Corsica or Tuscany?

Corsica has the better beaches, and they are the island's main draw. In the south, Palombaggia, Santa Giulia and Rondinara have pale sand and turquoise water, and the Agriates in the north add remote bays that you reach by boat or a long track.

Tuscany's best swimming is on Elba and around Monte Argentario, at places like Cala Violina and the pine-backed strands of the Maremma. The long sands of Versilia are mostly private beach clubs. If you are based in Florence or the hill towns, the sea becomes a side trip.

Both cuisines come from the countryside, with boar, cured pork and sheep's cheese, but Tuscany cooks it at greater depth and has far more places to eat well. Florence's market halls, the Oltrarno trattorias and the lampredotto carts, together with the cellars of Chianti, Montalcino and Montepulciano, make food and wine a reason to travel.

Corsica's best meals are in inland village inns and the markets of Ajaccio and Bastia. Brocciu, figatellu and chestnut dishes are worth seeking out, along with Patrimonio wine, but summer menus at the beach resorts are often ordinary.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Tuscany is where the Renaissance began. Florence has the Uffizi, the David and the Duomo in a centre you can walk, and Siena's Campo, Pisa's cathedral square and Lucca's walls are close by. That is enough sightseeing for a whole trip.

Corsica's heritage is of another kind: Genoese citadels and watchtowers, Bonifacio on its limestone cliffs, the upper town of Corte and the carved stones of Filitosa. It rewards a road trip where the setting matters as much as the sights, but apart from the Palais Fesch it has little to set against Florence's galleries.

Neither is a destination for nights out, and in both an evening mostly means a long dinner and a drink outdoors. Tuscany gives more choice. Florence has student crowds on the steps of Santo Spirito and clubs that open late at weekends all year, and in summer the beach clubs and dance halls of Versilia stay busy until dawn.

Corsica's late nights are limited to July and August, at the open-air clubs above Porto-Vecchio and the harbour bars of Calvi. Elsewhere the island goes quiet early.

Corsica is the wilder of the two. It is a granite mountain range rising straight from the sea, with the GR20, the needles of Bavella, the lakes above the Restonica gorge and the red cliffs of Piana and Scandola. Canyoning, diving around the Lavezzi islands and sea kayaking are all close at hand.

Tuscany's landscape is mostly farmland: the cypresses and wheat fields of the Val d'Orcia and Chianti, ideal for cycling and gentle walks between hill towns. The Apuan Alps and the Maremma park give it a rougher side, but nothing on Corsica's scale.

Tuscany is made for day trips. From Florence or a Chianti farmhouse, Siena, Lucca, Pisa and San Gimignano are all easy to reach. Just beyond the border lie Bologna, the Cinque Terre, and Assisi and Orvieto in Umbria.

On Corsica, slow mountain roads mean each base has only a handful of outings. From the south you can go to Sartène or take the ferry to Sardinia, from Calvi to the Balagne villages, and from Bastia to Cap Corse. Seeing more of the island usually means changing base rather than going out and back.

Tuscany suits families somewhat better, mainly because it has more to do away from the beach. There is the Pinocchio park at Collodi, cycling on Lucca's walls, and agriturismi with pools and animals. The shallow beaches of Versilia and the Maremma have lifeguards and playgrounds.

Corsica has calm, shallow bays such as Santa Giulia and plenty of family campsites, but almost nothing made for children, and the long winding drives tire young passengers. On both, children cope better at the coast than in the hot inland towns in high summer.

Tuscany is much easier without a car. Florence is walkable, and regional trains run to Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo and Viareggio. Chianti, the Val d'Orcia and the Maremma still need a car.

On Corsica a car is close to essential. The narrow-gauge railway linking Ajaccio, Corte, Bastia and Calvi is a lovely ride but misses the south, buses are infrequent, and winding roads make every journey longer than the map suggests.

Tuscany has real shopping, centred on the crafts of Florence: leather around Santa Croce, goldsmiths on the Ponte Vecchio, marbled paper in Oltrarno and the luxury houses of Via de' Tornabuoni. Other towns add their own specialities, such as alabaster in Volterra and ceramics in Montelupo.

On Corsica, shopping mostly means things to eat and drink, such as charcuterie, cheese, chestnut flour and wine, along with hand-forged knives. The markets of Ajaccio and Bastia and the craft villages of the Balagne are the places to look.

Neither is cheap in summer, but Tuscany is somewhat easier on the budget. Central Florence, the Chianti villas and Forte dei Marmi are costly, but Lucca, Arezzo and the Maremma cost less, and trattoria meals and wine bought at the cellar door are reasonable.

On Corsica, car hire and ferry crossings come on top of resort prices in Porto-Vecchio, Bonifacio and Calvi. Campsites, inland villages and stays in June or September keep costs down.

Tuscany has a real musical life, built on opera. Florence has the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino with its own opera house, Lucca puts on Puccini all year, his operas are staged outdoors at Torre del Lago in summer, and Siena's Accademia Chigiana holds concerts in palaces and churches.

Corsica's own tradition is unaccompanied polyphonic singing, heard in village churches, and there is summer jazz in Calvi. There is no opera, though, and little happens in the rest of the year.

Tuscany can build a whole trip around its hot springs. They range from the grand spa town of Montecatini to the free warm pools at Saturnia, the steaming medieval bath at Bagno Vignoni and the white limestone pools of Bagni San Filippo.

On Corsica, rest comes from the pace of life, with long lunches and silent mountain villages, rather than from spas. These are limited to upmarket hotels and a few simple springs such as Pietrapola.