Biarritz or Paris?

Biarritz is a beach resort first and foremost, with 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. It is the open Atlantic, so the waves are big and swimmers stay between the flags.

Paris is inland. Its summer riverbank beaches and swims in the Bassin de la Villette are a cool-off, not a seaside, and the nearest coast is the cool Channel in Normandy, about two hours away.

Biarritz eats well within a narrow range: Basque cooking centred on Les Halles, with Bayonne ham, sheep's cheese, Espelette pepper, grilled fish and pintxos at the market bars. Beyond Basque and French food there is little variety.

Paris has both depth and breadth, from neighbourhood boulangeries and zinc-counter bistros to haute cuisine, natural wine bars and the small, inventive neo-bistros of the east. Couscous in Belleville and pho in the Asian quarter of the south add a world of choice that a small resort cannot match.

Here the gap is wide. Biarritz's sights are the resort itself, the imperial villa, the Art Deco casino, the Russian Orthodox church and the Rocher de la Vierge, plus the aquarium and Cité de l'Océan, enough for two or three days.

Paris holds the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, Notre-Dame and the Sainte-Chapelle, with Haussmann's boulevards and the Marais as the backdrop. A culture lover could stay a week and still leave whole museums unseen.

Biarritz has a seasonal, low-key night: pintxos and wine around Les Halles, sundowners above the Côte des Basques and a few clubs and the casino in summer, then quiet evenings the rest of the year.

Paris goes out every night of the year, starting on terraces and in wine bars around Oberkampf, the Canal Saint-Martin and Belleville, with cocktail bars in South Pigalle and clubs playing house and techno until dawn.

Biarritz has the stronger outdoor life, shaped by the ocean: surf breaks for beginners and experts, paddleboarding and kayaking, and the cliff path of the Basque Corniche. The green Pyrenean foothills start within half an hour, with La Rhune and the hills around Sare and Ainhoa for walking and cycling.

Paris offers parks and woods rather than landscape: the Buttes-Chaumont, the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, and the forest of Fontainebleau with its climbing boulders. It is gentle country for walks and bike rides, with no coast or mountains.

Both are excellent bases, but Paris has the longer and easier list. Versailles, Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Chartres and Giverny are all close, and fast trains bring Reims, Rouen and the Loire within easy reach without a car.

Biarritz's appeal is the mix of two countries: San Sebastián and Hondarribia over the border, Bayonne next door, Saint-Jean-de-Luz down the coast and the Basque villages inland. Several of these work best with a hire car.

Paris gives children more to do: Disneyland and Parc Astérix out of town, the hands-on Cité des Sciences, the Jardin d'Acclimatation, and carousels and toy boats in the Luxembourg gardens. The cost is the hard daily logistics of stairs in the metro, crowds and queues.

Biarritz is simpler and calmer, a summer town of surf lessons, the aquarium's seals and sharks and the sheltered Port Vieux cove for small children. Beyond that there is little made for children, and the steep streets are tiring with a pushchair.

Paris is the easier city to move around. Its flat, walkable centre is backed by a dense metro, RER lines to the airports and Versailles, and a bike-share, though stairs and rush-hour crowds are a nuisance.

Biarritz's centre, beaches and market are walkable but hilly, with steps between cliffs and seafront. Buses and coastal trains reach Bayonne and the border, yet most visitors hire a car for the villages and mountains.

Paris is one of the world's great shopping cities, from the fashion houses on Avenue Montaigne to Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché, the Marais designers, the covered passages and the Saint-Ouen flea market.

Biarritz is a pleasant browse of boutiques and surf shops between the Place Clemenceau and the market, with Basque linen, espadrilles, chocolate and gâteau basque as the things to take home. There are no department stores to speak of.

Both are expensive, but in different ways. Biarritz is a resort whose prices follow the season: July and August are dear and book up early, while spring and autumn are noticeably cheaper, and staying in Anglet or Bayonne helps.

Paris is costly all year, with small, pricey hotel rooms and terrace drinks that add up, but it offers more ways to save once there: reasonable public transport, free permanent collections in the city museums, bakeries, markets and picnics by the Seine.

Biarritz has one real strength, dance, with a national choreographic centre and its ballet company at the Gare du Midi and an autumn dance festival. Otherwise it is touring shows, summer seafront events and Basque choirs in the villages.

Paris has the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille, the Philharmonie, the Comédie-Française, jazz cellars around the rue des Lombards and cabaret in Pigalle, so there is something on stage every night of the year.

Biarritz is a place to rest. It is one of the homes of French thalassotherapy, with large seawater spas and multi-day cures that people build a trip around, and outside high summer the town slows to headland walks and long lunches.

Paris offers rest only in small doses: the steam rooms of the Grande Mosquée's hammam, hotel spas, an afternoon in the Luxembourg gardens. The city's speed and noise make it a poor choice for a true wellness break.