Basel or Bologna?

Neither city is a beach destination, and they offer different kinds of water. In Basel, swimming happens right in town: you float down the Rhine past the old town on a summer afternoon, then sunbathe on the gravel banks. It is memorable, but the current is strong and only confident swimmers should try it.

Bologna has no water in the city to speak of. Instead it has the Adriatic about an hour away by train, with shallow, warm water at Rimini or Cervia, though the shore is lined with organised lidos of rented sunbeds. If you want a seaside day, go to Bologna. If you want a swim between museums, Basel is the better fit.

This is where Bologna clearly comes out ahead. Tortellini in brodo, ragù and lasagne verdi are made here with real pride, Parmigiano and Parma ham come from towns close by, and the market lanes of the Quadrilatero are worth visiting just to look. The weak point is variety, since almost everything on offer is Emilian, and it is heavy food in summer.

Basel eats well but modestly. It borrows tarte flambée and Baden wines from its neighbours, and everyday meals often feel expensive for what they are. Its best casual stops are the Markthalle and the Marktplatz market.

Bologna comes out slightly ahead because the whole city is the attraction. Its brick medieval centre and kilometres of UNESCO-listed porticoes lead you to Piazza Maggiore, the leaning Two Towers, the seven churches of Santo Stefano and the anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio, all within an easy walk.

Basel's strength is its art collections rather than its streets. The Kunstmuseum's Holbeins, the Fondation Beyeler and the Vitra campus are of a quality few small cities can match. Its old town, running from the Münster to the Spalentor, is handsome but compact. Gallery lovers may still prefer Basel.

Bologna goes out much more. Thousands of students crowd the cheap bars around Piazza Verdi, Via del Pratello stays busy late into the night, and wine bars carry on after aperitivo. It is informal rather than polished, and it falls silent in August.

Basel is calmer, with drinks on the Kleinbasel riverside steps in summer, a few bars around the Kaserne and some clubs in old harbour buildings. Its standout is Fasnacht, three days of drums and lanterns in late winter that begin at four in the morning.

Basel has more countryside within easy reach. The Jura ridges start at the city's edge, the Black Forest summits are within an hour, and the Vosges lie to the west, so walkers have three very different ranges to choose from. Flat Rhine paths also lead cyclists into Germany and France.

Bologna's walking starts in the hills just above its rooftops, on the climb to San Luca and around the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi. The Via degli Dei sets out from Piazza Maggiore for Florence. The flat farmland to the north is less inviting, and the humid summers push outdoor time into spring and autumn.

Both are superb bases, and Bologna has the edge. Florence is barely half an hour away by fast train. Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are short hops, and Venice, Verona and Padua all work as day trips.

Basel's strength is having three countries on its doorstep. You can visit the Alsace wine villages and Colmar in France, Freiburg and the Black Forest towns in Germany, and Lucerne, Bern and the Rhine Falls in Switzerland. The variety of languages and landscapes is wider, even if no single trip matches the pull of Florence or Venice.

Basel is the easier city with children. The Zolli is a short walk from the station, the Natural History Museum and toy museum cover a rainy morning, and the free animal park in the Lange Erlen makes a simple afternoon. Small children cannot swim in the Rhine, though, and Sundays are quiet.

Bologna's car-free centre and shady arcades are pleasant to walk with children, and pizza and gelato keep mealtimes simple. Older children may enjoy climbing the Asinelli tower, but there is no zoo, and the summer heat is tough. Both cities have a big theme park about an hour away, Europa-Park from Basel and Mirabilandia from Bologna.

Basel is the smoother of the two. Green trams reach every part of the city and even cross into France and Germany, hotel guests ride them free, and small river ferries carry you between the banks.

Bologna has no metro, but it hardly needs one. The medieval centre is flat and best walked, and the porticoes keep you out of the sun and rain. Buses cover the rest, and the station's fast trains are what really matter. Watch for bikes under the arches.

Bologna is the better place to shop, mainly because of what you can carry home to eat: aged Parmigiano, mortadella, fresh tortellini and balsamic vinegar from the Quadrilatero. Galleria Cavour has a small cluster of luxury fashion, and the Montagnola and Santo Stefano markets are good for browsing.

Basel's Freie Strasse sells Swiss watches, jewellery and chocolate, and the Spalenberg lanes have small design shops. Its Christmas market around the Münster is the one time the city becomes a real shopping draw.

The difference in cost is large. Basel is expensive in every way, from rooms and restaurant meals to museum entry. The free transport card helps, and so do cheaper meals or a hotel across the German or French border.

Bologna is mid-priced. Food and local wine cost less than in Italy's main tourist cities, and most of the sights are free churches and squares. Hotels in the old town are the expensive part. Both cities' rooms become scarce and costly during big trade fairs.

The two are evenly matched but have different strengths. Basel leans towards serious classical music and stage work: bold productions at Theater Basel, the Sinfonieorchester in the acoustically fine Stadtcasino, and a strong early-music tradition. Its season winds down in July and August.

Bologna's Teatro Comunale is one of Italy's historic opera houses, and the city adds jazz in basement clubs and student indie gigs. In summer, outdoor concerts and films fill Piazza Maggiore, just when Basel's halls go quiet.

Calm comes easily in Basel. Sundays are hushed and the Rhine banks are made for an afternoon of doing nothing. Proper bathing is close too: the saline thermal pools at Rheinfelden are about twenty minutes away, the mineral baths and saunas of Badenweiler and Bad Krozingen are just over the German border, and Baden-Baden works as a longer day out.

Bologna has fewer ways to unwind. A slow lunch under the porticoes is a kind of rest in itself, but the university quarter is noisy and the summer heat weighs on you. Castel San Pietro Terme and the green valley spa town of Porretta Terme each make a pleasant half day, though neither offers the range of the spa towns around Basel.