Assisi or Verona?

Neither town is on the coast, but Verona has much better access to the water. Lake Garda's southern shore at Peschiera, Lazise and Sirmione is about half an hour away, with clear water, lidos, lawns and Sirmione's limestone shelves, so a summer swim makes an easy afternoon out.

From Assisi, the nearest swimming is at Lake Trasimeno, about 45 minutes by car, where the water is warm but shallow and slightly cloudy. Most visitors settle for a hotel pool.

Verona eats better and more widely. Amarone risotto, bigoli with duck and bollito with pearà are served in wood-panelled osterie, and Valpolicella, Soave and Bardolino are made close by, with a glass and a snack at a counter as the evening ritual.

Assisi's cooking is plainer Umbrian country food: strangozzi with black truffle, Castelluccio lentils, torta al testo, and excellent Subasio olive oil with Sagrantino to drink. The choice is narrower, and you need to leave the set menus near the basilica to find the good trattorias.

Verona has more range. Its Roman Arena, Roman theatre, Scaliger tombs, Romanesque San Zeno and the Scarpa-designed museum in Castelvecchio cover two thousand years of history, and two or three days are not too many.

Assisi has one great masterpiece rather than a whole city of sights. The two churches of San Francesco, with frescoes by Cimabue, Simone Martini and the Giotto cycle, rank among Europe's finest interiors, and Santa Chiara, the Temple of Minerva and the Porziuncola fill out a calm two days.

Verona has an evening scene, though a modest one: spritz in Piazza delle Erbe, cheaper wine bars in Veronetta that stay busier in term time, and the opera crowd spilling out of the Arena near midnight in summer.

Assisi goes almost silent after the day visitors leave, apart from a quiet glass of Sagrantino and lanes that are empty by eleven. Anyone who wants more has to go to Perugia.

Both have good country nearby, but of different kinds. In Assisi you can walk straight out of town up Monte Subasio, past the Eremo delle Carceri to summit meadows at about 1,290m. Verona's outdoors means wine hills, the Adige cycle route north, and further out Monte Baldo, the Lessinia plateau and the strong winds on northern Garda, which suit sailors and windsurfers.

Both are excellent bases, and Verona has the edge because its fast trains take you further. Venice, Vicenza, Padua and Mantua are each about an hour or less away, and the Garda towns and Valpolicella cellars are close by.

From Assisi, the trips are mainly to Umbrian hill towns: Spello, Perugia, Spoleto, Gubbio, Todi and Orvieto. They are lovely and similar in character, and outside the valley rail line you will need a car.

Verona works much better with children. Gardaland, the water parks around southern Garda and the safari section at Parco Natura Viva are all within reach, the Arena itself appeals to children, and the flat centre suits pushchairs.

Assisi is safe and welcoming, but it has steep stepped streets and churches that need silence. Families usually stay at an agriturismo with a pool and visit the town in short trips, with the Rocca Maggiore as the main draw for older children.

Both centres are small enough to walk, but Verona's is flat. Inside the river loop you can stroll from the Arena to Castelvecchio, Verona's station is a twenty-minute walk or short bus ride away, and the rail lines towards Venice, Milan and the lake are good.

Assisi's lanes climb steeply from the basilica up to the cathedral, and its station is 4km below in Santa Maria degli Angeli. Beyond the valley line buses are sparse, so most people exploring Umbria hire a car.

Verona at least has a proper shopping street. Marble-paved Via Mazzini has Italian fashion labels, and there are boutiques and jewellers along Corso Porta Borsari, along with Amarone and pandoro to take home. It is smart rather than serious, and Milan is not far.

In Assisi, shops mostly sell rosaries and Tau crosses. The things worth buying are embroidered Assisi linen, Deruta ceramics, truffle products and olive oil.

Assisi is the cheaper of the two. Its basilicas are free, convent guesthouses charge little for a clean room, and valley agriturismi are good value, although hotels inside the walls cost more around Easter and on feast days.

In Verona, eating out is reasonable at Veronetta osterie and wine counters, but hotels in the centre are expensive. Rooms become scarce and dear on summer opera nights and during trade fairs.

For live performance there is no contest. Opera in the Roman Arena, with grand Verdi and Puccini productions on the ancient tiers through most of the summer, is a reason to visit in itself. The Roman theatre adds Shakespeare, dance and jazz, and Teatro Filarmonico runs a season in the cooler months.

Assisi offers organ and choral music in its churches and the costumed Calendimaggio festival in spring. For opera or the summer jazz festival you have to go to Perugia.

Verona has actual spas within reach. Sirmione's sulphur-water thermal centre faces the lake, a spring-fed thermal park lies near Lazise, and the springs at Caldiero have been used since Roman times.

Assisi offers a different kind of rest: retreats in convent guesthouses, silent walks to the Carceri hermitage and early mornings with no one about. It has few treatments, but very few places are as quiet.