Bologna or Cannes?

This is Cannes's strongest card against Bologna. The Croisette curves along fine sand and calm water, with free public stretches between the private concessions and the wider Plage du Midi beyond the old port. A short ferry ride reaches the clearer, pine-shaded swimming spots of the Lérins islands, and the red-rock coves of the Esterel are about twenty minutes away.

Bologna has no beach of its own. The Romagna Riviera at Rimini is about an hour by train, and it means rows of rented umbrellas on shallow, often greenish water. It works as a single escape from the July heat, but anyone who wants the sea every day belongs in Cannes.

Bologna is one of the places Italian cooking comes from, and eating there is a reason to travel in itself. Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo and mortadella are made with care in old osterie, the Quadrilatero's lanes are packed with delicatessens, and Parma ham and Parmigiano come from towns nearby. Its weakness is range, and the food sits heavy in summer.

Cannes eats well around the Forville market and in the backstreets of Le Suquet, with bouillabaisse, socca and grilled fish over a glass of rosé, and there is serious fine dining towards Mougins. Much of the seafront food is made for passing crowds, though, and few dishes belong to the town itself.

Bologna's centre is a sight in its own right: close to 40km of UNESCO-listed porticoes, the vast unfinished San Petronio, the Two Towers and the seven churches of Santo Stefano. Add the anatomical theatre in the Archiginnasio and the Bolognese painting in the Pinacoteca, and there is a solid two or three days of looking.

Cannes offers a pleasant morning: the castle museum and church on Le Suquet, the Belle Époque palace hotels along the Croisette and the film stars' handprints outside the Palais. For serious art, visitors take the train to Antibes or go up to Saint-Paul-de-Vence.

Bologna goes out more, and does it more cheaply. Students fill the pavements around Piazza Verdi, Via del Pratello's taverns stay busy late, and wine bars around the Quadrilatero follow the aperitivo hour. It is casual rather than smart, clubs mean a taxi out of town, and in August the city empties.

The calendar in Cannes is the reverse. Summer and the festival weeks are its season, with beach clubs on the Croisette turning into party venues and cocktail bars behind the old port, all champagne and dressing up. The rest of the year the town goes to bed early.

Cannes has far more striking scenery on its doorstep. The volcanic red rock of the Esterel plunges into deep blue water, the Lérins islands and Cap d'Antibes offer easy coastal walks, and the sea adds kayaking, sailing and diving. The pre-Alps gorges and winter skiing are both within a day's reach, though forest trails can close in high summer for fire risk.

Bologna's outdoors are gentler and greener. There are walks through the Colli Bolognesi and up to San Luca, gypsum caves in the Parco dei Gessi, and the Via degli Dei, which starts in Piazza Maggiore and crosses the Apennines to Florence over several days.

Both are excellent bases, but Bologna's rail junction gives it the edge. Florence is barely half an hour by fast train, and Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are all short hops, with Verona, Padua and Venice also manageable in a day. That is a run of major art cities few bases can match.

From Cannes the coastal line runs through Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton, with Grasse, Mougins and the perched villages close behind. These outings are smaller in scale and lean more on scenery, and the hill villages are easier with a car.

Cannes is slightly easier with children, mostly thanks to the sea. Gently shelving sandy beaches, a flat Croisette with carousels and play areas, and a boat trip to picnic under the Lérins pines fill the days without much planning.

Bologna's car-free centre and shady porticoes are comfortable, and climbing the Asinelli tower makes a good adventure for older children. Beyond that, a fun day for children means Mirabilandia or the beach at Rimini, and the city's summer heat is harder on small ones.

Bologna is the simpler city to get around. Nearly everything sits in a small, flat centre that is largely closed to cars, the porticoes keep walkers out of the sun and rain, and the station on the edge of the old town takes you straight to the rest of northern Italy. There is no metro, but you will rarely miss one.

Central Cannes is just as walkable, apart from the steep climb to Le Suquet, and the coastal trains are easy. The difficulty is inland: Grasse, the perched villages and the Esterel corniche really want a car, and coastal traffic and parking in summer can be a trial.

The two are close here, but they sell different things. Bologna's best buys are edible, with mortadella, aged Parmigiano and balsamic from the Quadrilatero, plus a small luxury cluster around the Galleria Cavour, the Montagnola market and vintage and bookshops in the university quarter.

Cannes is about fashion. The great Paris houses line the Croisette, and Rue d'Antibes runs a long stretch of mid-range French labels and chocolatiers. Rue Meynadier sells olive oil, Provençal soaps and fabrics, and Grasse is close by for perfume.

Bologna is clearly the cheaper of the two. Trattoria meals, aperitivo with food included and local wine cost less than in Italy's big tourist cities, most churches are free, and you hardly spend anything on transport. Rooms are the main expense, especially during trade fairs.

Cannes is priced for a wealthy crowd along the seafront, and hotel prices soar during the film festival. Picnics from the Forville market, the public beaches, backstreet lunch menus and staying in a neighbouring town all help, as does coming in spring or autumn.

Bologna has the deeper musical life. The Teatro Comunale stages opera, ballet and symphonic concerts as one of Italy's historic houses, jazz plays in basement clubs most nights, and students keep small venues busy with indie and rock. Summer brings concerts and films to Piazza Maggiore.

The film festival made Cannes famous, but it is an accredited industry event, and the public mostly sees the free beach screenings. Otherwise there are touring shows at the Palais, the regional philharmonic, a dance festival and summer concerts in the castle courtyard, with the Juan-les-Pins jazz festival just along the coast.

Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own, but what lies close by differs. From Bologna, real thermal springs are a short trip away at Castel San Pietro Terme and in the green Apennine valley of Porretta Terme. Cannes has polished spas in the palace hotels and seawater thalassotherapy along the coast.

For simple rest, the calm seafront in spring and autumn gives Cannes the gentler mood. Bologna's version is a long lunch under the porticoes, away from the noisy university quarter.