Normandy or Provence?

This is where the two regions part most clearly. Normandy's sandy resorts on the Côte Fleurie, Deauville, Trouville and Cabourg, are pleasant for a stroll along the boardwalk, but the cool Channel and huge low-tide flats make swimming a short summer affair, and Étretat's shingle is better for walking.

Provence offers a real beach vacation. You can choose between the fine sand of Pampelonne, the shallow, pale water around Porquerolles and Hyères, and the deep turquoise calanques near Cassis. The catch is August crowds and the long drive from inland bases like the Luberon.

Both regions eat well from their own land, but Provence has the richer table. Normandy cooks with butter and cream: Camembert and Pont-l'Évêque, Saint-Vaast oysters and mussels in cider, with calvados and pommeau from the Pays d'Auge farms.

Provence swaps cream for olive oil and garlic, with bouillabaisse in Marseille, daube and aïoli inland and winter truffles around Carpentras. Its village markets and wines, from Bandol to Châteauneuf-du-Pape, give it more range and more to plan a day around.

Both are outstanding, and the difference is in period and mood. Normandy is medieval and modern war history: Mont-Saint-Michel, the Bayeux Tapestry, William the Conqueror's Caen, and the D-Day beaches and cemeteries, with Monet at Rouen and Giverny for art.

Provence goes further back and is sunnier in feel. It has Roman theatres at Orange and Arles, the papal palace in Avignon, Cistercian abbeys like Sénanque, and the Van Gogh and Cézanne trails, with MuCEM giving Marseille a modern edge.

Neither is a party destination, but Provence gives you more to do after dinner. In Normandy the evening usually ends after a long meal. Rouen's streets near the cathedral and Caen's Vaugueux quarter are the only real bar districts, and Deauville's casino adds a little polish in summer.

Provence has a genuine city scene in Marseille around Cours Julien and La Plaine, with clubs open late, plus Saint-Tropez's summer beach clubs and Aix's student bars.

Normandy's landscapes are mostly gentle: the chalk cliffs and arches at Étretat, the windswept headlands of the Cotentin, the tidal sands around Mont-Saint-Michel, and orchards and hedged bocage for easy cycling. The Suisse Normande is as rugged as it gets.

Provence is on another scale. The Gorges du Verdon, the calanques, Mont Ventoux and the flamingo lagoons of the Camargue give walkers, climbers and cyclists far more variety, with lavender fields in early summer. Summer heat and fire closures push the best walking into spring and autumn.

From a base in Caen or Bayeux, Normandy offers a good spread of outings: Honfleur's harbour, the Pays d'Auge cheese villages, Granville's walled town, Saint-Malo across the Breton border and Paris by train from Rouen.

Provence packs its outings closer together. From Avignon or the Luberon, Gordes, Roussillon, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Les Baux, the Pont du Gard and the Rhône wine villages all fall within an hour, so you can see a lot without long drives each day.

Normandy gives families more places to visit. Children can walk through the submarine at Cité de la Mer in Cherbourg, see the animals at the Cerza safari park and search rock pools at low tide. The trade-off is cold water and changeable weather.

In Provence the family vacation is built around a rented house with a pool, plus warm, shallow water around Hyères and Porquerolles. Older children can canoe or ride horses. July heat and steep villages that are hard with a pushchair are the drawbacks.

In both regions trains join the main towns and a car does the rest. Normandy's rail links run from Paris to Rouen, Caen, Bayeux and Deauville, but its spread, about three hours from Rouen to Mont-Saint-Michel, argues for two bases.

Provence's distances are shorter, yet its hill lanes, cramped village parking, Marseille traffic and the summer jam into Saint-Tropez test your patience in a different way.

Provence gives shoppers much more to browse. Its markets sell printed fabrics, olive-wood bowls and lavender, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue is a major antiques centre, and Aix and Saint-Tropez add fashion. Marseille soap and Moustiers faience make good things to take home.

Normandy's best buys are mostly edible, such as calvados, cider and salted-butter caramels, with lace in Bayeux and Alençon, copper from Villedieu and galleries in Honfleur.

Normandy is the easier region on the wallet. Cottages, chambres d'hôtes and market-town lunches are reasonable and many D-Day sites cost nothing, although Deauville, Honfleur and Mont-Saint-Michel charge more in summer.

Provence's summer prices bite harder, especially villas in the Luberon and stays on the Var coast. Marseille, Arles and spring or autumn dates soften the bill.

Provence has a real festival summer. The Avignon theatre festival takes over the whole town in July, Aix stages opera of international rank in the Archbishop's Palace courtyard, and Orange puts opera in its Roman theatre.

Normandy's offer is smaller and spread across the year: Rouen's Théâtre des Arts, Caen's theatre and the spring jazz festival at Coutances, with little on most nights elsewhere.

Normandy treats relaxation as a cure. Seawater thalassotherapy centres line its coast from Deauville to Granville, and Bagnoles-de-l'Orne is a belle-époque spa town in the Orne forests. Orchard walks and quiet farmhouse evenings fill the time between treatments.

Provence relies on its pace more than its spas. A typical day is a market morning, a long lunch and an afternoon by the pool. For treatments there are lavender spas in country hotels and old spa towns at Aix, Gréoux and Digne. In August its coast is anything but calm.