Bergamo or Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Neither is a beach destination, but Bergamo does have proper lake swimming within reach. There are lidos around Sarnico and Lovere on Lake Iseo, and the Lecco arm of Lake Como is close too. By July the water is warm, and you swim from pebble, grass or concrete rather than sand. Cortina's lakes, Ghedina and Pianozes, are fed by snowmelt and better for walking round than swimming in, so in practice a swim means a hotel pool.

Both cities cook Alpine mountain food, and their signature pastas are cousins: Bergamo's casoncelli with butter, sage and pancetta, and Cortina's beetroot casunziei with poppy seeds. Bergamo has more to offer. Its valleys produce Taleggio, Branzi and Strachitunt, the Città Alta has trattorias and pastry shops, the lower town has everyday aperitivo bars, and you drink Valcalepio and Franciacorta.

In Cortina the best meals are often on rifugio terraces among the peaks, with stube dining rooms and a few ambitious kitchens down in the valley. There is less choice there, and almost nothing is cheap.

The gap here is wide. Bergamo's Città Alta is an almost complete walled hilltop town, with Piazza Vecchia, Santa Maria Maggiore and the marble front of the Cappella Colleoni. Below it, the Accademia Carrara holds Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna.

Cortina's centre is pleasant, with the basilica's tall bell tower, painted houses and the ice stadium from the 1956 Olympics, and its small museums fill a wet afternoon. Its most striking history, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, lies up in the mountains and takes a day to reach.

Neither town is made for late nights, but in an ordinary week Bergamo has more going on. Expect a long aperitivo, then wine bars and student pubs around Via XX Settembre and Borgo Santa Caterina, and drinks on the walls in summer. Milan is close for anything bigger.

Cortina's evenings mean après-ski and a stroll along the Corso Italia, followed by long dinners. Smart bars and a club or two stay open late only in the peak winter weeks, and in summer the town goes quiet early.

Cortina is the stronger choice and one of the finest mountain bases anywhere. The Tofane, Cristallo and Cinque Torri ring the valley, lifts run straight up from town, and the Tre Cime and Lago di Misurina are under an hour away. Winter brings Dolomiti Superski, and summer brings the Alta Via 1 and historic via ferrata routes.

Bergamo's outdoors are good but gentler and more spread out. There are wooded paths from the upper town to San Vigilio, hut-to-hut hiking in the Orobie valleys, and sailing and cycling on Iseo and Como. Its ski areas are small, and the mountains are easier with a car.

Bergamo is much the better base. Milan is under an hour by train, Lake Iseo and Lake Como are closer still, and Crespi d'Adda, Brescia, Cremona and Verona all make practical days out.

From Cortina, most excursions head into the mountains. The towns within reach are charming rather than essential: San Candido, Brunico with its Messner museum, and Bolzano, with the Iceman, about two hours away. Venice is a long day by coach.

For children the two are close, but in very different ways. Bergamo offers easy outings: funicular rides, a walk on the walls with a gelato, and Leolandia and the Le Cornelle wildlife park close by. The cobbled upper town is hard work with a buggy.

Cortina works for families who ski or hike. It has ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, skating at the Olympic stadium and gentle trails to huts. There is no theme park or zoo, though, rainy days drag, and costs climb quickly.

Bergamo is the easier place to be without a car. Funiculars link the lower town, the Città Alta and San Vigilio, the airport is a short bus ride away, and direct trains run to Milan, Brescia and Lecco.

Cortina's small centre is easy to walk and ski buses serve the slopes, but there has been no railway since 1964. Getting there means a coach from Venice or a long drive. Buses to the passes and the Tre Cime are limited, so many visitors hire a car.

The two are broadly level but suit different shoppers. Bergamo's arcaded Via XX Settembre and Sentierone have mid-range Italian chains, and the main lane of the upper town is the place for cheese, salumi and wine to take home. Milan is close for serious fashion.

Cortina puts luxury fashion, jewellers, furriers and upmarket ski wear along the single strip of the Corso Italia. The Cooperativa, founded in 1893, anchors it, and there are shops for local wood carving and filigree.

Bergamo is moderately priced for northern Italy. Fair lower-town hotels and inexpensive buses and funiculars make it a sensible base, and only the Città Alta and summer weekends push costs up.

Cortina is among the most expensive places to stay in Italy. It charges luxury-resort rates in the winter peak and in August, and lift passes and equipment hire come on top. Meals at the rifugi and the quieter weeks of June and late September soften the bill only a little.

Bergamo has a real stage life for its size, built around Donizetti. The Teatro Donizetti runs a season of opera, concerts and theatre plus an autumn festival of the composer's works, the Teatro Sociale stages smaller productions in the upper town, and Bergamo Jazz comes each spring.

Cortina has no theatre season and no regular venue. Its live music comes from summer chamber and classical festivals in churches and mountain settings, plus a few concerts around Christmas and New Year.

Bergamo has a slight edge because real spa towns are close by: the Belle Époque thermal baths of San Pellegrino Terme up Val Brembana, and the sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario, in use since Roman times. Early mornings in the quiet Città Alta add a slower pace.

Cortina has no springs, so relaxing there means Alpine hotel spas with saunas, hay baths and pools after a day outdoors, or an afternoon on a hut terrace in June or September. In the peak weeks, traffic and crowds make it far less restful.