Bergamo or Nuremberg?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Bergamo gives you the better swimming. Lake Iseo is close, with lidos at Sarnico and Lovere, and the Lecco arm of Lake Como is easy to reach. The shores are mostly pebble, grass or concrete platforms.

From Nuremberg, the nearest open water is the Franconian reservoirs around the Brombachsee, about an hour south. They have grassy banks and a few small sandy strips, and the season there is shorter. In the city itself, swimming means outdoor pools.

Both cities serve hearty regional food, and the difference is what you drink with it. Bergamo is Lombard mountain cooking: casoncelli in butter and sage, polenta with game and mushrooms, and valley cheeses such as Taleggio and Strachitunt. Valcalepio and Franciacorta wines go with it, and there is a fine-dining tier for a special meal.

Nuremberg's table is Franconian pork: small grilled bratwurst on pewter plates, Schäufele with crackling, and Lebkuchen all year. The draw is the beer from the region's many small breweries, drunk in taverns and riverside beer gardens.

These two are closely matched, and both are walled towns with a castle or citadel on high ground. In Bergamo the Città Alta has survived almost whole: the Venetian ramparts, Santa Maria Maggiore and the marble front of the Cappella Colleoni. Down the hill, the Accademia Carrara holds Raphael and Bellini.

Nuremberg's old town is largely a careful postwar rebuild around the Kaiserburg, St Sebaldus and Dürer's house. What sets it apart is depth. The Germanisches Nationalmuseum can fill a day, and the Rally Grounds and Courtroom 600 add a sobering chapter that Bergamo has no equivalent for.

Nuremberg makes for the better evening out. Gostenhof's small bars and alternative venues add some character to the old town taverns, and students from Erlangen keep weekends busy. There are a few clubs, too.

Bergamo's nights centre on a long aperitivo in Borgo Santa Caterina or drinks on the walls of the upper town, and they usually wind down around midnight. For anything later, people take the train to Milan.

Bergamo has much the bigger landscape on its doorstep. The Orobie Alps start just north of town, with serious summer hiking in Val Brembana and Val Seriana, small ski areas in winter and two large lakes for sailing. Some of this is far easier with a car.

Nuremberg's countryside is gentler. The Reichswald pine forest suits easy walks and rides, and Franconian Switzerland adds limestone towers, caves and well-known rock climbing. It is good walking and cycling country, but it has no peaks.

Both make excellent bases, and Bergamo's range is a little wider. Milan, Lake Como, Lake Iseo with Monte Isola, Brescia and Crespi d'Adda are all within about an hour, and Verona and Cremona are not much further.

From Nuremberg, the trips are mostly into old towns: Bamberg, Regensburg and Würzburg by train, plus the walled towns of Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl. It has nothing like the lakes and mountains that Bergamo can mix into a week.

Nuremberg has more for children inside the city. It has a long toy-making history, and the Toy Museum, the railway museum and the zoo in its old quarries can all be reached by tram or U-Bahn. In Advent there is a separate children's Christmas market as well.

In Bergamo the funiculars and the walk along the walls are the highlights in town. The bigger days out, Leolandia and Le Cornelle, sit just outside the city, and the steep lanes of the Città Alta are hard work with a buggy.

Nuremberg is simpler to get around. The old town is about 1.5km across, with the station at its gate, and one ticket covers U-Bahn, trams, buses and S-Bahn out to Fürth and Erlangen. You will not need a car.

Bergamo works in two layers joined by funiculars, and the walk between them is steep. Trains to Milan and the lakes are easy, but the upper valleys and lake shores are much quicker to reach by car.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and both have serviceable high streets of chain stores. The difference is in the souvenirs. Bergamo's upper town is lined with cheese shops, salumi counters and wine sellers, and Milan's fashion is under an hour away.

Nuremberg's take-home goods are crafts and sweets: Lebkuchen in tins, wooden toys and Handwerkerhof workshops. Its Christkindlesmarkt makes Advent the one season when shopping becomes a reason to visit.

Day to day, the two cost about the same, and both are fair rather than cheap. In Bergamo, the price jump comes from location: rooms and meals in the Città Alta cost more than in the lower town, and summer weekends fill up.

In Nuremberg, the price jump comes from the calendar. Trade fair weeks and the Advent market push hotel rates up, while tavern meals and local beer stay modest all year.

Nuremberg has the fuller year-round programme. The Staatstheater runs opera, ballet and drama in repertory, two orchestras give concerts including a large open-air summer night in the Luitpoldhain, and the free Bardentreffen fills the squares for a weekend.

Bergamo's stage life rests on its most famous son. The Teatro Donizetti's autumn festival draws opera lovers, Bergamo Jazz comes in spring, and La Scala is a train ride away.

The two are similar, but the spa traditions differ. From Bergamo you can go up to San Pellegrino Terme's Belle Époque baths or the old sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario, and the quiet early mornings on the Città Alta walls are restful in themselves.

Nuremberg follows the German sauna habit. It has a big thermal spa in Fürth, mixed nude saunas at the leisure pools and floating salt water at Bad Windsheim. For a slower day, there are beer gardens along the Pegnitz.