Assisi or Zadar?

This is where the two differ most. Assisi sits in the hills of central Italy, far from either coast, and the best it can offer is a lido on Lake Trasimeno or a pool at a country agriturismo.

Zadar has the Adriatic on its doorstep. In summer people swim straight off the stone edge of the peninsula and at Kolovare and Borik, which are pebble and concrete rather than sand. Nin's sandy shallows and the island coves a short ferry ride away are better still.

Both cities eat well within a narrow range, and the difference is between land and sea. Assisi serves Umbrian country cooking: strangozzi with black truffle, Castelluccio lentils, wild boar, torta al testo, Monte Subasio olive oil and Sagrantino from Montefalco.

Zadar's tables are Dalmatian, with grilled fish, black risotto, octopus under the peka, Pag cheese and Maraschino liqueur. It also has a proper produce and fish market by the walls, which Assisi lacks. In both places, walk away from the main sights to eat better.

Assisi has the greater monument. The Basilica of San Francesco, with its dark Lower Church and the Upper Church's cycle on the life of Francis, is a European landmark on its own, and Santa Chiara, the Temple of Minerva and the Porziuncola fill out the pilgrim town.

Zadar is broader but on a smaller scale: an open Roman forum, round St Donatus, Venetian gates, and good small museums of ancient glass and church silver. Its Sea Organ adds a modern note that Assisi has nothing like. Each takes about two days.

Neither city is for serious going out, but Zadar has an evening life and Assisi has almost none. In Assisi, after dinner and a glass of wine the lanes are empty well before midnight, and anyone who wants bars should go to Perugia.

In summer, Zadar's evenings start with sunset at the Sea Organ and move on to café-bars on Kalelarga and terrace bars on the walls. Clubbing means the trip to Zrće on Pag. Out of season, both towns are quiet.

Assisi has one fine mountain behind it. The path up Monte Subasio past the Eremo delle Carceri reaches open summit meadows, and the gentle valley below is good for cycling between Spello and Montefalco. The Sibillini are a longer drive.

Zadar has much more variety. There are Paklenica's limestone gorges and climbing walls in the Velebit, hundreds of islands including the stark Kornati and Telašćica, the waterfalls at Krka and Plitvice, and sea kayaking along the coast. Here the outdoors can fill a whole week.

Assisi is the better base, because a whole region of hill towns lies close by. Spello is minutes away, Perugia and Spoleto are short train rides, Gubbio and Todi take about an hour, and Orvieto, Deruta and the Tuscan border towns are within reach.

Zadar's outings are fewer and further apart. Nin is close, Šibenik makes a good day out, and Split and Trogir are long but rewarding. Its real extra is the sea: ferries to Ugljan, Pašman and car-free Silba make a kind of day out Umbria can't match.

Both towns are safe, but Zadar is much easier with children. Its old town is flat and closed to cars, the waterfront promenade suits scooters and pushchairs, and the Sea Organ and light-up solar tiles keep children busy. Most days end at a beach, with Nin's shallows best for little ones.

Assisi's sights ask for silence and its streets are steep and stepped. Families tend to stay at a valley agriturismo with a pool and go up for short visits, with the Rocca castle as the treat.

Both centres are compact and walkable, but they feel very different underfoot. Assisi climbs steeply from the basilica to the cathedral, and its station is 4km below in the valley. Zadar's peninsula is flat and pedestrian, and you can cross it in a quarter of an hour.

Beyond town, Assisi has a useful railway along the valley to Perugia, Spello and Spoleto. Zadar has island ferries from the edge of the old town. For the rest of Umbria or the Dalmatian national parks, both really need a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and what you can buy reflects each place. Assisi's streets are lined with rosaries and Tau crosses, but traditional Assisi embroidery on Umbrian linen, Deruta ceramics and truffle products are worth finding.

Zadar has a proper main street in marble Kalelarga, with jewellers and some chain fashion, plus an open-air market. The things to take home are Pag lace, Pag cheese, figs and a bottle of Maraschino.

Assisi is a little easier on the budget. Its basilicas are free, convent guesthouses offer simple rooms cheaply, and valley agriturismi are good value, though rooms within the walls cost more around Easter.

Zadar costs about what a mid-range Western European city does. It is fair outside July and August, but high-summer apartments near the peninsula, national park entry and boat trips add up quickly.

Assisi's music follows the church calendar, while Zadar's follows the summer. In Assisi that means organ and choral concerts in the basilica around the feasts, and in spring the costumed song and processions of Calendimaggio. For opera or jazz you go to Perugia.

Zadar has a little more to offer in July and August. The Musical Evenings in St Donatus put early and chamber music inside a ninth-century church, and you may hear klapa singing in the squares. Outside summer, its calendar is as thin as Assisi's.

Contemplative quiet against the slow pace of the coast: that is the choice here. Assisi's calm is spiritual. There are convent retreats, silent walks to the hermitage on Subasio, and lanes that empty at dawn and dusk once the groups have gone.

Zadar's calm comes from long café mornings, an afternoon siesta and the sunset over the islands from the Sea Organ steps. For something more physical, there are hotel spas at Borik and the mineral mud of Nin's lagoon.