Bologna or Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Neither city is a place for a beach vacation, but Bologna at least has the sea within reach. Rimini and the Romagna lidos are about an hour away by train, a fair escape on a hot August day, with shallow Adriatic water around 25°C.

Cortina is more than two hours' drive from the coast, and its alpine lakes such as Ghedina stay cold all summer, so swimming there usually means the hotel pool.

Bologna is one of Italy's great places to eat. Hand-rolled tagliatelle, tortellini in brodo, mortadella and Parmigiano from towns nearby are served in osterie and sold in the market lanes of the Quadrilatero, and eating can easily be the main point of the trip.

Cortina eats well for a small mountain town, with casunziei, polenta with game and long lunches on rifugio terraces among the peaks. But the choice in the valley is narrow and expensive, and it cannot compete with Bologna's depth.

Here the gap is wide. Bologna's whole medieval centre is the attraction: kilometres of brick porticoes, San Petronio, the Two Towers, the seven churches of Santo Stefano and the old university palaces, enough for two or three full days.

Cortina's sights fill a rainy afternoon: the basilica and its bell tower, the 1956 Olympic ice stadium and the small Rimoldi art collection. Its most moving history, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi, takes a mountain day to reach.

Bologna's students keep the city out late. There are cheap bars spilling onto Piazza Verdi, small taverns along Via del Pratello and wine bars after aperitivo, though it is casual rather than smart and goes quiet in August.

Cortina's evenings are après-ski drinks, a stroll on the Corso Italia and long dinners. A few glamorous bars stay open in the peak winter weeks, but most of the year the town is asleep early.

Cortina is the obvious choice for anyone who wants landscape. The Tofane, Cristallo and Cinque Torri ring the valley, Lago di Misurina and the Tre Cime are under an hour away, and summer and winter both offer serious mountain sport straight from town.

Bologna has pleasant green edges: the arcaded climb to San Luca, the Colli Bolognesi paths and the start of the Via degli Dei to Florence. It makes a good walking base in spring and autumn, but it is hill country next to Cortina's high peaks.

Bologna's station puts half of northern Italy within a day. Florence is barely half an hour away, Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are all close, and Venice, Verona and Padua are possible without a car.

From Cortina, most outings go up rather than out. The South Tyrol towns of San Candido, Brunico and Bolzano are pleasant drives, but Venice takes a long coach ride each way, so the mountains themselves remain the main excursion.

Both work for families, in very different ways. Bologna's flat, mostly car-free centre and shady arcades make it easy to get around with a pushchair, and pasta and gelato keep meals simple, but the sights are made for adults and the summer heat is tiring for small children.

Cortina suits active families: ski schools and beginner slopes at Socrepes, skating at the Olympic stadium, and easy walks to huts with meadows in summer. Rainy days drag there, and the bills add up quickly.

Bologna is far easier. The compact centre is best on foot under the porticoes, buses reach the hills, and the main station at the edge of the old town connects you to the rest of the north.

Cortina has had no railway since 1964, so arriving means a coach from Venice or a long drive. The town centre is walkable, but buses to the passes and the Tre Cime are limited, and many visitors end up hiring a car.

Bologna offers more variety. Delicatessen food to take home is the highlight, and there are high-street chains on Via dell'Indipendenza, luxury houses around the Galleria Cavour, and markets and vintage shops in the university quarter.

Cortina's shopping is a single polished street. The Corso Italia has furriers, jewellers and upmarket mountain wear, anchored by the old Cooperativa di Cortina, but there is little beyond it.

Neither is cheap, but Bologna is far easier on the wallet. Hotels in the old town are pricey, especially during trade fairs, yet trattoria meals, aperitivo and free churches keep daily spending moderate.

Cortina is among Italy's most expensive resorts, with high prices for rooms and restaurants in the winter peak and August, plus lift passes and equipment hire. Rifugio lunches and the shoulder months soften the cost only a little.

Bologna has a real musical life. The historic Teatro Comunale stages opera, ballet and concerts, basement jazz clubs play most nights, and summer brings outdoor concerts and films to Piazza Maggiore.

Cortina has no theatre season or regular venue. Its music comes from summer chamber festivals in churches and the occasional mountain-top concert, which is lovely if your dates match and otherwise absent.

Neither city has bathing traditions of its own, so the difference is in setting. Bologna relaxes through long lunches under the arches and half days at the spring-fed pools of Castel San Pietro Terme or the old spa town of Porretta Terme.

Cortina's calm comes from Alpine hotel spas with saunas and hay baths, clear air and quiet hut terraces in June and September. The peak weeks bring traffic that takes much of that calm away.