Bologna or Ljubljana?

Neither city is a beach destination, though Bologna's sea is easier to reach: Rimini and the Romagna Riviera are about an hour by train, with shallow, warm water and long rows of organised lidos with sunbeds.

Ljubljana's summer swimming is more about fresh water, in the Sava or at Lake Bled, while its stretch of the Adriatic at Piran lies further away, with concrete platforms and pebbles instead of sand. For either city, a swim is a day out, not a reason to go.

Food is one of the main reasons to choose Bologna. Ragù, tortellini in brodo, mortadella and lasagne verdi are cooked in their home city, the Quadrilatero lanes and Mercato delle Erbe are full of produce, and Parmigiano and Parma ham come from the towns next door.

Ljubljana eats well but more simply: sausage, štruklji and jota at gostilna inns, a fine riverside market, and wine as the real strength, especially the orange wines of the west. In both cities the cooking stays close to home, but Bologna's is the one people travel for.

Bologna has more to see. The arcaded medieval centre around Piazza Maggiore, the Two Towers, Santo Stefano, the Archiginnasio's anatomical theatre and the Pinacoteca's Bolognese painting add up to a fuller programme.

Ljubljana's appeal is a single architect's vision. Plečnik's bridges, colonnades and library, the baroque old town and the castle on its hill make a lovely whole, but its museums are modest. Each takes two or three days, and Bologna's days are fuller.

Students drive the nights in both cities, but Bologna has more going on. Crowds spill out of cheap bars around Piazza Verdi, Via del Pratello's taverns stay busy until late, and aperitivo turns into wine bars around the Quadrilatero. It does go very quiet in August.

Ljubljana is gentler: drinks on riverside terraces, then Metelkova's scruffy clubs at weekends, with the embankments quietening after midnight on weekdays.

This is Ljubljana's strongest ground. Tivoli Park leads into forested hills, the Kamnik-Savinja Alps and Velika Planina are under an hour away, and Triglav National Park, the Vintgar gorge, the Soča's rafting and the Postojna and Škocjan caves make serious outdoor days easy.

Bologna offers gentler green. The arcaded climb to San Luca, the Colli Bolognesi and the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi are pleasant, and the Via degli Dei to Florence is a fine long walk, but the higher Apennines are further off and the plain to the north is flat farmland.

Both are good bases, but Bologna's rail junction gives it the edge. Florence is about half an hour away, Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are short rides, and Verona, Padua and Venice are all possible in a day, all without a car.

Ljubljana covers a small country: Bled, Škofja Loka, Predjama Castle, Idrija and Piran, with Trieste and Zagreb further out. Its outings lean towards castles and scenery more than great art cities, and the smaller places are easier with a car.

For children, the difference is where the fun lies. In Bologna it is mostly outside the city, with a day at the Mirabilandia theme park or on Rimini's beach. In town, the shaded porticoes, easy pasta and gelato and the climb up the Asinelli tower for older children are the highlights, and the summer heat can wear small children out.

Ljubljana keeps more for young children within walking distance: the castle funicular, the dragons on the Dragon Bridge, Tivoli's playgrounds, a modest zoo on Rožnik hill and a puppet theatre that needs no language. Its milder summers are kinder too, though two or three days cover it all.

Bologna's central station is its great asset. It sits at the edge of the old town, with fast and regional trains across northern Italy, so onward travel needs no car. Beyond the station, the flat medieval centre is walked in the shade of the porticoes, with buses up into the hills and plenty of bikes under the arches.

Ljubljana is just as easy on foot. The old town, the market, the museums and Tivoli are all within about twenty minutes' walk of each other, with electric shuttles in the pedestrian centre and a bike-share scheme. Leaving town is the weaker side: intercity buses beat the slow railway, and a hired car helps in the mountain valleys.

Bologna offers more for shoppers. Beyond the Quadrilatero's mortadella, Parmigiano and balsamic, Via dell'Indipendenza has the high-street chains, the Galleria Cavour gathers luxury fashion, and the university quarter adds bookshops and vintage stores.

Ljubljana is about small local finds: honey, pumpkin-seed oil and sea salt at the market, Idrija lace, gingerbread hearts and a Sunday flea market by the river. There is little fashion to speak of.

Ljubljana is a little easier on the budget, with set lunch menus at inns, fairly priced local wine and cheap sights. Bologna's trattorias and aperitivo with food are good value too, and many of its churches and squares are free.

In both cities the room is the big cost. Bologna's become scarce during trade fairs, and Ljubljana's small central stock is dearest in July and August.

Bologna has the deeper musical life. The historic Teatro Comunale stages opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, jazz plays in basement clubs most nights, and student gigs and summer concerts in Piazza Maggiore fill out the year.

Ljubljana is solid for its size, with the Philharmonic, the National Opera and Ballet, Cankarjev dom and the summer Ljubljana Festival in Plečnik's Križanke courtyard. In both cities, theatre is in the local language.

Neither has a bathing tradition of its own, and both rely on thermal towns nearby. Bologna has Castel San Pietro Terme twenty minutes out and Porretta Terme in the Apennines, with the long lunch under the porticoes as its in-town pleasure.

Ljubljana is quieter and greener day to day, with riverside cafés, a water park with saunas, and a line of Slovene spa towns about an hour's drive away.