Bilbao or Toulouse?

Neither city has a beach of its own, but Bilbao's metro reaches the sea. Ereaga and Arrigunaga in Getxo, the open sands of Sopelana and the sheltered bay at Plentzia make an easy afternoon out, and the water is warm enough for a proper swim at the end of summer.

From Toulouse, the nearest sea is the Mediterranean at Narbonne and Gruissan, a long day's trip of around two hours each way. In practice, swimming in Toulouse means the supervised lakes at Sesquières and La Ramée or a hotel pool.

Bilbao is the stronger food city, and eating is a reason to go in its own right. The bar-to-bar pintxo habit sets the rhythm of the day, the Ribera market shows off Cantabrian fish and Basque produce, and there is a real fine-dining tier of bacalao al pil-pil, turbot and txuleta, with Michelin-starred kitchens in town and in the hills.

Toulouse eats well in a heartier style: cassoulet, duck confit, foie gras and the set lunch at the Victor Hugo market, with Fronton and Gaillac wines to go with them. Its top-end dining is thinner. Both cities stick closely to their own regional cuisine, so neither offers much international food.

The two are broadly level here, but they offer different things. Bilbao's culture centres on two museums close together on the riverbank, Gehry's Guggenheim for contemporary art and the Bellas Artes for old masters and Basque painting. Its medieval Siete Calles are pleasant rather than grand.

Toulouse is the better city for architecture and for wandering. The whole centre is rose-red brick, Saint-Sernin is a great Romanesque church, the Jacobins has its palm-tree vault, and the Renaissance woad merchants' mansions now hold collections. Its aerospace museums add a kind of sight Bilbao has nothing to compare with.

Evenings are equally lively in both cities, but they feel different. In Bilbao, going out is the pintxo crawl carried on late, through the old-town bars and along Licenciado Poza, and the real peak comes with the nine days of Aste Nagusia in August.

Toulouse runs on its huge student population, with cheap bars and crowded terraces around Place Saint-Pierre and the quays, and it has a firmer electronic club scene. Its quiet spell is July and August, after the students leave, which is the opposite of Bilbao's summer peak.

Bilbao has wild country much closer to hand. You can take the funicular up Artxanda or hike the Pagasarri without leaving the city, Urkiola's limestone peaks and Gorbea's beech woods are about an hour away, and the coast adds cliff walks, the Urdaibai reserve and the Mundaka wave for surfers.

Toulouse sits on a flat farming plain, so the nature close by is gentler: canal towpaths for long cycle rides and the Garonne meadows. Its big asset is the Pyrenees, with high-mountain hiking and winter skiing, but they are a drive of around two hours away.

Both cities have excellent day trips, and Bilbao has slightly more of them. San Sebastián is just over an hour away, and closer in are Gernika, the Basque fishing ports, Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Rioja wine country around Laguardia, and Cantabria with Santillana del Mar and Altamira.

Toulouse's best outings are fewer but very fine. Carcassonne's walled Cité and brick Albi are each about an hour away by train, and Moissac's cloister, Cordes-sur-Ciel and Foix are within reach if you have a car.

Toulouse has the attractions built for children. The Cité de l'espace can fill a whole day, families can walk inside a Concorde and an Airbus at the aircraft museum, and there are the mechanical giants at Montaudran and a drive-through safari park on the edge of town.

Bilbao is easy with children in practical ways, with its flat riverside, safe streets and a street life that includes children late into the evening. But it has no zoo, aquarium or theme park, so it leans on Doña Casilda Park, the Artxanda funicular and, in summer, the beaches at Getxo.

Getting around is easy in both cities, and a little easier in Bilbao. The main sights line up along a flat stretch of river with a tram running beside it, and Foster's metro carries you down the estuary to the beaches and the Vizcaya Bridge without a change of plan.

Toulouse's centre inside the boulevards is just as walkable, and it has two automated metro lines and a bike scheme. The difference is at the edges: the space centre, the lakes and especially the Pyrenees really need a bus ride or a car.

The two are much alike for shopping: mainstream chains along one main street, a department store, and no luxury district. Bilbao's Casco Viejo adds old family shops selling berets and espadrilles, while Toulouse has antiques and independent boutiques around Saint-Étienne and the Sunday market at Saint-Sernin.

Both cities make their best souvenirs edible. Bring back txakoli, Idiazabal cheese and tinned anchovies from Bilbao, or violet sweets, foie gras and Armagnac from Toulouse.

Costs come out about the same in both, and both are mid-priced Western European cities rather than budget ones. In Bilbao, the cheap way to eat is a pintxo crawl with a few glasses of wine, while hotels run a little above the Spanish norm.

In Toulouse the bargain is the set lunch menu, and the student quarters keep drinks and snacks cheap. Some municipal museums are free on certain days. In both cities, transport costs little.

Toulouse has the edge for classical music. The Théâtre du Capitole stages opera and ballet with its own company, and the Orchestre National du Capitole, one of France's most respected orchestras, plays in the round Halle aux Grains.

Bilbao has a solid opera season at the Euskalduna and stage shows at the Arriaga and Campos Elíseos. Its standout is BBK Live, which brings international bands in July. Toulouse's equivalent festival is Rio Loco, which fills the riverside with world music.

Neither city is a spa destination, and in both, relaxing mostly means long lunches and slow walks. Bilbao suits it slightly better, with a few day spas, riverside strolls and the gentle pace of a pintxo evening, and the sea is close at hand.

Toulouse's shaded squares and Canal du Midi towpaths are restful too, but its real thermal baths at Luchon and Ax-les-Thermes are up to two hours away and work best as an overnight trip.