Bergamo or Naples?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Naples at least has the sea. Bergamo's swimming means a trip out to the lidos of Lake Iseo or the Lecco arm of Lake Como, on pebble, grass or concrete platforms.

Naples has rocks below the Lungomare and small lidos at Posillipo, though the water near the port is not always clean. The real reward is a boat to Procida, Ischia or Capri, where clear water and rocky coves make a far better swimming day than any lake.

Bergamo's table is hearty mountain food: casoncelli in butter and sage, polenta with braised meats and game, and some of Italy's great cheeses, Taleggio and Strachitunt among them. It is satisfying, but it is a cuisine you try rather than one you travel for.

Naples is a city people do travel to eat in. Neapolitan pizza was born there, and fried pizza, seafood cones, sfogliatelle and babà fill the streets. The Pignasecca and Porta Nolana markets show off mozzarella, fish and San Marzano tomatoes. Neither city offers much beyond its own region's cooking.

Bergamo has one superb set piece. The walled Città Alta, with Piazza Vecchia, Santa Maria Maggiore and the marble front of the Cappella Colleoni, sits above the Accademia Carrara and its Raphael and Bellini. You can see all of it properly in a day or two.

Naples works on a far larger scale. Its Greek-planned centre is packed with churches, and the National Archaeological Museum holds the treasures of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Add the Veiled Christ, the tunnels and catacombs underground, and the royal palaces and Capodimonte, and you have a week's worth of sights.

Evenings in Bergamo centre on aperitivo, wine bars and a few pubs around Via XX Settembre and Borgo Santa Caterina, and they mostly wind down by midnight. For anything bigger, people take the train to Milan.

Naples is far livelier, even though it has few clubs worth naming either. The crowd gathers outdoors, students in Piazza Bellini beside the old Greek walls and a smarter set in the lanes of Chiaia. The talk and drinking go on well past midnight, especially at weekends and in summer.

Both cities have striking landscapes on their doorstep, but they are very different. Bergamo looks to the Alps: woodland paths climb to San Vigilio, and Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead to rifugi, high lakes and serious hiking in the Orobie. The lakes add sailing and cycling, though you will want a car for the mountains.

Naples has volcanoes and coast instead. You can climb to the crater rim of Vesuvius, walk the oak-filled crater at Astroni or snorkel at Gaiola, and the Path of the Gods above the Amalfi Coast is within reach. In summer the heat makes midday walking hard work.

Both make excellent bases. From Bergamo, Milan's Duomo and Last Supper are under an hour away and Lake Como and Lake Iseo are closer still. Crespi d'Adda, Brescia, Cremona and Verona are all easy days out by train.

Naples still comes out ahead, because so many of its outings are world-famous. Pompeii and Herculaneum are a short ride on the Circumvesuviana. The Caserta palace, Capri, Ischia and Procida, the Amalfi Coast and the temples at Paestum mean you could run out of days before you run out of places.

Bergamo is calm, safe and easy to manage with children. Riding the funicular, walking the walls with a gelato, and spending days at Leolandia or the Le Cornelle wildlife park all suit young families. The upper town's cobbles are the only real trial with a buggy.

Neapolitans adore children, but the city itself is tiring for them. Scooters, missing pavements and summer heat make the centre hard going, and there is little designed for children beyond Edenlandia and the zoo. Older children enjoy Pompeii and the tunnels, but many families stay in Sorrento instead.

Bergamo is simple to navigate. Funiculars link the lower town to the Città Alta and San Vigilio, buses reach the airport quickly, and direct trains run to Milan, Brescia and Lecco. Only the upper valleys and lake shores really call for a car.

Naples has more transport but less reliability. Metro Line 1, with its art-filled stations, and four funiculars work well, and the old centre is best seen on foot. Buses crawl through traffic, though, and the Circumvesuviana is crowded and prone to delays.

Bergamo's shopping is mostly everyday: chains and mid-range fashion under the arcades of the Sentierone, plus delicatessens in the Città Alta selling cheese, salumi and Valcalepio. Serious fashion shoppers go to Milan.

Naples offers things you cannot buy elsewhere. In Chiaia you can have a suit, shirt or silk tie made by long-established tailors, and Via San Gregorio Armeno is lined with nativity-figure workshops. Torre del Greco supplies coral and cameos, and the Galleria Umberto I and Via Toledo add a grand setting for ordinary shopping.

Naples stretches a budget further. Pizza, street food, coffee at the bar and simple B&Bs in the historic centre all cost noticeably less than in the north. The savings disappear on Capri, along the Amalfi Coast and at the summer beach clubs.

Bergamo is comfortable rather than cheap. Hotels in the lower town are fairly priced for a base in Lombardy, and the funicular costs little, but rooms inside the Città Alta and summer weekends push the bill up.

Bergamo's stage life centres on a single composer. Donizetti was born here, and the theatre named after him builds its autumn festival around his operas, a real draw if you want to hear his work in his home town. In spring, Bergamo Jazz offers something Naples largely lacks, since the south has few jazz or live-music clubs.

Naples gives you far more to choose from through the year. The San Carlo, older than La Scala and still in use, stages opera, ballet and concerts across a full season rather than one festival, and the conservatory and church concerts fill the nights between. Neapolitan song adds a popular tradition that Bergamo has no equivalent for, one you can hear over dinner as easily as in a concert hall.

Bergamo is the easier place to unwind. The Città Alta is quiet early and late, the walls make a peaceful walk, and the Belle Époque spa at San Pellegrino Terme is only forty minutes up the valley. Trescore Balneario's sulphur springs are also close by.

Naples itself is too loud and crowded to rest in. Its best thermal water is on Ischia, an hour away by hydrofoil, or at Agnano on the city's edge. Those who come to relax usually stay on the island, so the city becomes a day trip.