Bergamo or Dijon?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but Bergamo has the better fallback. The lidos on Lake Iseo around Sarnico and Lovere and the Lecco arm of Lake Como are a short trip away, and the water is near 23°C by July. The shores are pebble, grass or concrete rather than sand.

Dijon has only Lac Kir, a reservoir on the edge of town with a small supervised lawn-and-sand area. It is fine for a hot afternoon and not much more.

Both serve hearty regional cooking with little beyond it, but Dijon is the richer table. Boeuf bourguignon, jambon persillé, mustard and cassis, the iron hall of Les Halles and Côte de Nuits wines by the glass make eating the point of a stay.

Bergamo's mountain cooking is honest and satisfying. There is casoncelli, polenta with game, and some of Italy's great cheeses, such as Taleggio and Strachitunt, with Franciacorta made just over the border. It is a good food town rather than a reason to travel.

The two are closely matched, and both have UNESCO-listed heritage, but they reward different kinds of sightseeing. In Bergamo the setting is the draw: an almost complete walled town on a hill, with the Cappella Colleoni and Santa Maria Maggiore around Piazza Vecchia. Below it, the Accademia Carrara holds Raphael and Bellini.

Dijon is flat and built around one grand ensemble, the ducal palace, where the Musée des Beaux-Arts holds the Valois tombs. Around it are half-timbered streets, the gargoyles of Notre-Dame and Sluter's Well of Moses. Bergamo fills a day or two, while Dijon rewards two or three.

Evenings go much the same way in both cities: aperitivo or wine, a late dinner and home around midnight, with few clubs. In Bergamo people drink in Borgo Santa Caterina, or on summer nights in the squares and along the walls of the Città Alta, and Milan is close for a bigger night. In Dijon students keep the small bars of Rue Berbisey busy, but the town goes quiet outside term.

Bergamo has real mountains close by. Woodland paths climb from the upper town to San Vigilio, and the Orobie Alps up Val Brembana and Val Seriana have rifugi and high lakes. Two large lakes offer sailing and lakeside walks, and there are small ski areas in winter.

Dijon's countryside is gentler. There are limestone combes west of town for walking and climbing, the flat towpath of the Burgundy Canal and the vineyard cycle route to Beaune. Its wildest landscape, the Morvan, is about an hour and a half away.

Both are excellent bases, but Bergamo offers more variety. Milan's Duomo and Last Supper are under an hour by train, and Lake Como, Lake Iseo and Monte Isola are closer still. Brescia, Cremona and Verona add three very different cities.

Most of Dijon's outings share one theme, and a fine one: the Route des Grands Crus to Beaune, Fontenay Abbey and the medieval towns of the Auxois. Many of the wine villages need a car, a bike or a tour, whereas Bergamo's main trips run by train.

Bergamo gives children more to do. The funiculars up to the Città Alta and San Vigilio are a treat in themselves. Leolandia and the Le Cornelle wildlife park are both close, though the cobbled upper town is hard work with a buggy.

Dijon is just as calm and safe, and its flat pedestrian centre is easier with a pushchair. Beyond the planetarium at the Jardin de l'Arquebuse and paddling at Lac Kir, though, its wine and art itineraries are made for adults.

Both are easy without a car in town, and both need one for the countryside. Bergamo works on two levels. Funiculars link the flat lower town to the hilltop, the airport is a short bus ride away and trains run directly to Milan and Lecco.

Dijon is flat and compact, so the station, market and palace are a few minutes' walk apart. Trams reach the outskirts, and the TGV gets to Paris in well under two hours.

Neither is a fashion destination, and in both the best things to buy are things to eat and drink. Bergamo's main upper-town lane is lined with cheese shops, salumi and Valcalepio wine, and Milan is close for serious fashion. Dijon sells mustard, pain d'épices, cassis and Burgundy from its cellars, and the lanes off Rue de la Liberté add antiques and small independent shops.

Costs are much the same in both, comfortably mid-range. In Bergamo the saving comes from staying in a lower-town hotel, because rooms inside the Città Alta cost more and summer weekends fill up. In Dijon the bistro set lunches and wine by the glass are fairly priced, but tastings, wine tours and good bottles stretch the budget.

Both have a proper season for cities of their size, but their strengths differ. Bergamo's stage life centres on opera and its native composer Donizetti, with an autumn festival of his works at the Teatro Donizetti. Bergamo Jazz runs each spring, and La Scala is within reach for an evening.

Dijon's programme is broader, with opera, concerts and dance at the Grand Théâtre and the Auditorium, known for its acoustics, plus a national drama centre. It thins out in summer.

Bergamo is clearly the better choice for spa time. The grand thermal spa at San Pellegrino Terme is about forty minutes up the valley, and Trescore Balneario has sulphur springs used since Roman times.

Dijon has no baths of its own, only a few hotel spas, some offering grape-based treatments. Its calm comes from long lunches and quiet afternoons in the vineyards rather than from the water.