Bari or Venice?

Neither city is a beach destination in its own right, but Bari gives a swimmer more. Its sandy Pane e Pomodoro beach is a walk from the centre, and the regional train reaches the clear water of Polignano's cliff-backed cove and the rocky inlets around Monopoli for half-day outings.

Venice's Lido has long, fine sand and shallow water that suits children. The sea is greenish, though, and much of the shore is taken up by rows of private cabanas. Most visitors give it one hot afternoon away from the sights.

Bari eats better and more honestly. Hand-rolled orecchiette in the lanes of Bari Vecchia, focaccia barese and fried sgagliozze from kitchen windows, and raw sea urchins by the fishermen's pier are everyday food, not something you have to hunt for.

Venice's strength is the cicchetti counter in the bacari of Cannaregio and Castello, along with lagoon dishes such as cuttlefish risotto made with fish from the Rialto market. The problem is the mass of mediocre tourist restaurants on the main routes, so a good meal takes more effort to find.

This is where the two cities differ most. Venice is itself the monument: San Marco, the Doge's Palace and the palazzi of the Grand Canal. The art runs from the Accademia to the Frari and the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, with the Biennale on top. A week does not exhaust it.

Bari has a handsome, compact set of sights. They are led by the Basilica di San Nicola and the whitewashed lanes of Bari Vecchia, with the castle and the Murat quarter close by. They make a satisfying day or two, but next to Venice they are a supporting act.

Bari is the place for a night out. Students and young locals fill Piazza Mercantile and Piazza Ferrarese late into the evening, bars stay busy past midnight, and in high summer the party moves to beach clubs south of the city.

Venice is liveliest at aperitivo time, with spritzes around the Rialto and on the Fondamenta della Misericordia. Only Campo Santa Margherita keeps going later. After midnight the canals fall silent, which is lovely for a walk but no good for dancing.

Neither city has mountains or wild country nearby, so the difference is in kind. Bari's outdoors is on dry land: the open karst plateau of the Alta Murgia for walking and cycling, the Grotte di Castellana underground and the quiet lanes of the Valle d'Itria.

Venice's outdoors is on the water. The salt marshes of the northern lagoon around Torcello and Sant'Erasmo hold herons and flamingos and can be explored by kayak or rowing boat, and there is cycling along the sea walls of Pellestrina.

Both are first-rate bases, so the real choice is between two regions. From Bari you head to Matera's cave dwellings, the trulli of Alberobello, the white town of Ostuni and Baroque Lecce. Slow regional lines push many visitors into a hire car.

From Venice, fast trains reach Padua, Verona, Vicenza and on to Bologna, and boats go to Murano, Burano and Torcello without leaving the lagoon. That makes it the easier base for travellers without a car.

Bari is the easier city with children, mostly for practical reasons. The flat centre, the traffic-free old town and the sandy city beach are simple to manage, and families are part of every evening stroll. The caves and the safari park at Fasano make good outings.

Venice thrills children with its boats and car-free alleys, but the stepped bridges make pushchairs a struggle and the summer crowds tire small legs. It works best as a short stay with older children.

Both centres are best seen on foot, but Venice is slightly easier. Everything a visitor wants is within walking distance, and the vaporetto covers the Grand Canal and the islands. The price is bridges with steps, crowded boats and alleys that get people lost.

Bari's centre is flat and compact, with a rail link to the airport. The city buses are hard to work out, though, and the regional lines to the day-trip towns are slow and infrequent, so a car often comes into it.

Venice gives a shopper more to look for. Murano glass, Burano lace, handmade masks, marbled paper and furlane slippers come from workshops in Dorsoduro and Castello, and the big fashion names line Calle Larga XXII Marzo. Watch for the imported copies sold along the main routes.

Shopping in Bari is mostly the chain stores of Via Sparano and things to eat or drink: dried orecchiette, taralli, olive oil and wine, plus some Puglian ceramics.

The gap here is wide. Bari is one of Italy's more affordable cities, with cheap street food, inexpensive local wine and a free old town and basilica. Only July and August, and day trips by car, push costs up.

Venice is among the most expensive places to stay in the country, with costly hotel rooms, water transport priced for visitors and paid entry to most sights. Eating cicchetti at the counter and sleeping in Mestre help, but it never becomes cheap.

Each city has a major opera house, the Petruzzelli in Bari and La Fenice in Venice, with seasons of opera, ballet and concerts. Venice offers more. The Biennale runs festivals of music, theatre and dance, and there are Vivaldi concerts in churches most evenings. They vary in quality but are easy to enjoy without any Italian.

Bari makes up some ground in summer, with open-air concerts and a long-running jazz festival in the piazzas and the castle.

Relaxing in Bari mostly means slowing to the southern pace: a long lunch, a quiet afternoon break and a stroll along the seafront promenade once the heat fades. The city has no thermal baths and little beyond hotel spas, so visitors who want real pampering book a restored country estate outside town.

Venice gives a restful stay more to work with. Hotel spas sit in grand palazzi and on the Lido and Giudecca, and the thermal pools and hot mud of Abano Terme, used since Roman times, are about an hour away. With no traffic, early mornings in Castello or Cannaregio are hushed, though San Marco by day is anything but calm.