Bari or Bergamo?

Bari has the sea on its doorstep. Its own beaches are ordinary: the sandy Pane e Pomodoro and the lidos and rocky platforms around Torre Quetta. But the water is warm and calm, and the pebble cove at Polignano a Mare and the clear inlets near Monopoli are a short train ride south.

Bergamo has no coast, so swimming means a day at Lake Iseo or on the Lecco arm of Lake Como, on pebble, grass or concrete rather than sand. The lakes are a way to cool off, while Bari can give you real beach half-days all summer.

Both cities cook their own regional food rather than international dishes, but Bari's is the bigger reason to go. Its street food is cheap and local to the city, from focaccia barese to sgagliozze. Watching orecchiette being rolled in the old town lanes and eating raw seafood at the fishermen's pier make food part of the sightseeing.

Bergamo eats like the mountains: casoncelli with butter and sage, polenta with braised meat and game, and fine valley cheeses such as Taleggio and Strachitunt. It is the easier of the two for a smart dinner, and for wine you swap Primitivo and Negroamaro for Valcalepio and nearby Franciacorta.

Bergamo has more to see. The Città Alta is a near-complete hilltop town inside UNESCO-listed Venetian walls. At its centre are Piazza Vecchia, Santa Maria Maggiore and the marble front of the Cappella Colleoni. Down the hill, the Accademia Carrara has Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna.

Bari's old town feels more lived-in than grand. Whitewashed lanes and courtyards surround the Basilica di San Nicola, whose relics of St Nicholas draw Orthodox pilgrims. The Pinacoteca and the Murat quarter add to the visit, but the art is lighter. Each city fills about a day or two.

Bari stays out later. On summer nights students and young locals fill Piazza Mercantile and Piazza Ferrarese, the bars in the Umbertino streets keep going past midnight, and in July and August beach clubs open along the coast.

In Bergamo the evening is a long aperitivo around Via XX Settembre or Borgo Santa Caterina, maybe a drink on the walls, and home by midnight. Anyone who wants clubs goes to Milan. Bari is also quiet on winter weeknights, so the gap between them is widest in summer.

Bari sits in flat olive country, and there are no mountains close to the city. Its outdoor life is the long seafront promenade, quiet walks and cycling across the open karst of the Alta Murgia, the Grotte di Castellana, and gentle rides through the Valle d'Itria.

Bergamo is far better for the outdoors because the Alps start at its edge. The Colli di Bergamo park climbs straight up from the Città Alta. Further north, Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead into the Orobie Alps, with serious summer hiking, the Serio waterfall and small ski areas such as Foppolo in winter. Lake Iseo and Lake Como add sailing and lakeside cycling.

Both are excellent bases, but for different kinds of trip. From Bari you reach some of the most distinctive places in the south: the cave dwellings of Matera, the trulli of Alberobello, white Ostuni, Castel del Monte and Baroque Lecce. The regional trains are slow, so a car helps for the inland towns.

From Bergamo you go to Milan in under an hour by train, to the lakes, and to Brescia, Cremona and Verona, mostly on direct trains. Choose Bari for small towns and rural Puglia, and Bergamo for famous cities and lakes.

Neither city has much built for children, so the outings matter most. Bari has a sandy city beach, gelato on the evening seafront stroll, and trips to the Grotte di Castellana or the Fasano safari park, though you need to plan around the midday heat.

In Bergamo, children love the funiculars, and the Leolandia theme park and the Le Cornelle wildlife park are both close. The cobbled upper town is hard work with a buggy. Bari suits a seaside family summer, and Bergamo suits rides and mountain days.

Bergamo is a little easier to get around. Funiculars link its two levels, the airport is a short bus ride away, and direct trains run to Milan, Brescia and Lecco, although the upper valleys still need a car.

Bari's centre is flat and compact, with a rail link to the airport. But its buses are slow, and the regional lines to Matera and the Valle d'Itria can be infrequent, so hiring a car is more common there.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and in both the best things to buy are edible. Bari has Via Sparano for Italian chains and a few boutiques, plus dried orecchiette, taralli, olive oil and Puglian ceramics to take home.

In Bergamo, Via XX Settembre and the Sentierone do the same everyday job, and the main lane of the Città Alta is lined with cheese shops, bakeries and wine sellers. The real difference is that Milan's fashion streets are under an hour from Bergamo.

Your money goes further in Bari. Street food, a trattoria lunch and local wine cost little, and the old town and the basilica are free to explore. Rooms get tighter in July and August, though, and day trips by car add up.

Bergamo is comfortable rather than cheap. Lower-town hotels are fairly priced and the buses and funicular are inexpensive. Rooms and meals inside the Città Alta cost more, and summer weekends fill up.

Both are opera cities on a modest scale. Bari's Teatro Petruzzelli is one of Italy's largest opera houses, with a full season of opera, ballet and concerts, and in summer there are open-air concerts and jazz in the piazzas and at the castle.

Bergamo's stage life centres on Donizetti, who was born there. The Teatro Donizetti holds an autumn festival of his works, and Bergamo Jazz is a long-running spring festival. Bergamo also has La Scala within reach for an evening in Milan.

Bergamo is better for rest and pampering. The Belle Époque spa town of San Pellegrino Terme, up Val Brembana, and the ancient sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario are both nearby, and the Città Alta is calm in the early mornings and evenings.

Bari has no bathing tradition and mostly hotel spas. There, relaxing means a long lunch, the afternoon break and a stroll along the seafront at dusk, or a stay at a restored country estate outside the city.