Bergamo or San Marino?

Neither city has a shore of its own, but San Marino is the better bet for a swim. The long sandy Romagna beaches at Rimini and Riccione are half an hour down the mountain, with shallow, warm water and rows of umbrellas. Even so, it is a day trip rather than a beach stay.

From Bergamo the swimming is in a lake, either Iseo or the Lecco arm of Como. Both are easy to reach, but you lie on pebbles, grass or concrete platforms rather than sand, and the water is a little cooler. It is pleasant on a hot afternoon but not a reason for the trip.

Bergamo eats much better. Casoncelli with butter and sage, polenta with game and mushrooms, and the valley cheeses Taleggio, Branzi and Strachitunt give it a cuisine of its own. There are trattorias and pastry shops in the upper town, and the province has a serious fine-dining tier.

San Marino serves honest Romagna cooking such as piadina, passatelli and strozzapreti, along with its Tre Monti wafer cake. The trouble is that the summit terraces live off the view, so the good meals mean heading down to Borgo Maggiore or across the border.

Both are walled hilltop towns, but Bergamo's has far more inside it. The Città Alta holds Piazza Vecchia, Santa Maria Maggiore and the Cappella Colleoni. Below the hill, the Accademia Carrara hangs Raphael, Bellini and Mantegna, which adds up to a full day or two.

San Marino's appeal lies in its setting and its story: three towers on the cliffs of Monte Titano, the Palazzo Pubblico and the long survival of a tiny republic. It is striking to see, but its museums are small and half a day covers it.

Neither city is made for a big night out, but Bergamo at least has a proper evening. Aperitivo runs on into wine bars around Via XX Settembre and Borgo Santa Caterina, and students keep a few bars busy until about midnight.

San Marino all but shuts down once the coaches leave, and the evening comes down to a dinner terrace with the lights of the coast below. For anything later, each city sends you somewhere else: Milan from Bergamo, the Rimini clubs from San Marino.

Bergamo has real mountains. Paths climb from the city walls through the Colli di Bergamo, while Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead into the Orobie Alps, with rifugi, high lakes and small ski areas such as Foppolo. Two lakes add sailing and cycling.

Monte Titano is a single limestone ridge of about 740m. Its cliff paths and views to the Adriatic make a lovely morning, and the Montefeltro hills suit gentle cycling, but there are no long trails or high peaks.

Both make good bases, but Bergamo's outings are richer and easier to reach. Milan, Brescia and Lecco are direct by train, the shores of Como and Iseo are within an hour, and Verona, Cremona and Mantua all make a day out.

San Marino's list is strong too: the fortress at San Leo, Urbino, Ravenna's mosaics, the castle at Gradara and Rimini just below. The catch is that most of it needs a car, since the only regular public link is the bus down to Rimini.

Bergamo is a little easier with children. The two funiculars are an outing in themselves, the walls make a gentle walk with a gelato, and the Leolandia theme park and the Le Cornelle wildlife park are both close by.

San Marino has the towers and cable car that children enjoy, but little else for them on the summit, and the lanes are steep and crowded in the afternoons. Its family days are on the coast, at Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia, the waterparks and the shallow beaches, which works best for a family with a car.

Bergamo is far simpler without a car. Funiculars link the lower town, the Città Alta and San Vigilio, buses run to the station and the airport, and trains go straight to Milan and Brescia. You only need to drive for the upper valleys and the lake shores.

San Marino's car-free core is small enough to walk end to end, though it is steep and full of steps, and a cable car runs down to Borgo Maggiore. Beyond that, the bus from Rimini is the one dependable link and the village buses are infrequent.

Bergamo has the wider range. There is mid-range fashion under the arcades of Via XX Settembre and the Sentierone, and the main lane of the Città Alta has cheese shops, delicatessens and wine sellers worth filling a bag at. San Marino's main streets sell souvenirs and tax-friendly perfume, watches and spirits, and there is an outlet centre in the valley. The one thing it has that Bergamo lacks is its stamps and coins, which collectors seek out.

Spending is much the same in both: comfortable rather than cheap, and in each the hilltop costs more than the town below. In Bergamo the savings are in lower-town hotels and inexpensive buses and funiculars. In San Marino they come from lower taxes on fuel and spirits and from sights that cost little, while hotels are best value outside August.

Bergamo has a genuine stage life, built around Donizetti. The Teatro Donizetti runs a season of opera, concerts and theatre and holds an autumn festival of his works. The Teatro Sociale adds smaller productions, Bergamo Jazz comes each spring, and La Scala is an easy evening away.

San Marino has a small theatre, the occasional concert by local ensembles and summer music in the squares. Its best-known event is the Medieval Days festival, with crossbow contests and flag-throwers, which is more pageant than performance.

Bergamo is the more restful of the two. San Pellegrino Terme, a Belle Époque spa town, is forty minutes up Val Brembana, Trescore Balneario's sulphur springs lie to the east, and the upper town is quiet early and late in the day.

San Marino's calm comes in the evening, after the day crowds leave the summit. Apart from that it offers a few hotel spas, and its thermal baths mean a separate trip down to the coast or into the Apennines.