Cannes or Nantes?

Here Cannes has a real advantage. Sand curves along the Croisette in the middle of town, the long Plage du Midi offers free space west of the old port, and the Mediterranean is warm and calm through summer. The rocky Lérins islands and the red coves of the Esterel give you clearer water when the central beaches fill up.

From Nantes the beach means a day out, around 50km to La Baule's sheltered bay or the coves of Pornic. The sand is clean and wide, but the Atlantic stays cool and the season is short.

The two eat about equally well, just from different coasts. Cannes cooks Provençal: bouillabaisse, socca and stuffed vegetables from the bistros of Le Suquet, rosé on the terrace, and a fine-dining layer in the palace hotels and up towards Mougins, though much of the waterfront food is tired and overpriced.

Nantes has more dishes of its own. Beurre blanc was born here, and you will find oysters from the nearby coast, galettes, and Muscadet from vineyards just outside the city. The Talensac market plays the part Forville does in Cannes, and bistro meals around Bouffay and Graslin are fairly priced.

Nantes gives you far more to see. The moated Château des Ducs de Bretagne holds a frank history museum, the cathedral keeps the tomb of Francis II, the Musée d'Arts runs from old masters to contemporary work, and the Ile Feydeau, Passage Pommeraye and the abolition memorial add depth.

In Cannes, the climb up Le Suquet to the castle museum and church, a look at the Belle Époque hotels and a photo on the Palais steps take a single morning. Serious art means travelling along the coast.

Neither is a big night-out city, but the evenings feel very different. Cannes is seasonal and glamorous: from June to September the Croisette beach clubs become party venues and the bars behind the old port fill up, with champagne, smart dress and plenty of private parties. Off-season the town goes to bed early.

Nantes runs on students instead. You will find pubs and terraces in the medieval Bouffay lanes, then late bars and clubs in the old dockside warehouses on the Ile de Nantes. It is cheaper and more casual, and it keeps going through the year during term.

Cannes has the more dramatic landscape. The red volcanic Esterel drops into deep blue sea twenty minutes west, there are pine paths on Sainte-Marguerite and wild shore around Cap d'Antibes, and you can dive and kayak among the islands, with the pre-Alps and winter skiing inland.

Nantes offers gentle, watery country instead. You can paddle or walk along the Erdre, cycle the Loire à Vélo route, or take a punt through the Brière marshes, which are good for birdwatching. The Côte Sauvage gives coastal walks, but there are no hills.

Both make good bases, and Cannes has the denser choice. One coastal railway takes you to Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton, with Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Èze, Grasse and Saint-Tropez reachable by road. Few places offer so many famous names this close together.

Nantes looks out over western France at a gentler pace. You can reach walled Guérande and its salt marshes, Angers and its tapestry, Saumur and the Loire châteaux, Vannes on the Gulf of Morbihan, and the Italianate town of Clisson among the vineyards. Distances are longer, often an hour or more.

Nantes is the better bet with children. The giant elephant and sea-creature carousel at the Machines de l'Ile are built for them, the Jardin des Plantes has playgrounds, and Puy du Fou and a safari park are within driving distance.

Cannes is easy rather than exciting. It has shallow sandy beaches, a flat Croisette for scooters and a boat picnic on the Lérins islands, but little else in town is aimed at children, and summer heat and crowds take some managing.

Both centres are compact and flat, and Nantes is the simpler of the two. Trams and a busway link the castle, Bouffay, Graslin and the Ile de Nantes, river shuttles cross the Loire, and cycling is easy.

Cannes has no tram, but the walk from the market to the Croisette takes under twenty minutes, and its central station makes the coastal towns simple to reach. Inland villages and the Esterel need a car, and summer traffic and parking are a struggle.

Cannes is the place to shop. The big Paris fashion and jewellery houses face the sea along the Croisette, Rue d'Antibes adds a long stretch of mid-range French labels, and Rue Meynadier sells olive oil, soaps and Provençal fabrics.

Nantes is pleasant but modest. You can browse the three-level Passage Pommeraye, the chains on Rue Crébillon and the independent and second-hand shops around Bouffay and Decré. Buy local salted-butter biscuits, berlingots and Guérande salt rather than luxury goods.

Nantes is much easier on the wallet. Hotels are reasonable and easy to find, trams and walking keep transport costs low, and only dinners and drinks run at normal French levels.

Cannes is priced for a wealthy crowd, especially in summer and during the film festival and trade fairs. Backstreet lunches, market picnics, public beaches and cheap coastal trains help, as do spring and autumn visits outside event weeks.

For an evening out, Nantes has much more going on. La Folle Journée packs hundreds of short classical concerts into a few winter days, opera plays at the Théâtre Graslin, the Lieu Unique stages contemporary work, and giant street puppetry is part of the city's character.

The famous Cannes festival is closed to most visitors, beyond the free screenings on the beach. Otherwise the town has the Palais programme, a dance festival and summer concerts in the Le Suquet castle courtyard. For jazz, you go to Juan-les-Pins.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and Cannes edges ahead on comfort. Its palace hotels run polished spas using sea minerals and Provençal plants, and the calm seafront in spring and autumn makes for slow, easy days, though August and festival weeks are noisy.

In Nantes, wellness means day spas and quiet hours by the Erdre. For the classic French seawater cure, you travel an hour to the thalassotherapy centres at La Baule or Pornic.