Lyon or Saint-Tropez?

Lyon is a long way from the sea. Swimming there means the supervised bathing lake at the Grand Parc de Miribel-Jonage, or a day out to the clear Alpine water of Lake Annecy. Both are pleasant, but neither is the point of a stay.

In Saint-Tropez the beach is the point. Pampelonne has about 5km of fine sand, with public stretches between the clubs. The coves at Escalet and Cap Taillat are quieter, and the sea is warm enough to swim from June to September.

Lyon is one of France's great places to eat, at every level. Bouchons serve quenelles and andouillette with a pot of local red, set lunches are generous and the fine-dining tradition runs deep. Les Halles Paul Bocuse is stocked with oysters and Bresse poultry, and Beaujolais and the northern Rhône are close by.

Saint-Tropez eats well at the top end, with grilled fish, bouillabaisse and rosé on the sand, and the Place des Lices market is a pleasure to browse. Much of the eating trades on the view, though, simple good-value meals are scarce and many places close for the winter.

Lyon gives several full days of sightseeing. There are the Roman theatres and the Gallo-Roman museum on Fourvière, the traboules and cathedral of Renaissance Vieux Lyon, the Musée des Beaux-Arts in its former abbey and the silk-weavers' hill of Croix-Rousse.

Saint-Tropez has one real treasure: the Musée de l'Annonciade, with the pointillist and Fauvist paintings from the years when Signac painted the harbour. Add the citadel and the lanes of La Ponche and you have a pleasant day of sightseeing, after which the setting takes over.

The two are about even for going out, but very different in style. Lyon's nights run all year on a student crowd. You will find wine bars on the Presqu'île, pubs in Vieux Lyon, bars and clubs on barges along the Rhône, and warehouse clubs for electronic music, although evenings outside weekends can end early.

Saint-Tropez is a summer-only scene. Afternoon parties at the Pampelonne beach clubs lead to champagne on the harbour and then to a few famous clubs that stay open until dawn, with table service and a dress code. Out of season, a night out is little more than a drink in a café on the Place des Lices.

Lyon's outdoor life is gentle and mostly urban. You can run or cycle on the car-free Rhône quays, take a boat on the lake in the Parc de la Tête d'Or and walk in the Monts d'Or. The serious hiking of Chartreuse and Vercors is an hour or more away by car.

Saint-Tropez has the more striking landscape right on its doorstep. The Sentier du Littoral runs past pine-backed coves to the capes of Camarat and Taillat, the Massif des Maures has forest trails, and the gulf is good for sailing and snorkelling. The island national park of Port-Cros and Porquerolles is a ferry ride away, though summer heat and fire risk can close some trails.

Lyon is the better base for outings, with wine country and old towns in every direction. Roman Vienne is twenty minutes south by train and medieval Pérouges is under an hour away. Further out are the Beaujolais villages, Cluny and Beaune, and towards the Alps, Annecy and Aix-les-Bains.

Saint-Tropez's outings are shorter and smaller in scale. Choices include the hilltop villages of Ramatuelle and Gassin, Grimaud's castle, a boat across to Port Grimaud and a day on Porquerolles. They are charming, but none carries much historic weight, and the summer roads jam badly.

Lyon is the easier city with children. The Parc de la Tête d'Or has a free zoo, pedalos and a small train, and the Musée des Confluences has dinosaur skeletons. Guignol puppet shows and the funicular ride up Fourvière add to the fun, though the stepped hill lanes are hard work with a pushchair.

Saint-Tropez works for young families mainly because of the gently shelving beaches at Pampelonne and Gigaro. Beyond the sand, little is aimed at children, and the prices, the traffic and the hot afternoons make a long stay tiring.

Lyon is simple to get around. The Presqu'île is flat and walkable, and the metro, trams and funiculars share one ticket. There is bike-share along the rivers and a tram to the airport, so the steep hills are the only real effort.

Saint-Tropez is tiny and easy on foot, but going anywhere beyond the town is awkward. There is no railway, the buses are slow and the beaches lie several kilometres out. The gulf road jams in summer, so most visitors depend on a car, a scooter or the passenger boats from Sainte-Maxime.

Lyon's shopping is broad and comfortable rather than special. The chains line the rue de la République, Part-Dieu has a large mall, and Croix-Rousse has silk and designer workshops. Antique dealers gather on the rue Auguste Comte, and the best buys of all are pralines and cheese from the Halles.

Saint-Tropez has the more distinctive offer for a town of its size. The big fashion houses open summer shops behind the port, and there is plenty of resort wear and swimwear. Hand-made Tropézienne leather sandals are cut and stitched in old-town workshops. Away from the luxury end, though, choice is narrow, and many shops shut for the winter.

Lyon is far easier on the wallet. Hotels are reasonable for a large Western European city, except during big trade fairs and the Fête des Lumières. Set lunches in bouchons are generous, and the zoo is free.

Saint-Tropez is one of the most expensive places to stay on the Mediterranean. In summer, rooms, beach loungers and harbourside meals are priced for the yachting crowd, and you pay for taxis or parking on top. Travellers on a budget tend to stay across the gulf and come in for the day.

Lyon has a full stage calendar. The glass-vaulted Opéra houses an opera company and a ballet, the Orchestre National plays at the Auditorium and the Célestins is one of France's grand old theatres. Above all there is dance, at the Maison de la Danse and in the Biennale, and in summer the Nuits de Fourvière puts on performances in the Roman theatres.

Saint-Tropez has summer concerts in gardens and on the citadel, and the Bravade procession each May, but little else. For opera or theatre you have to drive to Toulon or Nice.

Neither town has a bathing tradition of its own, so the difference lies in the pace of a stay rather than in the spas. Lyon's calm comes from long lunches, Sunday mornings by the Saône and the Parc de la Tête d'Or. It also has a few hammams, some day spas and a large open-air pool on the Rhône, and real thermal baths are a day trip away at Aix-les-Bains.

Saint-Tropez relies on luxury hotel spas aimed at their own guests, and its mood depends on the season. In high summer it is loud and crowded. In May, June and September it becomes genuinely restful, with morning walks to the citadel and pétanque under the plane trees.