Bergamo or Ljubljana?

Neither city is built around swimming, but Bergamo makes it a little easier. Lake Iseo's lidos at Sarnico and Lovere are a short trip away and Lake Como's Lecco arm is not much further, so a hot afternoon by the water takes little planning.

From Ljubljana the choices are the Sava on the edge of town, Bled an hour away, or the Adriatic at Piran, which takes most of a day. In both places you swim off grass, pebbles or concrete, never sand.

The two are on a par, but they eat differently. Bergamo's strength is rich Lombard mountain cooking: casoncelli in butter and sage, polenta with braised meats, and cheeses such as Taleggio and Strachitunt, with Franciacorta sparkling wine close by.

Ljubljana is more about the glass and the market. Its riverside bars pour Vipava, Brda and orange wines, and the Central Market under Plečnik's colonnades sells pumpkin-seed oil, cheese and Carniolan sausage. Either city's range runs thin within a week.

Bergamo has more to see. The almost complete walled hilltop town, Piazza Vecchia with Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cappella Colleoni, and an Old Master gallery holding Raphael and Bellini make a much richer day or two than Ljubljana offers.

Ljubljana's appeal is its townscape as a whole: Plečnik's bridges, embankments and library, baroque churches and Secession façades below the castle. Its museums are pleasant but not worth crossing borders for, and Metelkova's murals add an alternative edge that Bergamo does not have.

Ljubljana is the livelier of the two after dark, though neither is a party city. Its riverbanks fill with terraces on warm nights, students keep things going in term, and Metelkova's scruffy clubs stay open late at weekends.

In Bergamo the night is a long aperitivo followed by wine bars around Via XX Settembre or drinks on the upper town walls, and most people are home by midnight. For clubs you would go to Milan.

Both cities sit at the foot of the Alps, but Ljubljana has more variety within easy reach. In about an hour you can be in Triglav National Park, the Vintgar gorge or the karst caves of Postojna and Škocjan, and the emerald Soča has rafting and kayaking that Bergamo cannot match.

Bergamo answers with the Colli park climbing straight out of the upper town, rifugi hiking in Val Brembana and Val Seriana, and sailing and cycling on Iseo and Como. For the higher valleys a car helps a lot.

Bergamo is the stronger base. Milan is under an hour by direct train, the lakes are closer still, and Brescia, Cremona and Verona are all comfortable rail outings. That is a run of first-rate cities that are simple to reach without a car.

From Ljubljana, Bled, Škofja Loka, Predjama Castle and Piran cover a whole small country, and Trieste or Zagreb add a border crossing. The smaller places, though, are easier with a hired car or a bus than by train.

Families will find the two much alike, both calm and safe, but the outings are of different kinds. Around Bergamo the big draws are just outside town: Leolandia's rides and miniature Italy, and the Le Cornelle wildlife park. The upper town's steep cobbles, however, are hard going with a buggy.

Ljubljana is the reverse. Its flat, car-free centre is easy with a pushchair, and the castle funicular, Dragon Bridge and puppet theatre suit small children, but there is no theme park to fill a bigger day.

Ljubljana is a little simpler to get around. Almost everything a visitor wants is within twenty minutes' walk on flat, pedestrianised streets, with bike-share for the rest.

Bergamo needs funiculars and buses to link its two levels, but in return it has direct trains to Milan, Brescia and Lecco and an airport a short bus ride away. Slovenia's slow railways push Ljubljana visitors onto intercity buses.

Bergamo gives shoppers more. The arcaded Sentierone and Via XX Settembre have mid-range Italian fashion, the Città Alta's main lane is lined with cheese shops and delicatessens, and Milan's fashion streets are under an hour away.

Ljubljana is smaller in scale. The best buys are honey, coastal salt and Idrija lace from the market, along with the Sunday flea market on the embankment and a few design boutiques around Trubarjeva.

Costs are much the same in both, comfortable rather than cheap. The money goes on rooms in each case: inside the Città Alta in Bergamo, and in Ljubljana's small stock of old-town hotels in July and August.

Bergamo's sensibly priced lower-town hotels make a good base for rail day trips. Ljubljana saves you money on lunchtime set menus, cheap museum entry and a centre you can walk without paying for transport.

The stage life of the two is close, with Ljubljana offering a slightly wider year-round programme. The Slovenian Philharmonic, the national opera and ballet, and Cankarjev dom keep concerts and dance coming, and the summer festival in Plečnik's Križanke courtyard is a fine open-air evening.

Bergamo is more focused. Opera is the heart of it, through Donizetti's own theatre and its autumn festival, plus a long-running spring jazz festival, and La Scala is reachable for a night.

Bergamo has the better spa day. San Pellegrino Terme's grand Belle Époque baths are forty minutes up Val Brembana, Trescore's sulphur springs date back to Roman times, and the quiet Città Alta at dawn helps you slow down.

Ljubljana's own offer is a water park with saunas and some hotel spas. Its real calm comes from the green, car-free centre and long riverside afternoons, with Slovenia's thermal towns a drive away.