Arles or Nantes?

Neither city has a beach of its own, but Arles has the better day at the sea. The Camargue shore at Saintes-Maries, Piémanson and Beauduc is long, wild and empty, and the shallow Mediterranean is warm enough for easy swimming through high summer. Expect little shade, though, and bring mosquito repellent.

The Atlantic beaches near Nantes, at La Baule and Pornic, are tidier and can be reached by train, but the water stays cooler and the season is shorter.

Nantes gives you more to eat. It is the home of beurre blanc, it is close to the oyster beds, it has Muscadet vineyards on the doorstep and the Talensac market, and its bistro scene runs from the Bouffay lanes to Graslin all year round.

Arles has stronger local character, with gardiane bull stew, Camargue rice and tellines, and its Saturday market is a real event. Beyond that, though, the choice of restaurants is narrow and thins out in winter.

Arles holds more history in a smaller space. The arena, the antique theatre, the cryptoporticus, the Alyscamps and the carved cloister of Saint-Trophime form a UNESCO group within a short walk, and the Luma tower and the photography festival add a modern layer.

The appeal of Nantes is later in date and more varied: the ducal château with its candid history museum, the 18th-century merchant quarters, the slavery memorial and Jules Verne. Both towns can be seen in two or three days, but Arles leaves a deeper impression.

Nantes has a real night out, which Arles mostly lacks. Students keep the Bouffay pubs and terraces full, and later the crowd moves to the clubs and riverside bars in the old warehouses on the Ile de Nantes.

In Arles an evening means dinner and a drink on the Place du Forum. The exception is the Easter and September ferias, when bodegas take over the streets for a few nights.

Arles sits beside one of France's great wild landscapes. The Camargue's lagoons, salt flats and reed beds bring flamingos, white horses and migrating birds right up to the town, and the Alpilles add limestone ridges for hiking and cycling.

Nantes has quieter water country: the wooded Erdre, the Loire à Vélo route and the Brière marshes, with cliff walks on the Côte Sauvage. It is pleasant, but it has no hills and fewer surprises.

Few bases match Arles for excursions. Avignon and Nîmes are a short train ride away, and the Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Saint-Rémy and Aigues-Mortes are all close, so you could fill a week without sleeping anywhere else, though a car helps with the villages.

Nantes has a broader but more spread-out choice: salt-marsh Guérande, Angers and its tapestry, the Loire châteaux and Vannes on the Gulf of Morbihan, with more of the journeys easily made by train.

Nantes is the more natural fit for children. The walking elephant and the carousel at the Machines de l'Ile are pure fun, the trams are easy with a buggy, and a safari park and Puy du Fou are both within a drive.

Arles works for older children who like gladiator-era ruins, ponies and flamingos. However, summer heat, mosquitoes and cobbles make it harder work with little ones.

Both centres are compact. The difference is how far you get without a car. Nantes has a tram network you pick up at once, river shuttles, flat streets for cycling and trains to the coast and to Paris.

In Arles you can walk everywhere in town and reach the big neighbouring cities by train. The Camargue, the Alpilles villages and the wild beaches, though, really need a car.

Nantes offers more variety: the three-level Passage Pommeraye, chain fashion and a department store around Rue Crébillon, and independent and second-hand shops near Bouffay and Decré.

Arles is better for a bag of Provençal souvenirs, such as printed cottons, santons, Camargue salt and gardian shirts, and for its bookshops and photography prints. Neither town is a destination for luxury.

The two cost much the same, and the difference lies in where the money goes. In Nantes, hotels are easy to find and the trams keep transport cheap, while dinners and drinks are the main cost.

Arles is good value for Provence, but rooms tighten during the ferias and the photography festival, and the car hire most visitors need adds to the bill.

Nantes has a stage all year round: opera at the Théâtre Graslin, the regional orchestra, contemporary work at the Lieu Unique, and La Folle Journée filling the city with classical concerts each winter. It also has its giant street puppets.

The performances in Arles are seasonal and open-air. There are summer concerts in the Roman theatre and arena, Les Suds world music in July, and feria bands and the course camarguaise in the warm months, but very little happens in winter.

Neither city is a spa destination, but Nantes has a little more on offer, with the long-established seawater thalassotherapy centres at La Baule and Pornic about an hour away.

In Arles, rest comes from the pace of the town: siestas, shaded squares and quiet evenings by the Rhône. Some converted mas in the Camargue and the Alpilles also serve as retreats with pools.