Bologna or Como?

Neither city gives you a beach vacation, though Como has the slight edge because the water is right on its doorstep. Its lidos, such as the one by Villa Olmo, and the pebble jetties at Moltrasio or in the Tremezzina let you swim in fresh lake water between June and early September.

From Bologna, swimming means a day trip of about an hour to the Adriatic at Rimini. You get sand and a warmer sea there, but also rows of rented sunbeds and water that is often more green than clear.

This is where the two differ most. Bologna is one of the great eating cities of Italy: hand-rolled pasta in shop windows, ragù and tortellini in brodo cooked in old osterie, and Parmigiano, Parma ham and balsamic vinegar from producers less than an hour away. The Quadrilatero and the Mercato delle Erbe make simply browsing for food a pleasure.

Como's perch risotto, missoltini and polenta from the valleys are worth trying, but the choice is that of a small provincial city. The lakefront terraces charge for the view, and the best meals are often found up the lake rather than in town.

Bologna has more to see and more variety. Its entire red-brick centre is the attraction, with miles of UNESCO-listed porticoes, the Two Towers, the seven churches of Santo Stefano and the university palaces, and it needs two or three days.

Como's sights are fewer but of high quality: a marble cathedral, Romanesque Sant'Abbondio, the Volta temple, a silk museum and Terragni's Rationalist Casa del Fascio, which interests anyone keen on architecture. Most visitors see it all in a day.

Bologna's students keep the city out late. The crowds outside the bars around Piazza Verdi and the taverns along Via del Pratello last long after midnight, though serious clubbing means a taxi to the edge of town, and August is quiet.

In Como the evening is the aperitivo, dinner and a stroll along the lakefront, with a few wine and cocktail bars near the cathedral. Anyone who wants a big night out takes the train to Milan.

Como wins easily. Steep wooded mountains drop straight into a glacial lake, the old funicular reaches the ridge trails at Brunate within minutes, and Monte Bisbino has views towards the Alps. On the water there is paddling, sailing and kayaking.

Bologna has pleasant rather than dramatic outdoors: the arcaded climb to San Luca, the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi and the start of the Via degli Dei to Florence. The higher Apennines are about an hour and a half away, and the land to the north is flat farmland.

Both cities make excellent bases, but Bologna's rail junction gives it the edge. Florence, Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are all short train rides away, and Venice, Verona and Padua each make a full day out.

Como's outings are more scenic than urban. Ferries go up the lake to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello, while Milan, Lugano and Bergamo are easy by train.

With children the two are broadly level, and in both the main sights are aimed at adults. The difference is in the kind of day you get. Bologna offers a flat, traffic-free centre, shady arches and climbing the Asinelli tower, with Mirabilandia or Rimini's beach for a bigger outing, though the summer heat is tiring for small children. Como trades that for boat rides, the funicular and a gentle paddle at a lido, and it suits a slower family stay.

Bologna is the easier city to be based in. You can walk its whole compact centre under the porticoes, and the central station at the edge of the old town sends fast trains in every direction.

Como's old town is just as easy on foot, and trains to Milan and Lugano are simple. The lake itself is slower going: ferries take a long time to reach the upper villages, and the narrow shore roads clog in summer.

Food is what you buy in Bologna, with aged Parmigiano, tortellini and balsamic vinegar from the Quadrilatero. Beyond that there are high-street chains on Via dell'Indipendenza, a small luxury cluster around Galleria Cavour and vintage shops in the university quarter, which gives a broader spread.

Como has one thing to buy, and it does it well: silk scarves, ties and fabric from old-town specialists and the mill outlets. For anything more, shoppers go to Milan.

Bologna is the kinder city on the wallet. Trattoria meals, aperitivo with food included and free-to-enter churches keep the daily costs down, although old-town hotels are expensive and rooms become scarce during trade fairs.

Como draws a luxury lake crowd, and lakeside hotels and villa rentals in summer cost far more. Staying back from the water, eating in the hills and visiting in spring or autumn all help, and the trains and ferries are cheap.

Bologna offers more to choose from on any evening. The Teatro Comunale runs a full season of opera and ballet, jazz plays in basement clubs most nights, students keep indie gigs going, and in summer there are concerts and films in Piazza Maggiore.

Como's Teatro Sociale and its open-air Arena make a fine warm-evening outing, and chamber concerts in churches and villas have lovely settings. Many nights are quiet, though, and La Scala in Milan is the usual draw.

Neither has its own bathing tradition, so the difference is in mood. Como's still water, gardens and early-ending villages are calmer in themselves. Bologna's way to unwind is a long lunch under the arches, plus real thermal pools nearby at Castel San Pietro Terme and in the green valley of Porretta Terme.