Amalfi Coast or Tuscany?

Both have good swimming, but of very different kinds. On the Amalfi Coast you swim in deep, clear water at the foot of cliffs, from small grey-pebble coves at Positano, Atrani or Furore, and the best of it comes from a hired boat anchored below the rocks. Only Maiori and Minori offer real sand and room to spread out.

Tuscany's coast has much more sand: Elba's bays at Fetovaia and Biodola, pine-backed strands in the Maremma, and the long, orderly beach clubs of Versilia. The catch is distance, since from Florence or the hill towns the sea is a separate trip, while on the Amalfi Coast it is right below your room.

Tuscany is the stronger destination for food, mainly because wine runs through the whole region. You can taste Chianti Classico, Brunello and Vino Nobile at the cellars where they are made, and Florence adds rare Florentine steak, lampredotto from street carts and the old market halls.

The Amalfi Coast cooks a narrower, sea-based menu, with scialatielli with clams, anchovies and colatura from Cetara, and Sfusato lemons in everything from limoncello to granita. It is very good when you leave the day-tripper menus on the Positano and Amalfi waterfronts, but it does not have Tuscany's range.

This is the widest gap between the two. Tuscany holds the heart of the Italian Renaissance, with the Uffizi, the Accademia and the Bargello in walkable Florence, Siena's Campo and cathedral, the Pisa cathedral square and a run of towns from San Gimignano to Pienza and Arezzo.

The Amalfi Coast's heritage is smaller and centred on its setting: Amalfi's Arab-Norman cathedral and Cloister of Paradise from its maritime republic, the gardens of Villa Rufolo and Villa Cimbrone in Ravello, and the UNESCO-listed coastline itself. For great collections you would have to leave the coast for Naples.

Neither is a party destination, but Tuscany has more going on after dark. Florence has students on the steps of Santo Spirito, wine bars in Oltrarno and a few late clubs, and in summer Versilia's beach clubs and dance halls run until dawn.

On the Amalfi Coast the evening is an aperitivo with a sea view, then dinner, then a stroll. Positano has a handful of cocktail bars and Amalfi's cathedral square stays busy until around midnight, and that is about it.

Both are superb outdoors, in different ways. The Amalfi Coast is all drama in one narrow strip: the Lattari mountains falling into the sea, the Path of the Gods high above Positano, the gorge of the Valle delle Ferriere, and kayaking or snorkelling among sea caves around Punta Campanella and Li Galli.

Tuscany is gentler and far larger, with cypress lanes and vineyards in Chianti and the Val d'Orcia made for slow cycling and walking between towns. Its wilder side is the Apuan Alps above Carrara, the Casentino beech forests and the Maremma park, with sailing and diving around Elba.

Both are exceptional bases, and Tuscany edges ahead on sheer number and ease. From Florence or Chianti, Siena, Lucca, Pisa and Volterra are close, the southern wine towns make an easy loop, and Bologna, Umbria and the Cinque Terre lie just beyond the border.

The Amalfi Coast's list is shorter but very famous: Pompeii and Herculaneum, Capri by ferry, the Greek temples at Paestum and a full day in Naples. Its slow roads mean the boat is often the best way out, which limits outings outside the ferry season.

Tuscany is much the easier choice with children. A farmhouse with a pool and animals, combined with the shallow, lifeguarded beaches of Versilia or Elba's sheltered bays, is a well-tried formula, and Collodi's Pinocchio park and cycling on Lucca's walls add some outings made for children.

The Amalfi Coast is built for couples: hundreds of steps, pebble beaches, a road without pavements and no attractions for children. Families who go should base themselves in flatter Maiori or Minori and plan around boat trips and the emerald grotto.

Tuscany is easier to move around, at least along the rail line linking Florence with Pisa, Lucca, Arezzo and Viareggio, and Florence itself is best on foot. For Chianti, the Val d'Orcia and the Maremma you need a car, but the roads are good.

The Amalfi Coast depends on a single narrow cliff road that jams in summer, with crowded buses and almost no parking. From spring to autumn the ferries between Positano, Amalfi, Maiori and Salerno solve much of that, and within each town you walk, mostly up and down stairs.

Tuscany offers more serious shopping. Florence has leather workshops around Santa Croce, goldsmiths on the Ponte Vecchio, bookbinders in Oltrarno and the luxury houses of Via de' Tornabuoni, and the region's towns add alabaster, marble and ceramics, plus large designer outlets.

The Amalfi Coast's offer is narrower but distinctive: linen resort clothes and sandals made to measure in Positano, handmade paper from Amalfi's mills and majolica from Vietri sul Mare. Beyond those, it is mostly lemon souvenirs.

Both are expensive in season, but the Amalfi Coast is the harder on a budget. Sea-view rooms in Positano and Ravello, sunbeds, private boats and even a simple waterside lunch all cost more, and only Maiori, Minori, Atrani or the hills of Agerola ease the bill.

Tuscany has real budget options. Trattoria meals, market lunches and cellar-door wine are reasonable, and Lucca, Arezzo, Pistoia and the Maremma cost noticeably less than Florence, although car hire is an added cost.

Tuscany has the deeper musical life, and it runs most of the year. Florence has the Maggio Musicale with its own opera house and the Teatro della Pergola, Lucca honours Puccini with recitals and the outdoor opera season at Torre del Lago, and Siena's Accademia Chigiana fills palaces with summer concerts.

The Amalfi Coast's performing arts come down to Ravello: its summer festival with orchestras on a stage over the cliff at Villa Rufolo, plus chamber concerts. It is a memorable setting, but beyond church concerts and feast-day bands there is little else, and almost nothing out of season.

Tuscany has a long bathing tradition built on its hot springs, and the Amalfi Coast has none. Tuscany offers the grand spa town of Montecatini, the free warm cascades at Saturnia, the steaming square of Bagno Vignoni and the white pools of Bagni San Filippo, with calm farmhouse stays in the Val d'Orcia to match.

On the Amalfi Coast, rest means hotel spas with seawater pools, gardens and slow afternoons in Ravello, Atrani or Praiano, best in the quieter months either side of high summer.