Biarritz or Lille?

Biarritz is a proper beach resort. It has the Grande Plage below the casino, the Côte des Basques under the cliffs, the calm Port Vieux cove and kilometres of Anglet sand to the north. The Atlantic is lively, with big waves and strong currents, so you swim between the flags, but summer beach days are the whole point of the place.

Lille has nothing like it. The nearest beach is Malo-les-Bains at Dunkirk, about an hour by train, and the North Sea there stays cool even in August. It is good for a bracing walk rather than a swim.

Both cities eat regionally and well, with similar depth, but the two cuisines could hardly be more different. Biarritz is Basque and coastal: Bay of Biscay fish, Bayonne ham, Espelette pepper and pintxos with local wine around Les Halles, with gâteau basque to finish.

Lille is Flemish and runs on beer. Its wood-panelled estaminets serve carbonnade, potjevleesch and the welsh, Maroilles cheese turns up in everything, and Belgian ales take the place of Txakoli. Neither city offers much beyond its own regional cooking.

Lille is the city for sightseeing. The Palais des Beaux-Arts holds one of France's great art collections outside Paris. Vieux-Lille is a whole quarter of Flemish baroque brick around the Vieille Bourse and the belfry listed by UNESCO, and La Piscine and the LaM are a tram or metro ride away.

In Biarritz the heritage is the resort itself: the imperial villa, the Art Deco casino, the Russian Orthodox church and the Rocher de la Vierge. Its museums are about the sea, so serious art means a day out.

Lille goes out more. A large student population fills the bars of Rue Masséna and Rue Solférino, and the brick cellars of Vieux-Lille hold beer cafés and cocktail bars all year round.

Nights in Biarritz depend on the season. In summer there are pintxos and wine around Les Halles and surfers' sundowners above the Côte des Basques, while the rest of the year most evenings end after dinner. Neither city has much of a club scene.

For the outdoors, Biarritz is far ahead. It is one of Europe's original surf towns, with beginner breaks and surf schools along the seafront and a cliff path on the Basque Corniche towards Spain. The Pyrenean foothills and La Rhune are within half an hour.

Around Lille the land is flat and farmed. The Citadel park, the canal towpaths and the low Monts de Flandre are good for gentle walks and level cycling, and real scenery means a long day out to the Opal Coast cliffs.

Both make excellent bases, but Lille reaches further and more easily. Fast trains put Brussels about half an hour away, Ghent and Bruges around an hour, and Paris an hour by TGV. On the French side, Arras, Amiens and the First World War battlefields are close.

Days out from Biarritz are more about scenery than cities. San Sebastián is under an hour away and Bayonne is next door, and there are Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the Basque villages and Bilbao, though several of these are easiest with a car.

Biarritz works better with children in summer. It has surf schools for kids, the aquarium and the Cité de l'Océan for wet days, and the sheltered Port Vieux for the youngest. On the main beaches the big waves mean staying near the lifeguards.

Lille is easy with children but less of a treat. There are the small zoo and playgrounds in the Citadel park, the natural history museum and a hands-on science centre, while the bigger draws are over the border or on the coast. Both are hard going with a pushchair: steep streets in Biarritz, cobbles in Vieux-Lille.

Lille is the easier city without a car. The centre is flat and compact, the two main stations stand beside the old town, and the automated VAL metro and the tram run out to Roubaix and Tourcoing.

You can walk around Biarritz too, but it is hilly, with steps between the cliffs and the seafront. Buses and coastal trains cover Bayonne, Saint-Jean-de-Luz and the Spanish border, but the Basque villages and the mountains usually need a hire car.

Lille has more to shop for. There are chain stores on Rue Neuve, the Euralille mall, independent and design shops in Vieux-Lille, and each September the Braderie, a flea market that takes over the whole city.

Biarritz is a pleasant place to browse its boutiques and surf shops. Basque linen, espadrilles, chocolate and ham from Les Halles all make good things to take home, but there are no department stores.

Lille is easier on a budget. Hotels are reasonably priced for most of the year, apart from the Braderie and the big trade fairs. Estaminet meals and beer are fairly priced, and the metro is inexpensive.

Biarritz charges resort prices, especially in July and August, when rooms book up early. Eating pintxos at the market bars, coming out of season or staying in Anglet or Bayonne all help, but it is still an expensive beach town.

Lille has the fuller programme. There is the Opéra de Lille on the Place du Théâtre, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Théâtre du Nord, and touring bands at the Zénith and the Aéronef.

Biarritz's strength is narrower but distinctive. Its national choreographic centre has a ballet company that performs at the Gare du Midi, and an autumn dance festival fills the town's stages. There is no opera house, though, and little live music.

Biarritz is made for this. It has been a sea-bathing town since the nineteenth century, and people come specifically for its seafront thalassotherapy centres, with heated seawater pools and cures lasting several days. They are best enjoyed outside the summer crowds.

Lille has no bathing tradition, so rest means hotel spas and long afternoons in the tea rooms of Vieux-Lille. The nearest thermal baths are at Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, a short train ride away.