Avignon or Turin?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Avignon gets you to the water more easily. The Gardon's clear pools below the Pont du Gard are a half-hour drive away. The wild Camargue sands at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and the resorts at Le Grau-du-Roi make a reasonable day out.

Turin's nearest sea, the Ligurian Riviera around Savona, is noticeably further, so summer swimming there usually means lakes such as Avigliana or Viverone. If the sea matters to you, Turin really calls for a separate stay on the coast.

Avignon cooks in the Provençal way: daube, tians, tapenade and lunch at the counters of Les Halles, with Châteauneuf-du-Pape poured by the glass. It is good, simple food, though the best tables are tucked away in the side streets and there is little choice beyond Provençal food.

Turin eats better and with more depth. Agnolotti del plin, vitello tonnato, autumn white truffles from the Langhe and Barolo on every list make up a serious cuisine. The vermouth aperitivo and the arcade cafés, with their gianduiotti and bicerin, add a sweet and social tradition that Avignon cannot match.

Avignon has one supreme ensemble: the Palais des Papes, the broken Pont Saint-Bénezet and almost 4km of ramparts, with the Petit Palais and the Collection Lambert inside them. It is a compact medieval showpiece that two days will cover.

Turin has more to fill a longer stay. The Museo Egizio alone is a reason to come. Around it stand the Royal Palace, Palazzo Madama and the Savoy residences out to the Reggia di Venaria, along with the cinema museum in the Mole and contemporary art at Rivoli. Its story runs from a baroque royal court to the Fiat factory, not back to the Middle Ages.

Avignon is a place for an aperitif on Place Pie and a quiet walk home. The exception is July, when the festival keeps the old town up until the small hours.

Turin has a proper evening culture all year. The aperitivo leads on to wine bars in the Quadrilatero Romano, pavement crowds in San Salvario and Vanchiglia's more alternative bars. In summer there is the Murazzi along the Po, and there are a few clubs in old industrial spaces. Outside July it is by far the livelier choice.

Avignon's countryside is varied and beautiful. There is Mont Ventoux for cyclists, the Luberon's ochre trails, the white crags of the Alpilles, canoeing on the Gardon and the flamingos of the Camargue. It is best in spring and autumn, when the heat eases.

Turin's is on a bigger scale. The Alps fill its horizon, and within about an hour and a half you have Gran Paradiso's ibex and high trails, hut-to-hut hiking in summer and skiing around Sestriere in winter. If you want real mountains, Turin is the stronger base.

Both are excellent bases, but Avignon has more within easy reach. Nîmes, Arles, Orange and the Pont du Gard put some of the finest Roman remains outside Italy within half an hour. The Luberon villages, Les Baux and Châteauneuf-du-Pape are not much further.

Turin's best outings take longer. The Langhe wine villages and Alba are about an hour south, Milan is an hour away by fast train, and Genoa and Aosta are around two hours. They are fine days out, but they cost more travel time than Avignon's.

For children, Avignon offers the tablet tour of the Palais, dancing on the bridge from the song and the playground on the Rocher des Doms. After that the good days are out of town, at the Pont du Gard or in the Camargue. The cobbled lanes and the July crowds make it harder going.

Turin is the easier city with young ones. Its flat grid and long arcades suit a pushchair in rain or sun. The glass lift in the Mole, the car museum, the mummies and the planetarium make for several outings, and Zoom Torino is a drive away.

Both are walking cities. Avignon's walled centre is the smaller of the two, with everything within twenty minutes of the station, but the cobbled lanes and the mistral on the open squares can tire you. Regional trains reach Arles and Nîmes easily, while the villages and Ventoux need a hire car.

Turin's centre is larger but easier underfoot: flat, laid out on a grid and sheltered by arcades, with a driverless metro line and trams for longer hops. You need a car only for the wine hills and the mountains, and the stations link well to the rest of Italy.

Avignon's shopping is modest. There are chains on Rue de la République, Provençal cottons, lavender and olive-wood in the lanes, and edible souvenirs such as calissons, olive oil and wine. Serious antiques mean a trip out to L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue.

Turin is a proper shopping city. Luxury labels line the Via Roma arcades, Via Garibaldi has the mainstream shops, and antique dealers gather on Via Maria Vittoria. The Balon flea market runs every Saturday, and the chocolate makers and delicatessens make food shopping a highlight.

Avignon costs more for what it is: a small town with heavy tourist demand. Rooms inside the walls get scarce and expensive in July, and seeing the countryside usually means paying for a hire car. Spring and autumn are much cheaper, though, and the set lunches in the bistros are fair value.

Turin is easier on the budget. Central hotels are fairly priced for most of the year, a generous aperitivo can stand in for dinner, and public transport is inexpensive.

The two are close overall but work very differently. Avignon puts almost everything into July, when the Festival d'Avignon fills the Cour d'honneur of the Palais des Papes and the Off fringe runs well over a thousand shows a day. For the rest of the year it has the Opéra Grand Avignon, a dozen small theatres and a jazz club.

Turin spreads its programme across the whole year, with opera and ballet at the Teatro Regio, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, concerts in the Lingotto auditorium and festivals of jazz and electronic music. Go to Avignon in July for theatre on a scale few places match. In any other month Turin has the fuller season, though its spoken theatre is in Italian.

Neither city has a bathing culture, and both rely on hotel spas, so the difference lies in how each one slows you down. Avignon's calm comes from long lunches under plane trees and farmhouse stays among the vineyards with a pool, though July and the mistral can spoil the peace.

Turin offers city calm instead: historic cafés, walks under the arcades and Valentino park. For real thermal waters it has Acqui Terme or the Aosta valley baths, each close to two hours away.