Costa Brava or Dordogne?

On beaches the two are not comparable. The Costa Brava has a whole Mediterranean shoreline, from small rocky coves at Aiguablava, Sa Tuna and Tamariu to kilometres of dunes at Pals and Sant Pere Pescador. In high summer you will need to arrive early for the coves, and the tramontana can churn up the northern beaches.

In the Dordogne, swimming means gravel banks on the river below Beynac or La Roque-Gageac, or a sandy lakeshore at Rouffiac. It makes a pleasant summer afternoon, but the rivers run high after rain and the Atlantic is three hours away, so many visitors simply stay by their gîte's pool.

Both are serious places to eat, and the Costa Brava comes out slightly ahead because its cooking is more varied. Fish auctions at Palamós and Roses, mar i muntanya dishes, black rice and L'Escala anchovies, plus Girona's fine-dining reputation, give it range from harbour terrace to destination table. The resort menus are best avoided.

The Dordogne is a great larder built on duck and goose, walnuts, cèpes and winter truffles. Its weekly markets, Sarlat's above all, are among the pleasures of the trip, and Bergerac and Monbazillac add wine to taste at the estates. The drawback is that after a week the duck-heavy menus start to feel repetitive.

The Dordogne is the stronger heritage destination, mainly because of the Vézère valley. Few places anywhere have as much prehistory as Font-de-Gaume, the Lascaux replica and the museum at Les Eyzies. Add Sarlat, the river castles and the bastide of Monpazier, and a base near Sarlat puts most of it within a short drive.

The Costa Brava's sights are fewer and more scattered, though some are memorable: the Dalí Theatre-Museum in Figueres and his house at Portlligat, Girona's cathedral steps and Jewish quarter, and Greek ruins beside the beach at Empúries. Seeing them takes a car and several days.

If you want a night out, only the Costa Brava has one. Lloret de Mar runs big clubs until dawn through the summer, Platja d'Aro has a second cluster and Roses a smaller scene. Base yourself in Calella or Cadaqués and you can still keep evenings to a sunset beach bar.

In the Dordogne, a big evening means a village night market with communal tables and a dance floor in the square. Périgueux and Bergerac have a few bars, but that is all.

The Costa Brava has the more dramatic outdoors. Cliffs and pine woods run up to the wind-carved headland of Cap de Creus, the Camí de Ronda gives some of the Mediterranean's best coastal walking, and the Medes Islands reserve offers diving and snorkelling. The Garrotxa volcanoes and the Pyrenees are within reach.

The Dordogne's landscape is gentler and more farmed: limestone cliffs above wide rivers, oak woods and walnut orchards. Its best outdoor experience is a canoe trip past the castles, and there are greenways for cyclists and balloon flights at dawn, but nothing for a serious hiker.

Both are good bases for day trips, but the outings are different. From the Costa Brava you can reach a major city, with Barcelona about an hour away, or cross into France for Collioure and Perpignan, or head inland to Besalú's bridge and the Garrotxa volcanoes.

From the Dordogne, the trips are mostly to more villages: Rocamadour on its cliff, Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in the Lot valley and red-stone Collonges-la-Rouge. Saint-Émilion and Bordeaux are an hour or more to the west.

The Costa Brava is easier with children of every age. The shallow sandy bays at Roses, Pals and L'Estartit are safe for paddling, the large campsites sit right behind them, and there are water parks and glass-bottom boats. Just keep away from the steep cove steps and Lloret's party strip.

The Dordogne works best for children aged about eight to fourteen. Canoeing, siege engines at Castelnaud and the prehistoric sites around Les Eyzies bring history to life. Toddlers get less from it, since the drives, the summer heat and the castle steps make it hard work with a pushchair.

In both regions a car is close to essential, and both get congested in July and August. On the Costa Brava the problem is the narrow roads down to the coves around Begur and Cadaqués. The high-speed line serves Girona and Figueres but none of the beach towns, and coastal paths link some of the villages on foot.

In the Dordogne, trains reach Périgueux, Bergerac and Sarlat. Traffic backs up on the riverside road through Beynac and La Roque-Gageac, and quiet lanes make cycling between villages easy outside the hottest weeks.

Neither is a shopping destination, but the Costa Brava has more choice. Girona's old town and Eixample have fashion and independent shops, La Bisbal's main street is lined with ceramics workshops, and Barcelona is close by for anything more.

In the Dordogne, shopping means filling the car boot at the markets of Sarlat, Issigeac and Ribérac with foie gras, walnut oil and Bergerac wine, plus browsing the summer brocantes. There is no fashion shopping to speak of.

Costs are broadly similar, and in both what you pay depends on where you stay. On the Costa Brava, Begur and Cadaqués are the expensive end, while Lloret and the big campsites near Roses are much cheaper. Car hire and coastal parking add to the bill.

In the Dordogne, rural French prices, village set lunches and wine bought from the grower help keep costs down. Rented houses with pools near Sarlat cost a lot in high summer, and cave and castle tickets add up for a family. June and September are noticeably cheaper.

The Costa Brava has the bigger stages, though almost everything happens in July and August. The festival at Peralada puts opera, ballet and classical concerts in the castle grounds, and Cap Roig brings big international acts to a cliff-top garden. In the harbours, local groups sing havaneres, the sea songs Catalan sailors brought back from Cuba and still sung along the whole Catalan coast. On one night in early July, the Cantada at Calella de Palafrugell fills the beach and the rocks with listeners.

Summer in the Dordogne is smaller and more local: Sarlat's theatre festival in the squares of the old town, mime and street theatre in Périgueux, and classical concerts in Romanesque churches and abbeys. Out of season, Girona's auditorium keeps something on near the Costa Brava, while the Dordogne has only the modest theatres of Périgueux and Bergerac.

Neither is a spa destination, and both are most restful in June or September, away from the August crowds. The Costa Brava does have a genuine thermal tradition at Caldes de Malavella, with Roman baths and historic spa hotels near Girona.

In the Dordogne, rest comes from a farmhouse pool, a long lunch and empty lanes, especially in the greener Périgord Vert to the north. Its spas are limited to a few château hotels.