Bergamo or Graz?

Neither city has a coastline, but Bergamo's lake swimming is in a different league. Lake Iseo's lidos at Sarnico and Lovere and the Lecco arm of Lake Como are true Alpine lakes, with mountains rising from the water.

Graz relies on the Schwarzlsee and similar former gravel pits on the plain to the south, pleasant with their jetties and grassy banks, but flat and suburban. The water warms to about 23°C in high summer in both, and you will find grass and pebble rather than sand either way.

Both are regional kitchens rather than international ones, and neither clearly outdoes the other. The difference is in the larder. Bergamo is a city of stuffed pasta, polenta and serious mountain cheeses such as Taleggio and Strachitunt, with Franciacorta sparkling wine next door and a fine-dining tier for a special night.

Graz revolves around pumpkin seed oil, cold fried-chicken salad and the daily farmers' markets at Kaiser-Josef-Platz and Lendplatz. Its real pleasure is the crisp Sauvignon Blanc poured in rustic Buschenschank taverns in the southern hills.

These two are closely matched, with Bergamo a touch ahead, but their strengths are different. Bergamo's draw is concentrated: a walled hilltop town inside UNESCO-listed Venetian ramparts, the marble front of the Cappella Colleoni, and Old Master painting by Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna at the Accademia Carrara. It is all seen in a day or two.

Graz spreads further, from a larger arcaded old town to the Baroque Schloss Eggenberg. It adds two things Bergamo has no answer to: the Landeszeughaus armoury, with its thousands of suits of armour, and the blue Kunsthaus beside the Mur.

Graz gives you more of a night out. Its student population fills the bar lanes of the old-town Bermuda Triangle, the artier bars of Lend and the university quarter, and a handful of clubs stay open late at weekends. It goes quieter in summer when the students leave.

Bergamo's evening is a long aperitivo on Via XX Settembre or in Borgo Santa Caterina, then a glass of wine on the walls of the Città Alta. Things wind down around midnight. Clubbers from Bergamo go to Milan.

Both have mountains close by, and there is little between them overall. Bergamo has the higher and wilder country. Paths climb straight from the upper town into the Colli di Bergamo, Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead to rifugi and high lakes in the Orobie Alps, and Lake Iseo and Lake Como add sailing and lakeside cycling.

Graz is softer and closer to hand. You can take the Schöckl cable car or paraglide from its summit, cycle the Mur path or climb the ladders of the Bärenschützklamm gorge. The South Styrian wine hills make gentle walking country. In both, a car opens up the best of it.

This is Bergamo's clearest advantage. Direct trains put Milan's Duomo and Last Supper within an hour, and Lake Como, Lake Iseo with Monte Isola, Brescia and the factory village of Crespi d'Adda are all close. Verona and Cremona also make easy days out, so a week here can take in half of northern Italy without moving hotel.

Graz's outings are rural and charming rather than grand: the South Styrian Wine Road, Riegersburg on its volcanic crag, the Lipizzaners at Piber and Admont Abbey's library. Apart from Maribor by train, most of them need a car.

Graz is a little easier with children inside the city itself. Trams take buggies, and the Schlossberg alone fills a day, with the lift up, the long underground slide down and the Märchenbahn train through fairytale tunnels. The FRida & freD children's museum adds a rainy-day option.

Bergamo's steep cobbles are hard going with a pushchair, though the funiculars are a treat for children. What Bergamo has and Graz lacks is a proper theme park: Leolandia is twenty minutes away, and the Le Cornelle wildlife park is close by.

Graz is the simpler city to move around. Its centre is small, flat and mostly pedestrianised, trams run along the Herrengasse, and one ticket covers everything.

Bergamo is split across two levels. Funiculars and buses bridge the steep climb to the Città Alta, which is tiring on foot. It makes up for this with strong rail links to Milan, Brescia and Lecco and an airport a short bus ride away. In both cities, the countryside is far easier by car.

Graz has slightly more to browse. A grand nineteenth-century department store anchors the historic Herrengasse, the sloping Sporgasse keeps traditional shops, and Lend adds design and vintage stores that Bergamo lacks.

Bergamo's lower-town arcades are mostly Italian chains, and the real pleasure is the cheese shops and delicatessens along the main lane of the Città Alta. In both cities the best buys are edible: Taleggio and Valcalepio wine in Bergamo, pumpkin seed oil and Schilcher rosé in Graz. Milan is close at hand for serious fashion.

Bergamo is the somewhat cheaper stay. Lower-town hotels are fair for what is on offer, and buses and the funicular cost little, though rooms inside the Città Alta and summer weekends push prices up.

Graz runs at full Austrian rates for sit-down dinners and wine, and hotels climb during festivals and trade fairs. Its student lunch menus and walkable centre help keep a trip affordable.

Graz has much more on stage. Its opera house is the second largest in Austria and stages opera, operetta and ballet all season. Styriarte brings early music in summer, steirischer herbst brings avant-garde work in autumn, and the music university feeds a strong jazz scene.

Bergamo's stage life centres on Donizetti, who was born here. Its highlight is the autumn festival of his operas at the Teatro Donizetti, alongside Bergamo Jazz in spring. Otherwise the programme is modest, though La Scala is an evening's train ride away.

Neither city has bathing traditions within its walls, and both lean on spa country nearby. The difference is in character. From Bergamo, San Pellegrino Terme offers a single grand Belle Époque spa up Val Brembana, and Trescore Balneario has sulphur springs used since Roman times.

From Graz, a whole string of thermal villages lies about an hour east, from Hundertwasser's grass-roofed Bad Blumau to the large warm pools of Loipersdorf. In town, Bergamo's calm comes from walking its walls early, while Graz's comes from its coffee houses and the Stadtpark.