Bergamo or Siena?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Bergamo has the more practical answer to a hot day. Lake Iseo's lidos and grassy shores at Sarnico and Lovere are close, and the Lecco arm of Lake Como is easy to reach. Expect pebbles, lawns and concrete platforms rather than sand.

From Siena, a swim means a full day's drive to the Maremma coast around Castiglione della Pescaia. The sand and warm summer sea are real compensation, but they are too far for a casual afternoon. Most visitors settle for the pool at their hotel or agriturismo.

Both cities eat well on their own regional cooking, and neither offers much beyond it. The difference is between mountain and hill-country food. Bergamo serves casoncelli, polenta, game and a great cheese board of Taleggio, Branzi and Strachitunt. Siena has pici, ribollita, cinta senese pork and a baking tradition of panforte and ricciarelli.

Wine sways the balance slightly. Siena sits between Chianti Classico, Brunello and Vino Nobile, and its enoteche pour all three. Bergamo has Valcalepio and nearby Franciacorta, and makes up for it with a stronger fine-dining tier in the province.

Both are UNESCO-listed hilltop towns, but Siena has more to see. Its whole medieval centre survives around the Campo, and the Duomo, the Lorenzetti frescoes in the Palazzo Pubblico, Duccio's Maestà and Santa Maria della Scala need two or three full days. The seventeen contrade give the streets an identity of their own.

Bergamo's Città Alta is a fine walled town, with the Cappella Colleoni and Santa Maria Maggiore at its heart and Venetian ramparts around it. The Accademia Carrara below is an excellent gallery. Even so, the city fits comfortably into a day or two.

Both are early, quiet towns at night, and anyone after clubs goes to the nearest big city. In Bergamo that means Milan, under an hour by train. Within Bergamo, the evening is a long aperitivo followed by wine bars around Via XX Settembre and Borgo Santa Caterina, or drinks on the walls in summer.

Siena's evenings centre on dinner and a glass on the Campo, and the streets are mostly still by midnight. The exception is the Palio, when contrada dinners keep the town out late.

Bergamo has the wilder and more varied outdoors. Woodland paths climb from the upper town to San Vigilio, and Val Brembana and Val Seriana lead into the Orobie Alps, with rifugi, high lakes and proper summer hiking. The two lakes add sailing and shoreline walks.

Siena's countryside is gentler and more famous to look at: the clay hills of the Crete Senesi and the UNESCO-listed Val d'Orcia. Its best outdoor sport is cycling the white gravel strade bianche, but it has no high mountains and no lakes close by.

Both are superb bases, but Siena is surrounded by more. San Gimignano, Monteriggioni, Volterra, the Chianti villages, Pienza, Montalcino, Montepulciano and the abbeys of Sant'Antimo and San Galgano make a list of outings that would fill a fortnight. Most of them, though, need a car.

Bergamo's strength is that the train does more of the work. Milan, Brescia and Lecco are direct, and Lake Como, Lake Iseo with Monte Isola, Crespi d'Adda and Verona are all manageable without driving.

Bergamo is the more relaxed city with children. The funiculars feel like a ride in themselves, the walls make an easy stroll, and Leolandia and Le Cornelle are a short drive away for a day built around younger children.

Siena works mainly for older children who enjoy climbing the Torre del Mangia and watching the contrada drummers. It has no attractions made for children, so families usually stay at a farmhouse with a pool and come into town for half days. Both cities have steep lanes that are hard work with a pushchair.

Bergamo is better connected. Funiculars link the lower town, the Città Alta and San Vigilio, buses run to the airport, a light-rail line climbs Val Seriana, and direct trains reach Milan and Brescia.

Siena's car-free centre is wonderful on foot, if steep across its three ridges, and escalators bring you up from the station. Beyond the walls, trains are slow and few, so buses and a hired car do most of the work.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Bergamo has a bit more choice, with arcaded high streets of Italian chains along Via XX Settembre and the Sentierone. The upper town's main lane is lined with cheese shops, bakeries and wine sellers. Milan is close for serious fashion.

Siena's shopping is smaller and more local in character. Leather, stationery, majolica ceramics and contrada scarves line Banchi di Sopra, and there is a large weekly market by the Fortezza Medicea.

Bergamo is the cheaper stay. Lower-town hotels are fairly priced, and that makes the city a sensible base for touring Lombardy by train. Only the upper town and summer weekends push costs up.

Siena has few rooms inside the walls, and they are in demand, especially around the Palio and in summer. Separate tickets for the cathedral and civic museums add up. Osteria lunches are good value, and staying in the countryside brings costs down.

Bergamo has more for the stage, built around opera as Donizetti's birthplace. The Teatro Donizetti runs a full season and an autumn festival of his works, and Bergamo Jazz comes in spring. La Scala is an easy evening trip.

Siena's strength is chamber and teaching music: the Accademia Chigiana's summer concerts in palaces and churches, and the Siena Jazz school. For opera you have to go to Florence.

Both cities send you out of town for thermal water, and the difference is in the setting. From Bergamo, it is the Belle Époque grandeur of San Pellegrino Terme and the old sulphur springs at Trescore Balneario.

Around Siena, the springs feel more rural: travertine pools at Rapolano, the steaming square at Bagno Vignoni, free limestone pools at Bagni San Filippo, and many farmhouse spa hotels among the hills.