Bologna or Positano?

Positano is built around the sea, and Bologna is not. Spiaggia Grande and Fornillo are right below the town, the water is clear and deep blue, and boats reach Arienzo, Laurito and coves along the cliffs. The shore is coarse grey sand and pebble that drops off steeply, and it fills early in high summer.

From Bologna, a swim means an hour on the train to Rimini or Cervia. The Adriatic there is shallow and warm but greener, and the sand is laid out in rows of rented umbrellas. It works as an escape from the summer heat, but not as the centre of a stay.

Food is one of the strongest reasons to choose Bologna over Positano. Bologna is the home of tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini and mortadella. It has the delicatessens of the Quadrilatero, the Mercato delle Erbe and an aperitivo every evening, and the producers of Parma and Modena are close by.

Positano has the lovelier setting for lunch, with clams, grilled fish and lemon desserts on a terrace over the sea. But the menus repeat each other, everyday eating and markets are scarce, and many kitchens close over the winter.

Bologna has days of sightseeing where Positano has an afternoon. The arcaded centre, Piazza Maggiore and San Petronio, the Two Towers, the seven churches of Santo Stefano, the university quarter and the Pinacoteca fill two or three days.

In Positano the sights are the town itself stacked up the ravine, the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta and the Roman villa preserved beneath it. Visitors who want museums go on to Naples or the ruins around the bay.

Bologna's many students give it real evenings out. Crowds stand outside cheap bars around Piazza Verdi, taverns line Via del Pratello, and wine bars near the Quadrilatero follow the aperitivo, though the city goes quiet in August.

In Positano an evening means a drink at sunset and a long dinner, with a few cocktail bars in summer and one club in a cave at the end of the beach. That suits couples, but it all closes when the season ends.

Positano wins on landscape. The Lattari mountains drop straight into the sea, the Path of the Gods runs high above terraced lemon groves with views to Capri, and kayaks can reach the grottoes and the Li Galli islets.

Bologna's outdoors are gentler: the walk up to San Luca, the Colli Bolognesi, the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi and the start of the Via degli Dei trail to Florence. Higher in the Apennines there is hiking and modest skiing, but nothing as dramatic as the coast.

Both are good bases, but Bologna is the stronger one because its trains run all year. Florence is about half an hour away, Ravenna, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are short rides, and Venice, Verona and Padua all make an easy day out.

Positano's list is just as tempting, with Amalfi, Ravello, Capri, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum. But getting there depends on seasonal ferries and a slow coast road, so each outing takes more planning and more patience.

Bologna is the easier of the two with children, though neither is built for them. Its centre is flat and largely free of cars, the porticoes give shade, and Mirabilandia or the beach at Rimini can fill a day.

Positano is almost all stairs, so pushchairs are no use, and the beaches drop off quickly. Older children who love swimming and boats will enjoy it, but it is hard going with toddlers.

Bologna is far simpler to get around. The centre is compact, flat and sheltered by porticoes, buses cover the hills, and the central station at the edge of the old town connects to the rest of northern Italy.

In Positano every walk means hundreds of steps, and the coast buses fill up and crawl in summer. The ferries that make life easier run mainly in season. In both places a car is more trouble than it is worth.

Bologna offers more variety. Visitors take home Parmigiano, mortadella and balsamic vinegar from the Quadrilatero, and the city also has high-street chains on Via dell'Indipendenza, luxury labels around the Galleria Cavour, and markets at the Montagnola and in Piazza Santo Stefano.

Positano has the more distinctive look, with linen and printed resort wear, sandals made to fit and hand-painted ceramics. But it is one style spread over a few lanes, with no markets or department stores.

Bologna is much easier on the wallet. Trattoria meals, aperitivo with food and local wine all cost less than in Italy's main tourist cities, and most sights are free. Only hotel rooms get expensive, especially during the big trade fairs.

Positano is among the most expensive places to stay in Italy, and sea-view rooms, beach loungers, terrace restaurants and boat transfers all cost a premium. Staying in Praiano or Sorrento, or coming in May or October, brings the cost down.

Bologna has a real music scene. There are opera, ballet and concerts at the Teatro Comunale, jazz in basement clubs, student gigs, and outdoor concerts and films in Piazza Maggiore in summer. Positano has only occasional summer concerts in churches, and its best night of music means going along the coast to Ravello's festival, played on a terrace above the sea.

Neither town has a bathing tradition, so the difference is one of mood. Positano relaxes you through its setting, with hotel pools and spas cut into the cliff and long afternoons on a terrace. It is most restful in May, June and late September, though the stairs never go away.

In Bologna, the calm comes from a long lunch under the arches. Real thermal water is close by at Castel San Pietro Terme and in the old spa town of Porretta Terme in the Apennines.