and an afternoon on a steamer is about as calm as travel gets.

Arles has no spa tradition. It slows you down in its own way, with siestas, shaded squares and quiet evenings by the Rhône, and some Camargue and Alpilles farmhouses are run as retreats with pools.