French Riviera or Menorca?

These are two of the stronger Mediterranean beach destinations, and Menorca has the edge. The Riviera gives choice and convenience: pebbles at Nice and Menton, sand at Cannes, Juan-les-Pins and Pampelonne, and clear coves in the red rock of the Esterel. Much of its best sand is taken up by private beach clubs, and the public stretches are packed in high summer.

Menorca's best beaches are wilder. Macarella, Turqueta and Mitjana are bare coves between pine-covered cliffs, with nothing built on them, so you bring your own shade and water and often walk in. The north coast adds reddish sand and rougher seas, which the Riviera has nothing to match.

The Riviera is the far better place to eat. Nice has a whole cuisine of its own, from socca to stuffed vegetables, around the Cours Saleya market, and the stretch between Menton and Cannes has a remarkable density of top restaurants, with Bellet and Provence rosé to drink.

Menorca's cooking is real but narrow: lobster caldereta in Fornells, Mahón cheese, pomada and pastries, eaten on the harbour quays or bought at the farm gate. Away from those, resort menus are generic and many kitchens close out of season.

For museums and grand sights the Riviera is well ahead. Matisse, Chagall, Picasso and the Fondation Maeght make it a modern art circuit made where the art was painted, and Nice's baroque old town, Monaco's palace and the Villa Ephrussi add plenty of architecture.

Menorca offers something different rather than more: a UNESCO-listed Bronze Age landscape of talayots, taulas and the Naveta des Tudons scattered across farmland, plus Gothic Ciutadella and Georgian Mahón. It is fascinating, but two or three days cover it.

The two are far apart here. The Riviera has a real night scene in summer, from Saint-Tropez and Monaco's beach clubs to the late bars of Juan-les-Pins and Cannes, and Nice's old town and port keep pubs and wine bars going all year.

Menorca's nights are mostly harbour-front drinks in Mahón and Ciutadella, plus a cave club near Cala en Porter at sunset. Its big nights are the town festes, above all Sant Joan in Ciutadella in June.

The Riviera's landscape is much more dramatic. Mountains fall straight to the sea, the Esterel's red rock rises above deep blue water, and the high trails of the Mercantour National Park lie about one and a half hours inland, with skiing in winter.

Menorca is gentle by comparison: dry-stone walls, wild olive, southern gorges and only Monte Toro for height. Its strength is the Camí de Cavalls round the whole coast and the S'Albufera des Grau wetland for birdwatchers.

A Riviera base gives far more outings. The coastal train reaches Villefranche, Monaco and Menton within the hour, hill villages such as Eze and Saint-Paul-de-Vence are close, and Italian Liguria and the Lérins islands add variety.

On Menorca, a day out mostly means the town at the other end of the island, or a village like Fornells or Binibeca. The long ferry to Alcúdia on Mallorca is the only real trip away, so most visitors are back on the beach after a few outings.

Menorca is the easier family island. Sheltered, shallow coves such as Cala Galdana and Son Bou, low-rise resorts and short drives keep days calm, though some of the prettiest coves need a walk with all the gear.

The Riviera has more to visit, including Monaco's aquarium and Parc Phoenix, and gently shelving sand at Juan-les-Pins and Fréjus. Against that come summer heat and traffic, costly family rooms and steep cobbled villages.

The Riviera is much the easier of the two without a car. Its coastal railway does most of the work, joining Antibes, Nice, Monaco and Menton along the shore, so a base near a station on that line puts the busiest stretch of coast within easy reach. Nice's tram and the compact old towns cover the rest on foot. It only gets harder once you head for the hill villages or the Saint-Tropez peninsula.

On Menorca a hire car is close to essential. The distances are short, about 50km from end to end, but the summer buses mostly run between the two towns and the main resorts. Even with a car, the last stretch to the best southern coves often means a shuttle bus or a walk along the coastal path. Only within Mahón and Ciutadella is going on foot the best way to get around.

The Riviera offers much more shopping: luxury boutiques on the Croisette, around the Monte-Carlo casino and in Saint-Tropez, department stores in Nice, and crafts such as Grasse perfume, Biot glass and Vallauris pottery.

Menorca has no luxury streets. What it has are avarca sandals, leather goods from Ciutadella and Alaior, and cheese and gin to take home.

Neither is cheap in summer, but Menorca is a little easier on the budget. Renting an apartment, eating in the inland towns and visiting the free beaches and prehistoric sites keep costs down.

The Riviera has some of Europe's dearest rooms in Saint-Tropez, Monaco and Cannes. Nice is the sensible base there, and the cheap regional trains are a real saving.

For music and stage, the Riviera wins easily. Monaco's gilded opera house, its philharmonic and ballet fill the winter, and Nice has its own opera and orchestra. In summer, the jazz festivals at Juan-les-Pins and Place Masséna take over.

Menorca's offer is small but has character: Mahón's Teatre Principal from 1829, organ recitals at Santa Maria, and Ciutadella's summer classical festival. Most of the year there is very little.

The Riviera has more organised wellness, with a long thalassotherapy tradition in Monaco and around Cannes and Antibes, and large spas in the grand hotels of Cap Ferrat. In July and August, though, the resorts are anything but restful.

Menorca has no spa culture to speak of. Its calm comes from rural farmhouse stays, quiet resorts and an unhurried pace, especially in June and September.