Assisi or Lugano?

Neither town has a coast, but only Lugano offers swimming on the spot. Its lidos range from the main one at the mouth of the Cassarate to smaller ones towards Castagnola and Paradiso. They have lawns, pools and ladders straight into a lake that warms to about 23°C in high summer.

From Assisi the nearest swim is at Lake Trasimeno, about 45 minutes' drive away, where the water is shallow and rather cloudy. Most visitors make do with a hotel or agriturismo pool instead.

You eat about equally well in both, but the cooking is different. Assisi serves Umbrian country food: strangozzi with black truffle, Castelluccio lentils, wild boar and torta al testo, with Sagrantino from Montefalco and olive oil from Monte Subasio.

Lugano's speciality is the grotto, a rustic tavern built against cool rock cellars, serving polenta, braised meats and risotto with Ticino Merlot under the chestnut trees. Town adds pastry shops and cafés under the arcades. In both, there is little choice beyond the local style, and in Assisi the restaurants nearest the basilica lean towards set menus for tour groups.

Assisi is the far stronger choice for sightseeing. The Basilica of San Francesco is one of Europe's great monuments: a Lower and an Upper Church covered in frescoes by Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti and the Giotto cycle. Add the Temple of Minerva, Santa Chiara and the tiny Porziuncola chapel inside Santa Maria degli Angeli, and you have two unhurried days.

Lugano has a pleasant arcaded old town, the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Luini's Passion fresco and an art collection split between LAC and Palazzo Reali. It is enjoyable rather than essential, and a single day covers it.

Neither is a place for late nights, but Lugano at least has an evening scene. It offers aperitivo on the lakefront or under the arcades, a few cocktail and wine bars, lounges by the water and one or two clubs, and the promenade stays busy for a while on summer weekends.

Assisi goes silent once the day-trippers leave, and the evening comes down to a glass of Sagrantino and a stroll through empty, floodlit lanes. For anything livelier you have to travel, to student Perugia from Assisi or to Milan from Lugano.

Lugano's setting is the bigger draw. Funiculars climb from the edge of town to Monte Brè and Monte San Salvatore, and a rack railway goes up Monte Generoso for views to the Alps. The lakeside path to Gandria is an easy classic, and the Verzasca and Maggia valleys are about an hour away. Kayaks and paddleboards are easy to hire on the lake.

Assisi has one fine mountain on its doorstep, Monte Subasio. A path leads past the Eremo delle Carceri to open summit meadows at about 1,290m. Beyond it lies gentle country of olive groves and vineyards, better for cycling than for big hikes unless you drive to the Valnerina or the Sibillini.

Both are excellent bases, and the difference is in the kind of outing. From Assisi you work through a chain of Umbrian hill towns: Spello ten minutes away, then Perugia, Spoleto, Gubbio, Todi and Orvieto, with Montefalco's vineyards and Deruta's ceramics in between. A car helps for the smaller places.

From Lugano you cross into another country instead. Milan and The Last Supper are just over an hour by train and Como about half an hour. Bellinzona's castles, Lake Maggiore and the boat to Morcote fill other days, nearly all without a car.

Lugano is the easier choice with children, mostly thanks to the lake. Boat trips, lido slides, the funiculars and the Monte Generoso rack railway are outings in themselves, Parco Ciani has playgrounds, and the miniature Swiss landmarks at Melide are a short trip away.

Assisi is safe and welcoming, but it is built for quiet reflection: hushed churches, stepped lanes and hot afternoons. Older children enjoy the Rocca Maggiore and a climb on Monte Subasio. Most families stay at an agriturismo with a pool in the valley and visit the town in short trips.

Both centres are walkable but steep. Lugano eases the climb with a funicular from the station down to the old town, city buses to the hillside districts and lake boats to the villages. The Swiss rail network reaches Bellinzona, Locarno, Como and Milan without fuss.

Assisi's station is 4km below the town in Santa Maria degli Angeli, so every arrival starts with a bus or taxi up the hill. Trains along the valley serve Perugia, Spello and Spoleto, but beyond that line buses are few and a hire car becomes almost essential.

Lugano has the better shopping street. The arcades of Via Nassa hold Swiss watchmakers, jewellers and Italian fashion houses, the old-town lanes add delicatessens and wine shops, and there is a large designer outlet near Mendrisio.

Assisi's lanes are mostly rosaries, Tau crosses and pilgrim souvenirs. Linen with traditional Assisi embroidery, Deruta ceramics, truffle products and Subasio olive oil still make good things to take home, but there is no fashion or design shopping at all.

Assisi is much easier on the wallet. The basilicas are free, convent guesthouses offer plain, clean rooms cheaply and agriturismi in the valley are good value. Only Easter, the big feast days and the restaurants beside the basilicas push costs up.

Lugano has Swiss prices for everything from lakeside hotels to boat trips and mountain railways. Grotti, set lunches and the free regional transport that comes with a hotel stay help a little, but there is no cheap way to stay there.

Lugano has a proper concert season. The concert hall at LAC is home to the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana and hosts visiting soloists, its theatre stages drama and dance, and in summer Estival Jazz brings free open-air concerts to Piazza della Riforma.

Assisi's music is mostly sacred: organ recitals and choirs in the basilica around religious feasts. In spring there is also the medieval song and costume of Calendimaggio. For opera or jazz, visitors to Assisi go to Perugia, and Lugano's opera lovers go to La Scala in Milan.

The calm in these two towns comes from different places. Assisi's is spiritual: retreats in convent guesthouses, silent walks up to the Eremo delle Carceri and lanes that fall still once the tour groups have gone. Its few spas are in country hotels and agriturismi down in the valley.

Lugano's calm is easy lakeside idleness: coffee under the arcades, an afternoon on a lido or a bench in Parco Ciani, and a grotto lunch that runs on into the evening. The large lakeside hotels have spas, and a big indoor complex with pools and saunas near Rivera covers a rainy day. Thermal springs and a bathing tradition are missing in both.