Bergamo or Salerno?

Bergamo is landlocked, so a swim means a trip to Lake Iseo or the Lecco arm of Como, where people bathe from pebbles, grass or concrete platforms. That makes a pleasant afternoon on a hot day, but it is a side trip rather than a reason to come.

Salerno has the sea at the end of its streets, though the grey-sand city beaches near the port are best for a quick dip. The real draws are the long sandy shore towards Paestum, with lidos and pine woods, and the clear water in the coves of the Amalfi Coast.

Both cities cook close to the land, but very differently. Bergamo's table is mountain food: casoncelli in butter and sage, polenta, game, and cheeses such as Taleggio and Strachitunt that are worth tasting slowly at the counters of the upper town.

Salerno offers a little more to a trip built around food, because its produce goes straight to the table. Buffalo mozzarella is eaten the day it is made, colatura comes from Cetara next door, and summer evenings bring clams, fried fish and wood-fired pizza on the seafront. It is lighter, hot-weather cooking next to Bergamo's heartier dishes.

Bergamo has more to see within the city. The Città Alta is an almost complete town inside UNESCO-listed Venetian walls, with Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cappella Colleoni around Piazza Vecchia. Below the hill, the Accademia Carrara holds Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna.

Salerno's sights are fewer and medieval: the Norman cathedral with Saint Matthew's crypt, the Giardino della Minerva and the Arechi Castle above the gulf. Its great antiquities, Paestum and Pompeii, lie outside the city.

Neither city is a place for clubbing, and for a big night out people head to Milan or Naples. Salerno is the livelier of the two. On weekends and all summer, young locals fill the lanes around Largo Campo to drink outside until late, and the seafront passeggiata carries on after dark. Bergamo's evenings are a long aperitivo and wine bars around Via XX Settembre or the upper-town squares, and they usually end around midnight.

Both have fine landscapes close by, but they could hardly be more different. Bergamo looks north to the Alps: woodland in the Colli di Bergamo above the upper town, then the Orobie valleys with rifugi, high lakes and small ski areas in winter. The lakes add sailing and cycling, though a car helps for most of it.

Salerno's outdoors means coast and sea. There are cliff paths such as the Path of the Gods above Positano, kayaking and boat trips along the Amalfi shore, and the wilder Cilento to the south. Hiking there is best in spring and autumn, while Bergamo's high trails are at their best in summer.

Both are excellent bases, but Salerno has more famous sights within easy reach. Paestum's temples and Pompeii are each about half an hour by train, ferries cross to Amalfi and Positano, and Naples, Herculaneum and Caserta all make comfortable days out.

Bergamo's day trips cover Lombardy: Milan in under an hour, Lake Iseo and Lake Como, Crespi d'Adda and Brescia, with Verona or Cremona for a longer day. From Bergamo most outings are art cities and lakes, while Salerno's mix ancient ruins with time on the water.

Families will find the two cities about equal, and both involve a climb: Bergamo's upper town is steep and cobbled, and Salerno's old town is all steps. The difference is in the extras. Bergamo has funiculars that children love, plus Leolandia and the Le Cornelle wildlife park a short drive away.

Salerno has no theme park or zoo. Instead it has a long, car-free seafront with playgrounds, shallow sandy beaches to the south and the Luci d'Artista lights in winter.

Both centres are easy on foot, and both have a climb to deal with. In Bergamo, funiculars run up to the Città Alta and on to San Vigilio, the airport is a short bus ride away and direct trains reach Milan and Brescia. The mountain valleys are easier by car.

Salerno's centre is a flat, walkable strip along the water, with regional trains to Naples, Pompeii and Paestum. In the warmer months, ferries are the way to travel along the Amalfi Coast, where driving is best avoided.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and each sends serious shoppers to a bigger neighbour, Milan or Naples. The main streets are much alike, with chains and mid-range fashion along Bergamo's arcaded Sentierone and Salerno's pedestrian Corso Vittorio Emanuele. The souvenirs are what differ: cheeses, salumi and Valcalepio wine from Bergamo's upper town, or Vietri majolica, limoncello and colatura from around Salerno.

Salerno is the easier city on a budget. Food and transport cost what locals pay, and rooms are far cheaper than in the cliff villages along the coast. In summer, though, ferries, lido sunbeds and entry fees to the ancient sites add up.

Bergamo is comfortable rather than cheap. Hotels in the lower town are fairly priced for a base, but the Città Alta costs more and summer weekends fill up.

Both are opera towns at heart, each with one historic house at the centre of its season: the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo and the gilded Teatro Verdi in Salerno. Bergamo has more of a festival calendar, with its autumn Donizetti festival and the long-running Bergamo Jazz in spring, and La Scala is close enough for an evening. Salerno's high point comes in summer, with open-air concerts and the Ravello Festival on its cliff-top terraces.

Bergamo is better for a restful stay. San Pellegrino Terme, a Belle Époque spa town, is about forty minutes up the valley, the sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario are close, and the walls of the Città Alta make a quiet walk early or late in the day.

Salerno's nearest thermal pools are an hour inland at Contursi Terme. Its calm comes from slow sunset walks on the palm-lined seafront, but the traffic and noise of a working port are never far away.