Biarritz or Cannes?

Cannes is easier for a swimming vacation. The Croisette curves along fine sand, and the calm Mediterranean stays warm well into autumn. The wide, mostly free Plage du Midi balances out the private concessions near the centre. For clearer water, take the boat to the rocky spots on the Lérins islands, or go to the red coves of the Esterel.

Biarritz's beaches are just as much the reason the resort exists, but the sea is open Atlantic. The Grande Plage, the Côte des Basques and the long sands of Anglet have big waves and strong currents. For a gentle swim, there is really only the little Port Vieux cove.

Biarritz has the stronger and more distinctive kitchen. Basque cooking has its own dishes, such as piperade, axoa and chipirons. Les Halles is a place to eat as well as shop, with counters serving pintxos, Bayonne ham and Irouléguy wine from mid-morning.

Cannes has a fine Forville market and a good Provençal table of bouillabaisse, socca and rosé. Few of those dishes belong to the town itself, though, and much of the seafront serves expensive, predictable food. Its real edge is the fine dining in the palace hotels and up towards Mougins.

Neither town has much in the way of sights, and both can be seen in a short stay. What differs is the kind of heritage. In Biarritz it is the resort of Napoleon III and Eugénie: the imperial villa, the Art Deco casino, the Russian Orthodox church and the Rocher de la Vierge out on its iron footbridge, plus the aquarium and the Cité de l'Océan.

Cannes offers a medieval hill quarter instead. Le Suquet climbs to a castle museum of world ethnography and a church with views over the bay. Down on the Croisette are the palace hotels and the red-carpet steps of the Palais des Festivals.

Cannes has a little more going on after dark, and it is a dressier kind of night. In summer and during the festivals, the beach clubs on the Croisette become party venues, a few clubs stay open until dawn, and the bars behind the old port serve cocktails and champagne.

Biarritz is more casual. Evenings centre on wine and pintxos at the counters around Les Halles, or sundowners with surfers above the Côte des Basques, and the casino stays open late. Both towns go quiet out of season. A bigger night out means Bayonne or San Sebastián from Biarritz, and Nice or Juan-les-Pins from Cannes.

Both are excellent for the outdoors, in quite different ways. Biarritz is about the ocean. It is one of Europe's original surf towns, with beginner breaks right in town and reef waves further down the coast. On land there is the cliff path of the Basque Corniche, and the green Pyrenean foothills, including La Rhune, start about half an hour inland.

Cannes offers drier, more rugged scenery. The volcanic red rock of the Esterel has summit trails, there are pine paths on Sainte-Marguerite and diving around the islands, and the gorges of the pre-Alps lie further inland, with skiing in winter. In high summer, though, fire risk can close forest trails.

Both are excellent bases, but Cannes has the edge because so much is easy to reach by train. Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton are all on one coastal line. Grasse, Mougins and perched villages such as Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Èze are a short bus or car ride away.

Biarritz offers two countries. There is San Sebastián's old town and La Concha bay, Bayonne next door, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz down the coast. Inland are the Basque villages of Espelette and Ainhoa and the pilgrim town of Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, and Bilbao is within a day's drive. More of these trips really need a car.

Biarritz gives children more to do in town itself. The aquarium has seals and sharks, the ocean science centre is good for a rainy day, and children can learn to surf at schools along the beach. Port Vieux is a safe cove for little ones, but the main beaches need close watching, and the steep streets are hard going with a pushchair.

Cannes has the gentler setting: sandy beaches that slope gently into calm water, and a flat promenade with carousels. Beyond that, little is aimed at children, so families tend to rely on outings such as the Lérins boat or the aquarium in Monaco.

Cannes is easier to get around. The centre is flat apart from Le Suquet, everything is within a short walk, and the station sits in the middle of town, with trains running along the whole Riviera. Ferries to the islands leave from the old port.

Biarritz is also walkable, but it is a town of steep streets and steps between the cliffs and the beaches. Buses and regional trains reach Bayonne, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the border, and the airport is on the edge of town. In both places a car helps for the hinterland, though in Cannes you have to deal with heavy summer traffic and scarce parking.

Cannes is much the stronger destination for shopping. The Paris fashion and jewellery houses face the sea along the Croisette, and Rue d'Antibes runs behind them for over a kilometre with mid-range French fashion and shoe shops. Rue Meynadier adds olive oil, soaps and Provençal fabrics.

Biarritz has the shops of a smart seaside town: surf brands, boutiques around Place Clemenceau, and a few local crafts such as striped Basque linen and handmade espadrilles. It has no department stores and little luxury, so it is better for gifts than for a serious shopping trip.

Neither is cheap, but Biarritz is the easier of the two on a budget. Its summer hotel rooms and seafront terraces are expensive. Still, pintxos at the market counters make for cheap meals, and staying in Anglet or Bayonne cuts costs further.

In Cannes, a lounger on a private beach and a seafront cocktail are priced for a wealthy crowd. Hotel rates also climb steeply during the film festival and the big trade fairs. Backstreet lunch menus, the public beaches and the cheap coastal trains help, as does staying in a neighbouring town.

These two are evenly matched, and dance is unusually strong in both. Biarritz has a resident ballet company from its national choreographic centre, which performs at the Gare du Midi, a former station, and an autumn dance festival. Beyond that there are mostly touring shows and Basque choirs in the nearby villages.

Cannes has a broader if still modest programme. The regional philharmonic orchestra and touring acts play at the Palais des Festivals, there are summer concerts in the castle courtyard and its own dance festival, and the public can catch free beach screenings during the film festival. The Juan-les-Pins jazz festival is just along the coast.

Biarritz is the better place to unwind. Sea bathing as a cure has shaped the town since the nineteenth century, and its large seafront thalassotherapy centres, with heated seawater pools, algae wraps and multi-day programmes, are a reason to come in their own right.

Cannes has no bathing tradition of its own. Relaxing there means the polished spas of the palace hotels, or simply slow mornings and evening walks along the bay. Both towns are calmest outside high summer, and in Cannes festival weeks are also best avoided.