Girona or Saint-Tropez?

Neither town has its main beach on the doorstep, but Saint-Tropez is much closer to its own. Pampelonne's 5km of pale sand and the coves at Escalet, Cap Taillat and Gigaro are all on the peninsula, and the little beaches at Les Graniers and La Ponche are good for a quick swim from town.

From Girona the Costa Brava is about 40 minutes away, and its coves around Begur and L'Escala have very clear water. Without a car, though, you depend on infrequent buses, so the coast works as a day out rather than the point of the trip. The sea is equally warm on both coasts in late summer.

Girona eats better, and its cooking starts from a different place. Its base is Catalan home cooking, such as botifarra with beans or mar i muntanya plates in the taverns across the river, with tasting-menu kitchens of international standing above that. Saint-Tropez's strength is Provençal fish, bouillabaisse and local rosé given an expensive finish, and it is better at the luxury end than at everyday meals.\n\nIn Girona the best meals are usually in neighbourhood places rather than the visitor menus of the Barri Vell, and they serve the same food all year.

Its weak point is range, with little street food or cooking from other countries. Saint-Tropez sells the setting, whether a long lunch on the sand or a harbourside table where the view does much of the work, and much of the town stops cooking for the winter.

Girona's walled Barri Vell is a real historic quarter. The Gothic cathedral has one of the widest naves anywhere, and the Call is among Europe's best-preserved Jewish quarters. Add the Arab Baths, the cloister of Sant Pere de Galligants and a walk along the ramparts, and there is enough for two unhurried days.

Saint-Tropez has one notable collection, the pointillist and Fauvist paintings in the Annonciade, which recall Signac's years on the harbour. Beyond that there is the citadel's maritime museum and a stroll through La Ponche. It is seen in a day, and people come for the setting rather than the history.

Saint-Tropez wins in summer, and clearly. Afternoon parties in the Pampelonne beach clubs lead to drinks on the yachts and harbour terraces and then to famous clubs open until dawn, with table service and a dress code. Out of season the harbour falls quiet, and it was never a place for casual bar-hopping.

Girona's evenings are about terraces and long dinners, with students filling the bars around Plaça de la Independència in term time and a few small clubs at weekends. For a big night out, people take the train to Barcelona.

Girona has the edge thanks to its range. Road cyclists come from around the world to ride the climbs of Rocacorba and Els Àngels, and the old railway greenways run to Olot and the sea. Within reach are the volcanic beech forests of the Garrotxa, the wild headland of Cap de Creus and, an hour and a half away, the Pyrenees for summer hiking and winter skiing.

Saint-Tropez is better on the water. The coast path rounds the capes of Camarat and Taillat, the gulf is classic sailing water, diving is good off the rocky points and the national-park islands of Port-Cros and Porquerolles are within reach. The cork-oak hills of the Maures add quieter trails inland.

Girona is one of the best bases in the region. Barcelona is under 40 minutes by high-speed train, Figueres and the Dalí Theatre-Museum are half an hour north, and Besalú, Peratallada and the ruins of Empúries are close by. Perpignan, just over the French border, is under an hour by fast train.

From Saint-Tropez the outings are mostly short and local: the hilltop villages of Ramatuelle and Gassin, Grimaud's castle, or a boat across to Port Grimaud. Porquerolles and Fréjus make longer days out. All of them depend on a road along the gulf that jams badly in high summer.

Neither town is built for children, and the difference is in what you trade off. Girona is calm, cheaper and lets children stay up late in its squares, and walking the walls is a real adventure for them, but the old town's stairs are hard work with a pushchair and the beaches are a drive away.

Saint-Tropez puts gently shelving sand at Pampelonne and Gigaro close at hand, which is ideal for small children. Against that, the town is aimed at adults, the prices make long stays hard and summer traffic wears families out. Many families stay across the gulf in Sainte-Maxime and come over by boat.

Both towns are small enough to walk, but Girona is far better connected. Its station sits at the edge of the centre, with fast trains to Barcelona and Figueres, and only the hill villages and coves really call for a car.

Saint-Tropez has no railway, slow buses and a single road along the gulf that jams for hours in July and August. Its main beaches lie several kilometres out of town, so visitors rely on taxis, scooters or bicycles. The passenger boats across the bay are usually the easiest way in.

Saint-Tropez is the shopping destination of the two. The big fashion houses open summer boutiques in the lanes behind the port, and leather Tropézienne sandals are still made by hand in old-town workshops. The Place des Lices market adds linen, baskets and pottery, though much of it shuts in winter.

Girona's shopping is smaller and practical: independent fashion, bookshops and delis around the Rambla, Empordà cheese and oil from the Mercat del Lleó, and a lot of cycling gear. For bigger stores, people go to Barcelona.

Girona is far cheaper. Its everyday cafés and weekday set lunches are fairly priced and you rarely need transport within town. The real costs are old-town rooms in busy seasons and any car you rent for the region.

Saint-Tropez in summer is priced for the yachting crowd, from rooms and loungers to a sandwich on the port, and taxis or parking add to the bill. Even sleeping across the gulf and picnicking from the market only softens the cost.

Girona has the fuller programme. The Auditori hosts touring orchestras and jazz, the Teatre Municipal stages drama and dance, and the Temporada Alta festival brings international theatre every autumn, although many plays are in Catalan.

Saint-Tropez offers summer concerts in gardens and on the citadel, plus the Bravade, the musket-firing procession each May that is more folk tradition than performance. For opera or theatre you have to drive to Toulon or Nice.

Girona offers a bit more for a restful stay, mainly because Caldes de Malavella is only about 20 minutes away. It is a spa town with a Roman past, and its hotels have thermal pools fed by local springs. Girona itself stays calm all year.

In Saint-Tropez, rest depends on the timing. High summer is crowded and loud, while May, June and September bring pétanque under the plane trees and quiet mornings at the citadel. Its spas are in luxury hotels and are mostly for guests.