Carcassonne or San Sebastian?

Carcassonne is inland. Swimming there means the Lac de la Cavayère, a reservoir with lifeguards just east of the Cité, or a drive of about an hour to the long sandy beaches at Gruissan and Narbonne-Plage, where the tramontane wind can make the sea choppy.

San Sebastian has the sea in the middle of town. La Concha's sheltered bay and the quieter Ondarreta are a short walk from anywhere central, and Zurriola takes the Atlantic surf. The Biscay water is a little cooler and the season short, but for swimming every day there is no contest.

Each town has a cooking style that defines it, but the depth is very different. In Carcassonne that means cassoulet and good local wines from Corbières, Minervois and Limoux. The best places to eat them are in the Bastide around Place Carnot, not at the set menus inside the Cité walls.

In San Sebastian, food is a reason to travel in itself. The pintxo counters of the Parte Vieja and Gros, the markets at La Bretxa and San Martin, the celebrated restaurants in the hills and, in season, the Astigarraga cider houses all go much further, though both towns stay firmly regional in what they cook.

Carcassonne has the bigger single sight. La Cité, with its double walls, fifty-two towers, the Château Comtal and the stained glass of Saint-Nazaire, is a landmark on a European scale, and the arcaded Bastide and the Canal du Midi add more below the hill.

San Sebastian's appeal is the city as a whole: the late nineteenth-century streets around the Buen Pastor cathedral, the Parte Vieja rebuilt after 1813, the San Telmo Museum and Chillida's Peine del Viento on the rocks. Neither town has much in the way of large museums.

Carcassonne goes quiet once the day visitors leave. An evening there means a walk on the floodlit walls, a glass on a terrace or the bars around Place Carnot on a summer weekend. Anyone wanting more drives to Toulouse or Montpellier.

San Sebastian has a proper evening, built around going from one pintxo bar to the next, and the streets stay noisy until late at weekends. Late bars and a few clubs follow, and in August people stay out much later. It is not a clubbing city, but it has far more going on after dark.

Carcassonne's countryside is dry and southern. It has garrigue and vineyards in the Corbières, beech forest in the Montagne Noire, gorges and summer rafting in the upper Aude, and the flat, shaded Canal du Midi towpath for cycling. Almost all of it beyond the canal needs a car.

San Sebastian's walks start at the edge of town. The cliff path from Monte Ulia to Pasaia and on over Jaizkibel to Hondarribia, the views from Igueldo and Urgull, and surfing and paddleboarding in the bay make it the stronger choice outdoors. The green hills come with frequent rain.

Both towns are excellent bases, and what differs is the kind of day out. From Carcassonne you go to castles and villages: Peyrepertuse and Quéribus on their ridges, Lagrasse, Minerve and the wine estates. Nearly all of these need a car, though Toulouse and Narbonne are easy by train.

From San Sebastian you go to towns and coastline, many of them by bus or train: Bilbao and the Guggenheim, Hondarribia, Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz across the border, and the Rioja Alavesa for wine.

Children love Carcassonne's Cité, with its drawbridges, ramparts and summer jousting, and the lake beach and the animal park with kangaroos fill another day. But pushchairs struggle on the steep cobbles, and the summer heat wears out small walkers.

San Sebastian is the easier base with children. It has calm beaches in town, a flat promenade free of cars, the aquarium, the Eureka science museum and the old funfair at the top of the Igueldo funicular. Runs of rainy days are its weak point.

On foot, Carcassonne is really two places: the flat Bastide below and the Cité about twenty-five minutes' walk up the hill. Beyond town you need a car or a tour.

San Sebastian is flatter and more connected. The old town, the bay, Gros and Zurriola sit close together, bike lanes run along the seafront, and Euskotren trains and coaches reach the French border and Bilbao without any driving.

Neither town is a shopping destination. Carcassonne has souvenir stalls in the Cité and a provincial high street, and its best buys are wine, blanquette and tinned cassoulet. San Sebastian has more to browse, with independent boutiques in the Centro, espadrilles and berets in the Parte Vieja and surf and design shops in Gros, though big department stores are scarce.

Carcassonne is the cheaper stay by some way, especially in spring and autumn, when rooms in the Bastide and along the canal are easy to find. The costs to watch are the premium for sleeping or eating inside the Cité and the car hire most visitors need.

In San Sebastian, hotel rooms in summer and festival weeks can cost as much as in Europe's big capitals, and the famous restaurants are a serious outlay. The free beaches and walks and the cheap buses help, but the overall bill is much higher.

Carcassonne's stage life is concentrated in July, when the Festival de Carcassonne puts concerts, theatre and dance on the open-air stage inside the walls. On Bastille Day there are fireworks over the ramparts. The rest of the year is a modest programme at the municipal theatre.

San Sebastian has more, over a longer season. Jazzaldia comes in July and the Quincena Musical brings orchestral music and opera in August. The rest of the year, the Kursaal and the Teatro Victoria Eugenia host the Basque National Orchestra and touring shows.

Carcassonne's calm comes from its pace outside high summer: slow lunches and walks along the canal. Its only spa waters are in small thermal villages such as Rennes-les-Bains, within an hour's drive. San Sebastian has a real seaside bathing tradition, kept alive by the thalassotherapy spa in the old bathing pavilion on La Concha, and its orderly days spent strolling the promenade are restful.