Lyon or Monaco?

Monaco wins here, though it is a seaside town more than a beach resort. Larvotto is short and groomed, and the rest of the swimming happens at beach clubs, hotel pools and rocky platforms, with real coves and long beaches a little way along the coast.

Lyon has no sea at all. Its summer swimming is the supervised lake at Miribel-Jonage, and the clear Alpine lakes of Annecy and Bourget make a full day out rather than a beach break.

Lyon is one of the great eating cities of France, and the gap is wide. You get bouchon classics such as quenelles and andouillette, the stalls of Les Halles Paul Bocuse, Sunday markets on the Saône and set lunches that let you eat very well without fine-dining bills.

Monaco eats at the top end, with starred hotel dining rooms, Italian restaurants and harbour terraces where the view does much of the work. Its local barbagiuan and socca at the Condamine market are worth finding, but casual meals are scarce.

Lyon holds two thousand years in one city: Roman Lugdunum on Fourvière, the Renaissance quarter and its traboules, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in its former abbey, and the silk-weavers' hill of Croix-Rousse. It needs several days.

Monaco's sights are few and polished. The Prince's Palace, the cathedral with Grace Kelly's tomb and the Oceanographic Museum on the Rock, then the Casino across the harbour, fit comfortably into a day or two.

Lyon has the livelier and more varied night out, informal and driven by students. There are wine and cocktail bars between Hôtel de Ville and the Terreaux, pubs in Vieux Lyon, bars and clubs on barges along the Rhône and a serious electronic scene towards Gerland.

Monaco means dressing up for hotel bars and lounge clubs around the Casino and the Larvotto seafront. It comes alive in summer and on Grand Prix weekend, then goes quiet, with no pubs or underground scene to fall back on.

Monaco has the more dramatic surroundings, even though the town itself is built up. Limestone cliffs rise behind it, mule paths climb to Èze, coastal trails run round Cap Martin, and the clear water suits snorkelling and diving.

Lyon's outdoors is gentler and starts inside the city, with car-free quays along the Rhône and the boating lake of the Tête d'Or. Beyond it lie the Monts d'Or and the Beaujolais hills, and Chartreuse and Vercors are within reach if you have a car.

Both are good bases, and Monaco is the better one. The coastal railway strings together Villefranche, Nice and Menton, Èze is a short bus ride up the hill, and Sanremo and Dolceacqua sit just across the Italian border, all without a car.

Lyon's day trips are about wine and old towns instead. Roman Vienne is minutes away by train, then come medieval Pérouges, the Beaujolais villages, Cluny and Beaune, and Annecy's lake towards the Alps.

Both work well enough with children, in different ways. Lyon has more to fill several days: the free zoo, pedalos and little train in the Tête d'Or, dinosaurs at the Musée des Confluences, Guignol puppet shows and the funiculars.

Monaco is spotless and small, with lifts to ease the climbs. Its aquarium, the palace guard ceremony and the calm water at Larvotto are highlights, though the formal restaurants make it more of a short stop for families.

Lyon gets you around by network, Monaco by lift. In Lyon most sights sit on the flat Presqu'île, and the rest are reached on one ticket by four metro lines, trams, two funiculars up to Fourvière and Saint-Just and a rack line up Croix-Rousse. There is also bike-share along the river paths and a tram from the airport to Part-Dieu.

Monaco is only about 3km end to end, so you walk it, and the effort goes into climbing rather than distance. Free public lifts, escalators and a small solar ferry across the harbour link the levels, and the station cut into the hillside puts the rest of the coast a short ride away.

Lyon offers more range. There are high-street chains on rue de la République, a large mall at Part-Dieu, silk from the weaving tradition, designer workshops on Croix-Rousse and antique dealers on rue Auguste Comte, plus pralines and cheese to take home.

Monaco is almost entirely luxury. Fashion houses and jewellers fill the Carré d'Or around the Casino, which is great for window-shopping but has little in between, so shoppers who want variety head to Nice.

Lyon is far easier on the wallet. It is not cheap, but hotels are reasonable for a large Western European city outside the trade-fair weeks and the Fête des Lumières, and the bouchon set lunch is one of the best-value meals in France.

Monaco is priced for the very wealthy, from the hotel rooms down to a café coffee. The free lifts and the walks around the Rock cost nothing, but many visitors sleep in Nice or Beausoleil and come in for the day.

Lyon has the wider stage, with performances through the year and dance as its speciality, led by the Maison de la Danse and the Biennale de la Danse. Around that are the opera house under its glass vault, the national orchestra at the Auditorium, the old Célestins playhouse and jazz in cellar clubs on the Presqu'île. In summer the Nuits de Fourvière festival puts concerts and dance in the Roman theatres.

Monaco's programme has the grander setting but follows the seasons. Opera in the gilded Salle Garnier, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and the philharmonic play mostly from winter to spring, and summer brings concerts by the sea. Spoken theatre is scarce, and on an ordinary evening there is no small music venue to wander into.

Monaco has more to offer for a treatment day. The large thalassotherapy centre beside the Casino has heated seawater pools, and several grand hotels have sizeable spas, with quiet gardens to wander in afterwards.

Lyon has a few hammams and day spas and an open-air pool on the Rhône quays. Its restfulness comes more from long lunches and slow Sunday mornings, and proper thermal baths mean a trip to Aix-les-Bains.