Bilbao or Nantes?

Neither city has a beach of its own, and swimming is a side trip from both. In Bilbao, the metro reaches the sands of Getxo, Sopelana and Plentzia in well under an hour. Sopelana's open swell suits surfers better than paddlers.

From Nantes the shore is about 50km off, and a train ride of around an hour brings you to the long, sheltered bay at La Baule or the coves of Pornic. These calmer, wider beaches are the better fit for small children. Bilbao's are quicker to reach on an ordinary afternoon.

This is where the two part company most. In Bilbao, food is a reason to travel in itself. Standing at the counter for pintxos, eating txuleta in an asador and booking one of several starred kitchens can fill a trip, and the bar standard stays high even in plain places.

Nantes eats well rather than memorably. You get beurre blanc on pike-perch, oysters, galettes and a glass of Muscadet in fairly priced bistros around Bouffay and Graslin. It is a pleasure along the way, not the main event, and its Breton and Loire repertoire is narrower in ambition than Basque cooking at its best.

The sightseeing is broadly equal, and both cities take two or three days. What differs is the era. Bilbao's draw is modern, with Gehry's Guggenheim and its contemporary collection, the Bellas Artes for old masters and the Vizcaya Bridge down the estuary.

Nantes leans on history. The moated ducal château holds a city museum that faces up to the slave trade, and it pairs with the riverside abolition memorial, the Gothic cathedral and the leaning merchant houses of Ile Feydeau. Pick Bilbao for architecture and art, Nantes for a story told through its buildings.

Bilbao has the edge after dark. Its nights grow out of the pintxo crawl, so the old-town bars fill early and stay busy late from Thursday to Saturday, with the alternative bars near the Ribera for a change of mood. In August, the Great Week takes over the riverbanks for nine days.

Nantes is livelier than its size suggests because of its students. Terraces pack the Bouffay lanes, and the late crowd heads to the dock bars and clubs at the tip of the Ile de Nantes, which gives it more of a club option than Bilbao's small scene. Midweek outside term time, though, it is noticeably calmer.

Bilbao is far stronger for the outdoors. Steep green hills rise from the edge of the city, limestone peaks and beech forest are an hour away in Urkiola and Gorbea, and the coast has cliff walks, the Urdaibai reserve and some of Spain's best surf.

Nantes offers gentler, flatter pleasures. You can canoe or take a boat up the Erdre, cycle the Loire à Vélo route through the vineyards, or punt through the reed beds of the Brière marsh. There is nothing to climb, but it is easy going for cyclists and birdwatchers.

Both make good bases, and Bilbao's options have a little more pull. San Sebastián is just over an hour away, Gernika and the fishing ports line the coast, and the Rioja bodegas and Laguardia make a full wine day, with Cantabria and Altamira to the west.

From Nantes, the range is wide but more spread out. Guérande's salt marshes, Angers and its tapestry, and the walled town of Vannes are each about an hour off, with Saumur and the Loire châteaux within two. Fast trains make many of these easy without a car.

Nantes is the better family base. The Machines de l'Ile give children something made just for them, and the Jardin des Plantes, the safari park nearby and Puy du Fou within a long drive fill out a week. Calm beaches at La Baule finish it off.

Bilbao is practical rather than exciting for children. It is flat, safe and short on distances, with Doña Casilda Park, Puppy and the Artxanda funicular. But it has no zoo, aquarium or theme park, and its frequent rain makes planning harder.

Both are compact, flat and easy without a car, and the difference is in how they reach beyond the centre. In Bilbao, a riverside tram and Foster's metro run all the way down the estuary to the beaches.

Nantes relies on a simple tram and busway network, river shuttles across the Loire and easy cycling. Its central station puts Paris about two hours away, which makes it simpler to combine with other French cities.

Neither is a shopping destination, and both have the usual chains on a main street. The browsing has a different feel. Bilbao's Casco Viejo keeps old shops selling berets, espadrilles and cookware, and the best things to take home are tinned anchovies, txakoli and Idiazabal cheese.

Nantes has the more striking setting in the three-tier Passage Pommeraye, with independent and second-hand shops around Bouffay and Decré. Here the souvenirs are salted-butter biscuits, berlingots and Guérande salt.

Costs are similar, and both run at mid-range Western European levels with cheap public transport. In Bilbao, central hotels cost a little more than elsewhere in Spain, but a pintxo crawl is an inexpensive way to eat well.

In Nantes, hotels are easier on the budget, while dinners and drinks cost the usual French amounts. The good-value set lunch is the way to save.

The stage life is similar in size and different in style. Bilbao's strengths are the ABAO opera season and the symphony orchestra at the Euskalduna, the ornate Arriaga theatre and BBK Live in July for international bands.

Nantes has a playful, public streak. La Folle Journée fills a winter week or so with short classical concerts, and the Lieu Unique stages contemporary work in an old biscuit factory. The city's giant street puppetry brings performance out into the squares.

Neither city is a place to come and rest, and in both, wellness in town means hotel and day spas. Nantes has the better nearby option in the long-established thalassotherapy centres at La Baule and Pornic, about an hour away.

Bilbao's historic spa towns lie inland and need a separate trip. Its relaxation is in its pace instead, with long lunches and slow evenings moving from bar to bar.