Bari or Palermo?

Palermo gives you the better swimming. Mondello's shallow, pale-sand bay is half an hour away by bus, and for deep water there are rocky ladders at Sferracavallo and Capo Gallo, so a beach afternoon fits easily into a city stay.

Bari's in-town option is closer but plainer: the sandy Pane e Pomodoro and the lidos near Torre Quetta are fine for a quick dip. The coves worth the trip are south at Polignano and Monopoli, which makes swimming there more of a half-day outing by train.

Both cities live on street food and home cooking, but Palermo has the greater range. Its markets at Ballarò, the Capo and the Vucciria fry panelle and arancine all day, its Arab-influenced dishes are like nothing else in Italy, and its pastry tradition, from cannoli to granita with brioche, could fill a trip by itself.

Bari's food is simpler and just as rooted: orecchiette rolled in the old town lanes, focaccia barese, and raw seafood by the fishermen's pier. It is generous and honest cooking, though with less variety.

The gap here is wide. Palermo has a UNESCO-listed Arab-Norman route of gold mosaics and Islamic ceilings, layers of baroque on top, and two museums of real standing. That is several days of sightseeing, set in an old centre whose decay is part of its atmosphere.

Bari's sights fit in a day or two. The Basilica di San Nicola is a fine piece of Apulian Romanesque, and the old town, castle and Murat quarter make a pleasant walk, but there is far less depth.

Evenings are much alike in both cities: late, outdoors and built around drinks, not clubs, with the dancing moving to beach venues in summer. The settings are what differ. In Bari the crowd is young and local, gathered on the steps of Piazza Mercantile and Piazza Ferrarese. Palermo's centre of gravity is the Vucciria market, which turns into a rough-edged open-air party with grills and cheap beer at night.

Palermo sits inside a ring of limestone mountains. Monte Pellegrino rises right above the streets, there is snorkelling off Capo Gallo, and you can walk the coastal trail at Zingaro or hike the Madonie peaks near 2,000m, though a car helps for most of these.

Bari's surroundings are flat olive country. The Alta Murgia plateau is good for quiet walks and cycling, and the Castellana caves are worth a visit, but there are no mountains and nothing as wild within a day.

Both make excellent bases, and the difference is in what lies around them. From Bari, the trips are to towns and villages: Matera's cave city, the trulli of Alberobello, the white hill towns of the Valle d'Itria, Lecce and Trani's seafront cathedral, all packed fairly close together.

Palermo's excursions lean towards the ancient world: Segesta's lone temple, Selinunte and Agrigento's Valley of the Temples, along with Monreale's mosaics, Cefalù, Erice and a hydrofoil to Ustica. The greatest of these are further out, at about two hours.

Bari is the easier city with children. Its centre is small and flat, the old town lanes are free of traffic, and a sandy beach is right in town. The Castellana caves, the Fasano safari park and the trulli make easy outings.

Palermo is just as warm towards children, and Mondello's shallow bay and the puppet shows are real highlights. Day to day, though, scooters in lanes without pavements, uneven stone streets and the summer heat make it harder work, and many families end up staying outside the centre.

Bari is simpler to get around. The old town, the shopping grid and the seafront sit side by side on flat ground, a rail link runs to the airport, and regional lines reach the coast and Matera, although a car is still handy for the inland towns.

Palermo's main sights are also within walking distance along Via Maqueda and the Corso. Away from those streets you are sharing narrow lanes with scooters, the buses crawl through traffic and driving is stressful, so getting out to Segesta or Erice takes more effort.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and in both the best things to take home are edible. Bari is more practical, with chains along Via Sparano and orecchiette, taralli and olive oil from the old town doorways. Palermo has more craft to browse: painted moor's-head ceramics, marionettes from the puppet workshops, coral jewellery and a flea market near the cathedral.

Both are good-value southern cities where street food and trattoria meals cost little and July and August push room prices up. The difference is in where the extra costs come from. In Bari it is beach clubs and car hire for the Valle d'Itria. In Palermo it is anything near Mondello in high summer, plus fish restaurants and boutique hotels charging mainland prices.

Both have a major opera house, but Palermo offers more for an evening out. The Teatro Massimo runs a full season with tickets that are easy to get, the Politeama is home to the Sicilian symphony orchestra, and the Opera dei Pupi puppet shows are an hour of living tradition that needs no Italian.

Bari's Teatro Petruzzelli is a fine reason to dress up, and summer brings jazz and concerts in the castle and the piazzas. Beyond that, most of what is on is Italian-language theatre.

Neither city is a place to unwind properly. Both offer only hotel spas, and in both the calm comes from the long afternoon break and an evening seafront stroll. Palermo has a little more nearby, with thermal waters at Termini Imerese and quiet hours in the Orto Botanico. Bari's answer is a restored country estate outside town.