Costa Brava or French Riviera?

Both coasts are built for swimming and the sea warms at the same pace, but they feel different underfoot. The Costa Brava is a coast of coves, pine-backed and clear around Begur, Calella de Palafrugell and Tamariu, with long dune-backed sand at Pals and the Bay of Roses when you want space.

The Riviera mixes pebbles at Nice and Menton with sand at Cannes, Juan-les-Pins and Pampelonne, and red-rock coves in the Esterel. Its drawback is private concessions taking much of the best sand. On the Spanish side, the problem is small coves filling early and the scarce parking above them.

These are two strong regional kitchens of similar standard but different character. Empordà cooking pairs sea and mountain, with suquet, black rice, Palamós red prawns and L'Escala anchovies, and the countryside around Girona draws people who travel just to eat.

The Riviera's identity is Niçois and close to Liguria: socca, pissaladière, stuffed vegetables and produce from the Cours Saleya market, with Provence rosé or Bellet to drink. The advice is the same on both coasts: skip the resort seafront and eat in the villages or a street back.

The Costa Brava has real high points: the Dalí triangle around Figueres, Girona's cathedral and Jewish quarter, Greek ruins at Empúries and walled Tossa de Mar. They are spread across the province, though, and collecting them takes a car and several days.

The Riviera offers more, and closer together. Matisse and Chagall in Nice, Picasso in Antibes, Matisse's chapel at Vence and the Fondation Maeght form a modern art circuit within easy reach, with Belle Epoque Nice, Monaco's palace and the Villa Ephrussi alongside.

Going out on the Costa Brava tends towards extremes: the big party clubs of Lloret de Mar and Platja d'Aro, or a quiet drink in a village square that winds down by midnight in Cadaqués or Calella.

The Riviera has more in between. Nice's old town and port are full of wine bars, pubs and cocktail bars that keep some life going out of season, Juan-les-Pins has a late summer strip, and Saint-Tropez and Monaco add glamorous beach clubs, at a price.

Both are coasts of cliffs and pine woods, but they suit different outdoor trips. The Costa Brava is the one for walking the Camí de Ronda from cove to cove and for life underwater, with the Medes Islands reserve offering some of Spain's best diving and snorkelling, and the bare headland of Cap de Creus to the north.

On the Riviera the mountains rise straight behind the sea, so the Esterel's red rock and the Mercantour's high trails are close, with winter skiing within reach of Nice. Summer heat and wildfire closures limit hiking there, so come in spring or autumn for that.

The Costa Brava's outings carry more weight. Barcelona is a comfortable day out, and Girona is on the high-speed line. Besalú's bridge, the Garrotxa volcanoes, Vic's market square and Collioure across the French border give you a week of very different days.

The Riviera's trips are quicker, mostly short train rides from Nice to Villefranche, Monaco and Menton, with Italian towns close to Menton. Beyond those, many days are variations on a hill village, and nothing compares with a day in Barcelona.

The Costa Brava is set up for families: long, shallow bays at Roses, Pals and L'Estartit, large campsites behind them, water parks, glass-bottom boats to the Medes Islands and squares full of children in the evening.

The Riviera works on the gently shelving sand of Juan-les-Pins, Cannes and Fréjus, with Monaco's aquarium as its main draw for children. Expensive family rooms, summer traffic and stepped hill villages that defeat a pushchair make it harder going.

Without a car the Costa Brava is hard work. The high-speed line and most stations are inland at Girona and Figueres, and only the ends of the coast, Blanes in the south and the border villages around Portbou, have trains. The central coves and resorts have no rail link and only sparse buses. Most visitors drive, and in summer the roads down to the coves near Begur and Cadaqués jam.

The Riviera is far easier. The coastal railway runs through Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton, and Nice has a tram to the airport. Only the hill villages and Saint-Tropez really call for a car, a slow bus or the summer ferry.

Shopping on the Costa Brava is about local things: the pottery workshops of La Bisbal d'Empordà, weekly markets with cheese and sausages, and Girona's independent shops. For anything serious, people go to Barcelona.

The Riviera makes a shopping trip in its own right, with luxury boutiques in Cannes, Monte-Carlo and Saint-Tropez, department stores in Nice, and crafts worth seeking out: Grasse perfume, Biot glass, Vallauris pottery and the Monday antiques market on the Cours Saleya.

Neither coast is cheap in summer, but the Costa Brava goes noticeably further. Lloret and the campsites around Roses and L'Estartit are inexpensive and inland set lunches are good value, with only Begur, Cadaqués and S'Agaró at the expensive end. Budget for a hire car.

On the Riviera, rooms in Saint-Tropez, Monaco and Cannes cost as much as anywhere in Europe. Nice is the sensible base, and cheap trains and free coastal paths soften the bill.

On the Costa Brava, live performance is a summer affair: opera and ballet in the castle grounds at Peralada, big names in the garden at Cap Roig, and havaneres sung in the harbours, most famously on the beach at Calella de Palafrugell in early July. Out of season, Girona has most of what is on.

The Riviera has depth all year. Monaco's opera house, philharmonic and Ballets de Monte-Carlo fill the winter, Nice has its own opera and orchestra, and in summer there is jazz in the pines at Juan-les-Pins and on Place Masséna.

Neither is a spa destination first. The Costa Brava's best option is the old spa town of Caldes de Malavella, with its Roman baths and mineral springs near Girona. Otherwise it offers hotel spas and the slow pace of Baix Empordà farmhouses.

The Riviera has a little more, thanks to its long thalassotherapy tradition in Monaco and on the capes, and large garden spas at the grand hotels. On both coasts rest comes easiest in June or September, away from the August crowds.