Marseille or Zermatt?

Marseille has real swimming. There are the broad Prado beaches for a family afternoon, quick dips at the Catalans or the Vallon des Auffes, and the clear turquoise inlets of the Calanques and the Frioul islands for a half-day outing. The only catches are the mistral and the occasional beach closure after heavy rain.

Zermatt has none of this. Its glacier-fed tarns are for photographs, not swimming, so the only water you will get into is a hotel pool.

Marseille's food draws on the whole Mediterranean. You can have two-course bouillabaisse in the Corniche harbours, panisses and wood-fired pizza on the street, and the spice shops and North African bakeries of Noailles, with rosé from Cassis or Bandol alongside. Cheap meals and serious ones sit side by side, though the Vieux-Port has its share of tired set menus.

Zermatt's food is narrower and pricier. The memorable meals are long lunches at mountain chalets around Findeln and Furi with the Matterhorn in view: raclette, fondue and air-dried beef with Valais wines such as Petite Arvine. There is little range, though, and almost nothing cheap.

Marseille has more than 2,600 years of history. It runs from the Greek founding through to Notre-Dame de la Garde, the forts at the harbour mouth, MuCEM, the Vieille Charité in Le Panier, the crypts of Saint-Victor and Le Corbusier's Cité Radieuse. It is spread through a working city rather than a preserved old town, but there is enough for several days.

Zermatt's heritage fills a morning, and it is all about the mountain. There is the Matterhorn Museum and the story of the 1865 first ascent, the climbers' graves beside the church and the old larch barns of the Hinterdorf.

Marseille goes out on terraces and in the streets. There are graffiti-covered bars around Cours Julien and La Plaine, pastis on the Vieux-Port quays, and warehouse electronic nights or seaside parties in summer. It is informal and runs late, though some central streets feel edgy after dark.

In Zermatt, going out means après-ski: ski-boot bars on the runs back to the village and a few clubs on the main street on winter weekends. In summer the walkers and climbers are in bed early.

Both are outstanding, but Zermatt works on a far larger scale. The Matterhorn rises over the village, ringed by dozens of four-thousand-metre peaks and the Gorner Glacier. Lifts reach terrain above 3,800m, with skiing in winter and, in summer, hundreds of kilometres of trails, a suspension bridge on the Europaweg and guided ascents.

Marseille's strength is a national park within its city limits. The white limestone Calanques have coastal paths to Sugiton and En-Vau, along with sport climbing, kayaking and diving, and Sainte-Victoire is within an hour. Summer heat and fire closures make spring and autumn the time to go.

Marseille is one of the best bases in Provence. Aix and Cassis are close, Arles and Avignon are an easy train ride away, and with a car the Luberon villages, Les Baux and the Pont du Gard come within reach.

From Zermatt, every outing starts with the long train down the valley. The options are Brig, the castle hills and vineyards of Sion, or Saas-Fee next door. Most visitors spend their spare days higher up the mountain instead.

Neither place is built around children, and the difference lies in how a family day feels. In Marseille it means beaches and boats: the sand and lawns of the Prado, Parc Borély, and ferries to the Frioul and the Château d'If. Against that, heavy traffic, steep pavements and summer heat make pushing a buggy hard going.

Zermatt is calmer and safer underfoot. It has car-free streets, ski schools and nursery slopes at Sunnegga, marmots to spot and cog railways to ride. It suits families who ski or hike together, though rainy days and the thin air at the top viewpoints can be hard on small children.

Zermatt is easier to get around. The village is a compact, car-free strip where you walk everywhere, with electric taxis for the outer edges. The Gornergrat railway, the Sunnegga funicular and the gondolas all start near the centre. The only effort is the train in and out of the valley, plus the climb up to slope-side hotels.

Marseille's core around the Vieux-Port, Le Panier and the Canebière is walkable, and there are metro and tram lines and small harbour ferries. The beaches and Calanques trailheads, though, mean slow buses stuck in traffic, and driving in the centre is stressful.

Neither is a fashion destination, but Marseille has far more to browse. The classic buys are plain green cubes of olive-oil Marseille soap and santons, the small painted clay crib figures made in workshops around Le Panier. Noailles packs fabrics, teas and North African goods into its narrow streets, Cours Julien has independent design shops, and the chains and department stores are on Rue de Rome.

Zermatt's shopping is a single main street of watch and jewellery boutiques, plus shops selling cowbells and chocolate. Where it does well is ski and mountaineering gear, which is worth buying here if you need equipment.

Marseille is mid-priced for a French city. Street and market food is cheap, transport is inexpensive and walking in the Calanques is free. Only in July and August do rooms near the water get expensive.

Zermatt is about as expensive as the Alps get. That covers plain hotel rooms, terrace lunches and the lift and cog-railway fares every visitor pays. Self-catering or sleeping down the valley in Täsch helps, but it is still a splurge.

Marseille has a proper season. There is opera in the art deco house behind the Vieux-Port, drama at La Criée and contemporary work at the Friche la Belle de Mai. The city also has a strong hip-hop and Mediterranean music scene, and the Festival de Marseille and the Fiesta des Suds are the high points.

Zermatt has no theatre or concert hall. Its two big moments are Zermatt Unplugged in spring and a chamber music festival in late summer. The rest of the year, live music means a band in an après-ski bar.

Zermatt is the more restful choice. Many hotels have excellent spas with pools, saunas and mountain views, and some sell day passes to non-residents. The car-free streets and clear, quiet air make evenings genuinely calm, though peak weeks feel active rather than slow.

Marseille is loud and dense, and has only a few hammams used mostly by locals. Its rest comes from a long harbour lunch on the Corniche, and visitors who want real quiet often stay in Cassis instead.