Brighton or Saint-Malo?

Neither is a swimming destination, because both face the same cool Channel. The difference is underfoot. Brighton's seafront is steep shingle all the way from the Marina to Hove. It is good for sitting and watching the sea but awkward for lying out or paddling, and the nearest sand is a drive away.

Saint-Malo has proper sand. The Grand Plage du Sillon runs for about 3km, low tide doubles the size of the beaches and opens a walk out to the island forts, and the sea pool at Bon-Secours lets you swim whatever the tide is doing. Dinard's more sheltered beaches are a short boat ride away.

Brighton has the wider choice. Its independent kitchens in the North Laine, the Lanes and Kemptown cover vegetarian and vegan cooking and serious coffee, and the pubs serve roasts with Sussex ales and sparkling wine. The top end is small, though.

Saint-Malo's strength is narrower and more regional: buckwheat galettes with cider, kouign-amann, and oysters from Cancale eaten by the harbour wall. The crêperies inside the walls are uneven, so the better meals are in Saint-Servan and towards Cancale, and there is little beyond Breton cooking.

Brighton has the stronger single sight in the Royal Pavilion, George IV's domed and lavishly eccentric palace, with the museum next door. The Booth Museum and the Regency crescents of Kemptown and Hove are enough for a second day.

In Saint-Malo, the walled town is the sight. You walk the full circuit of the ramparts, see the cathedral and the castle keep, and cross to Chateaubriand's grave on the Grand Bé at low tide. The corsair history lives more in street names and statues than in collections, and most of the granite houses were rebuilt after 1944, so there is less to fill a second day.

This is where the two differ most. Brighton is built for going out. Students, weekend visitors from London and Kemptown's LGBTQ+ scene fill the bars every night, and the clubs in the seafront arches run into the small hours. West Street can be rowdy at weekends, but Hove and the North Laine offer calmer evenings.

Saint-Malo goes to bed early. A typical night is a drink after dinner in the wine bars and Irish-style pubs inside the walls, livelier only on summer weekends. For clubs you have to go to Rennes.

Both give easy access to good walking, but of different kinds. Brighton has hills behind it. The chalk grassland of the South Downs begins at the edge of town, Devil's Dyke and the South Downs Way are good for walking and mountain biking, and the Seven Sisters cliffs lie to the east.

Saint-Malo's outdoors is all coast. The GR34 path follows cliffs and headlands in both directions, tides of up to about 13m reshape the bay twice a day, and the Rance estuary suits kayaking. Inland, though, there is only flat farmland.

Both are fine bases, and the real difference is how you travel. From Brighton most outings are by train: London in about an hour, Lewes in a quarter of an hour, and Arundel, Chichester and Rye along the coast.

Saint-Malo has the single great excursion in Mont-Saint-Michel, as well as Dinan, Cancale and Rennes. Dinard by boat and Rennes by train are easy, but most of the rest, the Mont included, needs a car. In summer, ferries also go to Jersey and the Chausey islands.

Brighton keeps children busy with seaside amusements, while Saint-Malo gives them sand and adventure. Brighton's Palace Pier has rides and arcades, and the Victorian aquarium, Volk's Electric Railway and paddling at Hove Lagoon fill the rest of the day. The shingle is no good for sandcastles, though, and the centre is no place for children late on weekend nights.

In Saint-Malo, children dig on wide beaches, jump into the Bon-Secours sea pool, hear corsair stories on the ramparts and walk out to the island forts at low tide, with the Grand Aquarium for a wet day. Parents need to keep an eye on the tide tables, because the sea comes in fast over the causeways.

Brighton is easier without a car. The station, the Lanes, the Pavilion and the seafront are all within walking distance, a dense bus network covers the rest, and direct trains run to London and the Sussex towns. The walk back up to the station is a steep climb, though.

Saint-Malo's walled town and promenade are easy on foot, and there are local buses, a boat to Dinard and fast trains to Rennes and Paris. Beyond the town the buses thin out, so the countryside sights mostly mean driving.

Brighton is the more rewarding place to browse. The vintage clothing, record shops and retro furniture of the North Laine and the jewellers and antique dealers of the Lanes are worth an afternoon in themselves, and the chains are on Western Road.

Saint-Malo's shops lean towards Breton souvenirs and food: striped sailor tops, salted-butter caramels, cider and faience, plus the markets in town and in Saint-Servan. For anything beyond that you go to Rennes.

Neither is cheap, and the costs fall in similar places. In both, rooms are dearest in high summer and much easier to afford out of season. In Brighton, summer weekends are the most expensive time, and train fares add up if you take several day trips.

Saint-Malo is a little easier on a budget thanks to its food. A galette with cider and the set lunch menus are fair value, but seafood platters and summer rooms inside the walls are not.

Brighton has performances all year. The Dome and the Theatre Royal host concerts and drama, pub back rooms and seafront venues support a deep live-music and comedy circuit, and in May the Festival and Fringe take over the city. Glyndebourne's summer opera is close by.

Saint-Malo's performance life comes in bursts: La Route du Rock, the Étonnants Voyageurs literary festival and Quai des Bulles. Between them, the town theatre and the concerts in the cathedral make a modest programme, and for opera you go to Rennes.

For rest, Saint-Malo has a real tradition to build a stay around. The thalasso centre on the Sillon beach offers heated seawater pools and hydrotherapy, Dinard has the same tradition across the estuary, and out of season there are low-tide walks on empty sand.

Brighton has a few day spas and its dawn sea swimmers with their seafront saunas, but nothing comparable. Its calm moments are midweek walks along Hove's lawns or a day in the villages of the Downs.