Cornwall or Normandy?

Cornwall has the better beaches by a distance. The north coast around Newquay, Polzeath and Gwithian has long surf beaches. In the far west, Porthcurno and Pedn Vounder have pale sand and clear water, and the south coast around Falmouth and Fowey has calmer coves. The Atlantic stays cold, but the beaches themselves are a reason to come.

In Normandy the beach is part of the trip rather than the reason for it. The Côte Fleurie resorts of Deauville, Cabourg and Houlgate have wide sand, boardwalks and beach cabins, and the west Cotentin is quieter. But the tide pulls far out across the flats, and Étretat's shingle under the cliffs is for looking at rather than swimming.

Normandy eats better, and its food is rooted in its farms. Camembert and Livarot, butter and cream sauces, and cider, pommeau and calvados bought straight from the farm along the Pays d'Auge route all come from the countryside. On the coast there are oysters from Saint-Vaast and Isigny, and Rouen has the region's deepest restaurant scene.

Cornwall's strength is narrower. It is fish landed at Newlyn and served in Padstow, St Ives and Porthleven, with pasties and cream teas everywhere. Away from those harbour towns the choice thins out, and much summer cooking is aimed at passing trade.

Cornwall's heritage comes as single sights spread along its coast. St Michael's Mount, a castle and priory on a tidal island, Tintagel's clifftop ruins and the mining engine houses around Botallack are the best known. Its most distinctive offer is artistic, with Tate St Ives and the Hepworth garden. Each is a good visit, but they are scattered rather than clustered.

Normandy has sights of world rank, and far more of them. Mont-Saint-Michel's abbey, the D-Day beaches with their cemeteries, the Bayeux Tapestry and Rouen's cathedral and half-timbered streets could fill a week on their own. Caen's castle and abbeys, Le Havre's rebuilt concrete centre and Monet's Giverny add more.

Both regions are quiet after dark, but Cornwall has a little more going on, mostly because of Newquay. In summer it fills with surfers, students and stag groups, and Falmouth's university gives it a smaller scene.

Normandy's late evenings are in its cities rather than its resorts, in the bars around Rouen's Vieux-Marché and Caen's Vaugueux quarter. Deauville offers its casino instead of clubs.

Cornwall has the wilder and more active landscape. The coast path circles the whole county, with its high points on the Penwith cliffs and the Lizard heath, and Bodmin Moor gives open walking inland. Add Britain's best surf, coasteering and wildlife from grey seals to basking sharks, and it is the stronger choice for time outdoors.

Normandy's best scenery is in a few places. The chalk arches at Étretat, the granite of Cap de la Hague and the guided sand crossings in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel are the highlights. Inland, its hedged bocage suits gentle cycling, and the Suisse Normande adds kayaking and climbing.

From Normandy, the outings vary far more. A base in Caen or Bayeux puts Honfleur's harbour, the Pays d'Auge villages and the Cotentin fishing ports within reach. Saint-Malo and Dinan in Brittany are easy from the west, summer ferries run to Jersey, and Paris is a train ride away.

Cornwall's day trips are mostly from one harbour town to the next, from St Ives to Mousehole, Port Isaac and Fowey. Each is attractive, but they are alike in kind. The Isles of Scilly, by short flight or long ferry from Penzance, are the standout exception.

Cornwall is the more rewarding family destination. Its lifeguarded beaches, bodyboarding in the shallows and sheltered sand at Porthminster and Gyllyngvase give children a proper seaside vacation, and on a dry day the flat Camel Trail makes an easy family cycle. When it rains, the Eden Project's biomes and the seal sanctuary at Gweek fill the gap.

Normandy is calm and easy with children but less of an adventure. The broad sands of the Côte Fleurie work well for kites and rock pools. Cité de la Mer's walk-through submarine and the Cerza safari zoo are good outings, though drives between attractions are longer. Some D-Day sites are heavy going for young children.

Normandy is the easier place to get around. Its roads are good and rarely crowded, and trains from Paris reach Rouen, Caen, Bayeux and Deauville-Trouville. The catch is the landing beaches, the cider villages and Mont-Saint-Michel, which are poorly served by buses, and the distances mean two bases work better than one.

Cornwall's high-hedged single-track lanes, summer queues and scarce parking in St Ives and Padstow make driving tiring. Its branch railways to St Ives, Falmouth, Newquay and Looe do allow a car-free stay in one of those towns.

Neither is a shopping destination, and both are better for what is made locally than for brands. Cornwall's best buys are art and craft, from the galleries and potteries of St Ives to the makers on Penzance's Chapel Street. Normandy's are mostly edible, such as farm calvados, cheeses and salted-butter caramels, along with Bayeux lace and Rouen faience.

Normandy is the cheaper trip. It has rural chambres d'hôtes, set lunch menus in market towns and many D-Day sites with free entry, though Deauville, Honfleur and the area around Mont-Saint-Michel charge more in summer and a hire car is usually part of the budget.

Cornwall is expensive in its main season. Cottages in the popular coastal towns are booked early and priced high over the school summer break, and parking and attraction tickets add up for families. Visiting in spring or autumn and eating in pubs helps.

The two are level here and thin on regular programmes, but they differ in kind. Cornwall's highlight is the open-air Minack Theatre cut into the cliffs above Porthcurno, along with pub folk sessions and male voice choirs. Normandy offers more conventional culture, with opera, ballet and an orchestral season at Rouen's Théâtre des Arts and the Jazz sous les Pommiers festival in Coutances each spring.

Normandy has the deeper spa tradition. Thalassotherapy centres line its coast from Deauville to Granville, and Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is a belle-époque spa town built around its springs. Between treatments, long lunches and orchard walks keep the pace slow.

Cornwall's version is more rugged. It means spa hotels above the beaches at Watergate Bay or St Mawes, wood-fired saunas followed by a cold sea dip, and empty coast paths in spring and autumn. In the summer peak, crowds take much of that calm away.