Carcassonne or Lille?

Neither city is a beach base, but Carcassonne comes closer. The Lac de la Cavayère, a short drive from the Cité, has sandy shores, lifeguards in summer and warm water for a proper swim. The long, shallow Mediterranean beaches at Gruissan and Narbonne-Plage are about an hour away by car.

From Lille, the nearest sand is Malo-les-Bains at Dunkirk, an hour by train. The North Sea there is windy and seldom warmer than about 17°C, which makes it a bracing walk rather than a swim.

Carcassonne's cooking is narrow and southern: cassoulet on almost every menu, solid bistros and a few ambitious kitchens. Its real strength is in the glass, with Corbières, Minervois and Limoux blanquette poured cheaply everywhere. Eat down in the Bastide around Place Carnot, not inside the Cité walls.

Lille gives you more to explore. Its wood-panelled estaminets serve beer-braised carbonnade, potjevleesch and waterzooi, Maroilles cheese turns up in everything, and specialist beer bars are part of the evening. The Sunday market at Wazemmes adds a multi-ethnic mix that Carcassonne lacks.

These two are close on culture, but their sights are very different. Carcassonne is all about one monument: the double-walled Cité with its fifty-two towers, the Château Comtal ramparts and the Gothic glass of Saint-Nazaire, with the Bastide's grid streets and the Canal du Midi below. Its museums are few and small.

Lille is a city of art and townscape. The Palais des Beaux-Arts holds Flemish masters and Goya, and the Flemish baroque of the Vieille Bourse and Grand Place is all around. La Piscine and the LaM are a metro or tram ride out. Come to Carcassonne for one great sight, and to Lille for galleries and streets.

Lille is far livelier after dark. Student bars along Rue Masséna and Rue Solférino are packed on Thursday nights, and Vieux-Lille has beer cafés and cocktail bars in brick cellars for an older crowd. Real clubbing traditionally means a short hop into Belgium.

In Carcassonne, the evening means a floodlit walk on the empty walls, then a drink at a café around Place Carnot. Anyone wanting a late night has to travel to Toulouse or Montpellier.

Carcassonne has far more varied country on its doorstep. The beech and chestnut forest of the Montagne Noire lies to the north and the dry Corbières hills with their ruined castles to the south, and the Aude valley climbs into the Pyrenean foothills. The plane-shaded canal towpath is the easy option, but most of the rest needs a car.

Around Lille, French Flanders is flat and farmed. The Citadel park, the Deûle towpaths and the low Monts de Flandre are pleasant for a gentle afternoon. The chalk cliffs of Cap Blanc-Nez on the Opal Coast are the only real scenery, and they take a long day.

Both cities make good bases, but Lille's rail links put it ahead. Brussels is about half an hour away by fast train and Paris about an hour, and Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp and even London are within reach without a car. Arras, Amiens cathedral, the Louvre-Lens and the First World War battlefields fill more days on the French side.

Carcassonne's outings are more rural and more scenic. You can visit the Cathar castles of Peyrepertuse and Quéribus, the abbey village of Lagrasse, Minerve on its rock, and wine estates in the Corbières and Minervois. Toulouse and Narbonne are easy by train, but most of the rest needs a hire car.

The two are about equal for families, but the days look different. In Carcassonne, the castle itself is the treat, with ramparts to walk and jousting and falconry in summer, and the lake adds a supervised beach and a water park. The catch is the summer heat and crowds on the steep cobbles.

Lille is easier in poor weather. It has the Citadel zoo and playgrounds, a natural history museum and a hands-on science centre reached by metro. Its biggest draws, Pairi Daiza and the Nausicaá aquarium, are day trips.

Lille is much easier to get around. Its flat centre is walkable, the two main stations stand beside the old town, and the automated VAL metro and the tram reach Roubaix and Tourcoing. A car would only be a burden.

Carcassonne's town is simple enough on foot: a flat Bastide, then a steady climb over the Pont Vieux to the Cité. Once you leave town, though, the castles and villages are poorly served by buses and trains, so a car or a tour becomes essential.

Carcassonne's shopping comes in two halves, and neither is a reason to come. The lanes of the Cité sell souvenirs to the day crowds: plastic swords, knight costumes and Cathar trinkets, plus the odd shop with nougat and soaps. Down in the Bastide, Rue de Verdun and Rue Georges Clemenceau make a small provincial high street. It is fine for picking up something you forgot to pack, and not much more.

Lille is a regional capital, and its shops can fill a whole afternoon rather than half an hour. The pedestrian Rue de Béthune is the main street for well-known brands, and the city has a few luxury labels, which Carcassonne has none of. On Sundays the Wazemmes market goes beyond food into clothes and bric-a-brac, which makes for a cheerful rummage with nothing like it in the southern town.

Carcassonne is the cheaper stay, as long as you sleep and eat in the Bastide rather than inside the walls. Local wine and lunchtime set menus are good value, and spring and autumn are noticeably cheaper. Car hire is the cost that catches people out.

In Lille, prices are those of urban France, comfortable rather than cheap. Transport costs little, since the metro is inexpensive and you need no car. Hotel rates climb during the Braderie and the big trade fairs.

Lille has a full season all year: opera and dance at the Opéra on Place du Théâtre, a national orchestra, the Théâtre du Nord, and touring bands at the Zénith and the Aéronef.

Carcassonne's arts life is mostly packed into July. The Festival de Carcassonne puts headline acts on the open-air stage inside the Cité walls, which is a memorable setting, and Bastille Day brings fireworks over the ramparts. For the rest of the year there is little beyond the municipal theatre.

Neither city is a place to come for spas, though Carcassonne is slightly more restful. Outside high summer it offers long lunches, canal walks under the plane trees and quiet evenings on the walls. The small thermal villages of Rennes-les-Bains and Alet-les-Bains are within an hour by car.

Lille's calm is more indoors: tea rooms, café terraces in Vieux-Lille and hotel spas. For thermal water there is a short train ride to Saint-Amand-les-Eaux.