French Riviera or Loire Valley?

The gap could hardly be wider. The Riviera has pebble beaches at Nice and Menton, sand at Cannes, Juan-les-Pins and Pampelonne, and clear coves below the red rocks of the Esterel. The main drawbacks are the private beach concessions and the summer crowds.

The Loire has no beaches to speak of. The river is dangerous for swimming, so a summer swim means a supervised lake such as the Lac de Maine near Angers, or the pool at your gîte. The Atlantic is a long drive west.

Both are good places to eat, but the Riviera offers more range. Nice has a cuisine of its own, with socca and pissaladière in the old town and around the Cours Saleya market. The coast from Menton to Cannes also has a dense run of top restaurants, though the seafront set menus are best avoided.

The Loire's strength is its wine. You can taste Vouvray, Chinon, Sancerre and sparkling Saumur in tufa cellars, with rillettes, beurre blanc and goat cheeses to go with them. Choice thins out in the villages, so most of the best meals are in Tours and Angers.

Both reward sightseeing, in very different ways. On the Riviera the draw is twentieth-century art seen where it was made: Matisse and Chagall in Nice, Picasso in Antibes and the Fondation Maeght near Saint-Paul-de-Vence. Monaco's palace and the Belle Epoque buildings of Nice add older architecture.

The Loire goes deeper into history and has a slight edge. It has the Renaissance châteaux of Chambord, Chenonceau, Blois and Amboise, the Plantagenet tombs at Fontevraud Abbey and the Apocalypse Tapestry in Angers. Choose by period: modern masters on the coast, kings and castles on the river.

The Riviera has far more going on after dark, at least in summer. Saint-Tropez and Monaco have showy beach clubs and nightclubs where table service matters most, and Juan-les-Pins has a strip that stays open late. Nice's old town and port fill with wine and cocktail bars all year.

In the Loire, most evenings end at the dinner table. Students fill the terraces on Place Plumereau in Tours and the bar quarter in Angers, but the château towns and villages go quiet early.

The Riviera's landscape is far more dramatic. Mountains fall straight into the sea, coastal paths run around the capes, and the red Esterel is good for walking and kayaking. The high trails of the Mercantour are within reach of Nice, though summer heat and wildfire closures can shut some areas.

The Loire is gentle lowland, with a willow-lined river, islands where herons and terns nest, vineyards, and the ponds and forests of the Sologne. It is better for cycling and canoeing than for hiking, and suits visitors who want pleasant countryside rather than wild country.

The Loire offers more varied day trips within easy reach. From Tours you can visit royal river towns, medieval Chinon and Loches, the troglodyte villages around Saumur and wine villages such as Vouvray. Chartres and even Paris also make possible days out.

The Riviera's outings are shorter and more alike. The coastal train reaches Villefranche, Monaco and Menton quickly, and Eze or Saint-Paul-de-Vence make easy afternoons, but many days come down to another pretty hill village. The trip that feels most different is across the border to the Italian towns near Menton.

The Loire is the easier family base. The zoo at Beauval is worth a whole day, the park at Clos Lucé has full-size models of Leonardo's machines, and Blois has a museum of magic opposite its château. Gîtes with pools and the flat cycle route fill the other days, though long runs of formal interiors tire children and you will need a car.

On the Riviera, the main draws for children are the gently shelving sand at Juan-les-Pins, Cannes and Fréjus and the aquarium in Monaco. Summer heat, crowds, expensive family rooms and hill villages full of steps make it harder work.

The Riviera is easier without a car. The coastal railway links Cannes, Antibes, Nice, Monaco and Menton, and Nice has a tram and a walkable centre. Hill villages and Saint-Tropez are another matter, reached by slow buses or summer ferries.

The Loire also has a railway along the river through Orléans, Blois, Tours and Saumur. Wineries, villages and Chambord, however, really call for a car or a bike. The bike is what sets the Loire apart: the Loire à Vélo route has plenty of bike hire, and your luggage can be sent ahead.

For shopping, the Riviera is far ahead. It has luxury boutiques on the Croisette, around Monte-Carlo and in Saint-Tropez, along with perfume from Grasse, bubbled glass from Biot, pottery from Vallauris and the Monday antiques market on the Cours Saleya.

In the Loire, the best things to buy are things to eat and drink: wine from the cellar door, and goat cheese and rillettes from the markets. Gien faience and Saumur leather are the main crafts, and Tours covers everyday shopping.

The Loire costs noticeably less. Town hotels and gîtes are moderately priced, and set lunches and cellar-door wine are good value. The main extra costs are the separate entrance fee at each château and, usually, a car.

The Riviera is expensive in summer, especially in Saint-Tropez, Monaco and Cannes, where private-beach sunbeds and seafront lunches add up quickly. Nice is the sensible base, the regional trains are cheap, and May, June or September bring prices down.

The Riviera has more on stage. Monaco's gilded opera house, its philharmonic orchestra and the Ballets de Monte-Carlo give it a real winter season, and Nice has its own opera house. In summer there is jazz in the pine grove at Juan-les-Pins and on Place Masséna in Nice.

The Loire's offer is smaller and provincial but pleasant. It has sound-and-light shows at Blois and Amboise, chamber music in the medieval barn at Meslay, the September street-arts festival in Angers and opera in Tours.

Seawater is the Riviera's route to rest, and for proper treatments it is the stronger choice. Thalassotherapy centres in Monaco and on the capes between Cannes and Antibes use heated seawater pools, and the grand hotels on Cap Ferrat and Cap d'Antibes have spas set in quiet gardens. In July and August the resorts are loud, so calm comes more easily in spring, in autumn or inland.

Unwinding in the Loire depends on pace rather than treatments. Beyond a few spas in château hotels, with treatments based on grapes and wine, there is no spa tradition. Long lunches, the gardens of Villandry and Chaumont, and nights in quiet guesthouses among the vineyards of Touraine and Anjou still make it an easy place to switch off.