Lyon or Montpellier?

Montpellier is the only one of the two where a beach day is a real part of the trip. Palavas-les-Flots and Carnon are about 11km out, with a long run of fine, gently shelving sand towards La Grande-Motte and the dunes of l'Espiguette, and the water warms nicely by late summer. Expect crowds in high summer and a flat coast rather than coves.

Lyon is far from the sea. The bathing lake at Miribel-Jonage and sunbathing on the Rhône quays are what locals have, and the clear water of Lake Annecy is a separate day out.

Lyon is the bigger food destination by some way. The bouchon is a whole culture of its own, with quenelles, andouillette and praline tart, and behind it lies the tradition of the Mères lyonnaises and the great chefs. Les Halles Paul Bocuse and the Beaujolais and northern Rhône wines on the doorstep add to it.

Montpellier eats well but more simply. It does Languedoc wines, Thau lagoon oysters and market cooking at the Halles Castellane and the Arceaux market, plus plenty of cheap student places, but it lacks Lyon's range and its fine-dining depth.

Lyon has the richer and longer story. It runs from the Roman theatres on Fourvière through the Renaissance quarter of Vieux Lyon and its traboules to the Musée des Beaux-Arts, the silk-weavers' Croix-Rousse and the Institut Lumière. Seeing it properly takes several full days.

Montpellier is smaller and more compact. The car-free Écusson, the Peyrou terrace with its aqueduct, the oldest botanical garden in France and the Musée Fabre are all worth the time, and Bofill's Antigone adds modern architecture, but two or three days cover it.

Both are student cities, and going out is about equally lively in each, informal and quieter outside term. Where they differ is in setting. Lyon has its barges on the Rhône, wine bars across the Presqu'île and a serious electronic scene in warehouse clubs towards Gerland.

Montpellier's evenings centre on the terraces of Place Jean-Jaurès and the Écusson squares, even on weeknights, and then move out to clubs near Lattes or the beach towns, usually by taxi.

Montpellier has the wilder, more varied country close by. To the south are the flamingo lagoons and the Camargue, and to the north the garrigue climbs to Pic Saint-Loup and the Hérault gorges, with the Cévennes beyond. The windy coast also suits kitesurfing.

Lyon's outdoors is gentler and more urban: the river quays, the Parc de la Tête d'Or and the Monts d'Or. Serious hiking in Chartreuse and Vercors, or skiing in the Alps, needs a car and an hour or two of driving.

Both make good bases, but Montpellier's list is hard to match. Nîmes and the Pont du Gard, Arles, Avignon and Carcassonne bring Roman and medieval monuments of real stature within easy train range, and Sète, Aigues-Mortes and Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert are closer still.

Lyon leans more towards wine and small towns: Roman Vienne, medieval Pérouges, the Beaujolais villages and Burgundy around Beaune. Annecy and the Alpine towns are there too.

Children are equally well served in both, in different ways. In Lyon the Parc de la Tête d'Or is the centrepiece, with its free zoo, pedalos and little train, and Guignol puppet shows and the Fourvière funiculars add charm. The stepped hill lanes are tough with a pushchair.

Montpellier offers the Lunaret zoo, an aquarium and planetarium at Odysseum and, above all, calm, shallow beaches for small swimmers. Summer heat in the centre means planning around beach mornings.

Getting around is easy in both, with no need for a car in town. Lyon has a flat Presqu'île for walking, a small metro alongside trams, funiculars up Fourvière and a direct airport tram, though the hills mean climbs.

Montpellier relies on its tram network and a small, mostly car-free old town on a gentle hill. The beaches take a tram and a slow bus in summer, and a car helps a lot for the gorges and the Camargue.

Lyon is the better place to shop, with luxury labels around Place des Jacobins, the big Part-Dieu mall, silk scarves from its weaving past, designer workshops on Croix-Rousse and antique dealers on rue Auguste Comte. Montpellier has pleasant boutiques in the Écusson and the Polygone mall, but no luxury street and few local crafts. In both, the best things to take home are edible: pralines and cheese from Lyon, wine and olive oil from Montpellier.

Montpellier stretches a budget a little further. Its central hotels are moderately priced and the student crowd keeps cheap food and drink easy to find, though rooms climb in July and August.

Lyon costs more overall, and rooms get scarce during trade fairs and the Fête des Lumières. Its bouchon set lunches are where it offers real value.

Both cities punch above their size on stage, and both make contemporary dance their speciality. Lyon has the Maison de la Danse and the Biennale, and Montpellier has the Montpellier Danse festival and a national choreographic centre. Lyon's year-round programme runs deeper, with the Opéra under its glass vault, the Célestins and a small cellar jazz scene, and its Nuits de Fourvière festival plays in the Roman theatres.

Montpellier peaks in summer, with Radio France festival concerts, many of them free, and outdoor theatre at the Domaine d'O.

Neither city has a bathing culture, so both come down to day spas and an easy pace. The real thermal water differs in reach. From Montpellier, Balaruc-les-Bains on the Thau lagoon is about half an hour away, while from Lyon, Aix-les-Bains is a longer trip. In town, Lyon offers quiet Sunday mornings by the Saône, while Montpellier's centre stays livelier.