Bergamo or Como?

Neither city has a beach, but Como has its swimming on the doorstep. The lido beside Villa Olmo is in the city itself, and ferries carry you to pebble strands and jetties at Moltrasio or the Tremezzina.

From Bergamo a swim is an outing. You drive or take the train to the lidos and grassy shores of Lake Iseo around Sarnico and Lovere, or to the Lecco arm of Lake Como. The water reaches about 23°C in high summer in both places.

Bergamo eats better. The valleys around it produce Taleggio, Branzi and Strachitunt, and the cheese counters and pastry shops of the upper town are a pleasure in themselves. Casoncelli with butter and sage is a dish worth travelling for, and the Franciacorta vineyards are close by.

Como's cooking leans towards the lake, with risotto with perch and dried missoltini, and its aperitivo on the cathedral squares is pleasant. But lakefront terraces often charge for the setting rather than the cooking, and the best meals tend to be up the lake rather than in town.

Bergamo has the stronger hand. Its almost complete walled hilltop town, the cluster of buildings around Piazza Vecchia and a picture gallery with Bellini and Lotto add up to a richer two days than Como's single day of sights.

Como's draw is quality on a smaller scale. It has a fine marble cathedral, Romanesque San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio, which brings architecture lovers on pilgrimage. Volta's museum and the silk museum round it off.

Neither is a place for clubbing, and in both the serious night out means the train to Milan. Bergamo still keeps more going. Students fill bars in Borgo Santa Caterina and around Via XX Settembre, and on summer nights people drink in the upper-town squares and along the walls.

Como winds down earlier. After aperitivo and dinner there are a few wine and cocktail bars near Piazza Duomo, and a lakefront stroll is often the last event of the evening.

Como's setting is the more dramatic, and easier to enjoy without a car. The funicular lifts you from the lakefront to the ridge trails at Brunate, the Greenway del Lago links lakeside villages, and the water itself is there for kayaking, sailing and paddling.

Bergamo answers with the Alps rather than a lake. The Colli di Bergamo climb straight from the upper town, and Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead to rifugi and high lakes in the Orobie. For most of that, though, you will need a car.

Both are first-rate bases, with Milan under an hour away, so the difference lies in direction. Bergamo looks east and south, to Brescia, Cremona, Verona, Mantua, Lake Iseo's Monte Isola and the UNESCO factory village of Crespi d'Adda, nearly all by train.

From Como the classic days out are on the water. Ferries run to Bellagio, Varenna and Villa del Balbianello, and Swiss Lugano is about half an hour away, which Bergamo cannot match.

Bergamo gives children a little more. Leolandia, the theme park built for younger children, is about twenty minutes away, the Le Cornelle wildlife park makes an easy half day, and two funiculars climb the hill. Only the cobbled upper lanes are hard going with a buggy.

Como has boat rides, the Brunate funicular and summer paddling, and its flat promenade suits a pushchair. Beyond that it has no zoo or theme park within easy reach, and the villas mostly appeal to adults.

Both are easy, and both rely on funiculars for their heights, but the layouts differ. Bergamo is split between a flat lower town and the walled hill, linked by funicular and buses. It also has a light-rail line into Val Seriana, and the airport is a short bus ride away.

Como is flat and compact by the water. The catch comes when you go further: slow ferries and narrow shore roads that clog in summer make journeys up the lake take longer than the map suggests.

Neither is a shopping destination, and fashion hunters from both end up in Milan. What you bring home is the difference. From Bergamo it is food: cheeses, salumi and Valcalepio wine from the delicatessens on the upper town's main lane.

From Como it is silk. Scarves, ties and fabric come from old-town specialists and from mill outlets that supply the fashion houses, and there is a weekend crafts and antiques market by the walls.

Bergamo is clearly the cheaper stay. Lower-town hotels and trattorias are fairly priced, which is exactly why so many people use it as a base for Lombardy, though rooms inside the Città Alta cost more.

Como's lakeside hotels and villa rentals draw a luxury crowd, and summer prices show it. You can soften this by sleeping back from the water, eating in the hills and coming in spring or autumn.

Bergamo has the stronger stage, built on its son Donizetti. The Teatro Donizetti runs a full season and an autumn festival of his operas that draws serious enthusiasts, and Bergamo Jazz brings a long-running festival each spring.

Como's neoclassical Teatro Sociale offers opera, ballet and concerts, and its open-air Arena takes over in summer. The memorable extra here is chamber music in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas, where the setting matters as much as the playing.

Bergamo has actual spa waters within reach. You can bathe in the Belle Époque setting of San Pellegrino Terme up Val Brembana, or try the sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario, in use since Roman times.

Como has no springs, so wellness there means villa hotel spas. Its strength is the calm itself, with still water, gardens running down to the shore and unhurried ferry rides.