Arles or Lugano?

Arles has real sea beaches, but they are out in the Camargue. Around Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer there is sand with dunes, and further on lie the vast, open strands of Piémanson and Beauduc. They are wild and roomy, with little shade, and you need a car to reach them. The mistral and the mosquitoes come with them.

Lugano has no sea and no sand, but you can swim right in town. The lidos at the mouth of the Cassarate and along the shore offer lawns, decks and ladders into the lake, and boats run to small village baths. One city offers a wild day out at the sea, the other an easy afternoon swim.

The two are broadly level, but they eat in different ways. Arles is about the market. The long Saturday market on the Boulevard des Lices sells Camargue rice, tellines and saucisson d'Arles, and gardiane stew is served at long terrace lunches with rosé. Many restaurants close in winter.

Lugano's signature is the grotto, a rustic tavern in the hills where polenta, braised meats and local Merlot are served under chestnut trees. Eating out costs far more in Lugano, and serious diners often cross into Italy.

Arles is in a different league here. Its arena is still in use. Add the antique theatre, the cryptoporticus galleries, the Alyscamps and the Saint-Trophime cloister, plus the museum's Roman barge, the Fondation Vincent van Gogh and Gehry's tower at Luma, and two full days go quickly.

Lugano's sights are pleasant rather than weighty. There is the Lombard-style old town around Piazza della Riforma, the cathedral with its lake views, Luini's Passion fresco and the collection shown at LAC. Most visitors have seen it all in a day and look to Milan for more.

Neither town goes out late, and the evenings look much alike. In Arles you have dinner on a square and a drink at the Place du Forum. The streets only stay up during the Easter and September ferias, when bodegas set up outdoors. In Lugano it is an aperitivo by the lake or under the arcades among a well-dressed crowd, with a club or two. Anyone after a real night out drives to Marseille or Montpellier from Arles, or takes the train to Milan from Lugano.

Lugano has the more dramatic setting. Funiculars climb Monte Brè and San Salvatore from the edge of town, the path to Gandria follows the shore, and the ridge from Monte Lema to Monte Tamaro makes a full mountain day. The green rivers of the Verzasca and Maggia valleys are about an hour away.

Arles offers something entirely different: flat wetland and wildlife. The Camargue's lagoons and salt flats hold flamingos, white horses and black bulls, and you explore them on horseback, by bike along the dykes or on foot in the bird reserve. For proper hills you head to the Alpilles.

Both are excellent bases, so the choice comes down to which region you want to see. From Arles it is Roman and Provençal: Avignon and Nîmes are short train rides, and the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and Aigues-Mortes are best reached by car. From Lugano trips cross a border, with Milan's Last Supper, Lake Como, the castles of Bellinzona and Lake Maggiore. Most of them are easy by train or lake boat.

Lugano works better with children, especially young ones. Boat trips, lido slides, funicular rides and the rack railway up Monte Generoso make easy outdoor days, there are playgrounds in Parco Ciani, and the miniature Switzerland at Melide is close by. The steep streets are hard going with a pushchair.

Arles appeals more to older children who like history and animals. They can climb the arena towers, explore the dark cryptoporticus, ride ponies on Camargue ranches and watch the flamingos. But heat, mosquitoes, cobbles and the need for a car make it more demanding.

Inside town both are walkable, but Lugano is much easier beyond the edge of town. A funicular links the station to the old town, buses climb the hillsides, boats serve the lake villages, and the Swiss railways reach Bellinzona, Como and Milan without fuss.

Central Arles is even more compact, with a free shuttle and good trains to the big cities. But the Camargue, the wild beaches and the hill villages need a car, because the regional buses run only now and then.

Lugano has more for the shopper with money to spend. Via Nassa's arcades are lined with Swiss watchmakers, jewellers and Italian fashion houses, and there is a large designer outlet near Mendrisio. Arles has no fashion to speak of, but its Saturday market, Provençal cottons, santons, gardian shirts and good bookshops full of photography titles make better souvenirs than anything on Via Nassa.

The difference in cost is stark. Arles costs what a French provincial town costs, it is cheaper than the Luberon or Alpilles villages, and one combined pass covers the sights. The main extras are a hire car and higher room rates during the summer festivals and ferias.

In Lugano, rooms, meals, wine, boats and mountain railways all carry Swiss prices. Grotti, set lunches and the free regional transport that comes with most hotel stays help a little, but staying here is never cheap.

Lugano has more going on through the year, almost all of it at LAC. Its concert hall is home to the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana and hosts visiting soloists, and its theatre stages drama and dance. In summer the Estival Jazz festival puts on free concerts in Piazza della Riforma.

Arles is seasonal and outdoors. There are concerts in the Roman theatre and the arena, world music at Les Suds in July, and ferias and the bloodless course camarguaise in the warm months. Outside summer there is little beyond a modest theatre season.

Neither has a bathing tradition, but Lugano makes rest easier. You can spend afternoons on a lido or under the palms of Parco Ciani, book a spa in one of the big lakeside hotels, or use the indoor pool and sauna complex near Rivera. In Arles, rest means siestas, shaded squares and a converted mas in the Camargue or the Alpilles with a pool, and the summer heat can make even that tiring.