Bologna or Split?

Bologna is on the Po plain, so a swim means a day trip. Rimini and the Romagna Riviera are about an hour away by train, with shallow, often greenish water and long rows of rented umbrellas.

In Split the sea is part of everyday life. You can walk from the palace to the sandy shallows of Bačvice or to the pine-shaded pebble coves around Marjan, and the islands offer quieter swimming. Most of the shore is pebble or concrete, but the water is clear, and it stays warm into early October.

Food is one of the main reasons to visit Bologna. Tagliatelle al ragù, tortellini in brodo and pasta rolled by hand in shop windows are the local standard, and Parmigiano and Parma ham are made close by. The Quadrilatero market lanes and the aperitivo hour fill the gaps between meals.

Split's Dalmatian cooking is simpler and based on the sea: grilled fish, black risotto, and peka ordered ahead in the konobas of Varoš. It is lighter in hot weather than Emilian cooking, but many menus inside the palace are aimed at summer visitors, and good meals take more searching.

Bologna's appeal is a whole city: a large brick medieval centre with UNESCO-listed porticoes, the Two Towers, the seven churches of Santo Stefano, the anatomical theatre in the Archiginnasio and the Pinacoteca's Bolognese painting. There is enough to fill two or three full days.

Split has one extraordinary monument rather than a wide spread. Diocletian's Palace is still a lived-in neighbourhood, with a cathedral that was once the emperor's mausoleum and vaulted cellars below. The Meštrović Gallery adds a good museum, but most visitors finish the sights sooner than in Bologna.

Taken over the whole year, Bologna offers more nights out. Its large student population fills Piazza Verdi and Via Petroni, and Via del Pratello's taverns stay busy until late. The style is cheap and informal, and the clubs are out of town.

Split peaks in summer, with bars spilling out into the palace alleys and clubs by Bačvice running into the early hours. From October to May it shrinks to a few bars. The two cities have opposite rhythms: Bologna goes quiet in August, just when Split is at its loudest.

Split is better placed for the outdoors, between bare limestone mountains and an island-filled sea. Marjan's forest trails start from the edge of the old town, and Mosor, Biokovo, the rafting and canyoning of the Cetina at Omiš, and the waterfalls of Krka are all within about an hour. Kayaking and sailing among the islands add the sea.

Bologna's outdoors is gentler: the arcaded climb to San Luca, the green Colli Bolognesi, and the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi. Walkers can start the Via degli Dei to Florence from Piazza Maggiore, but the land to the north is flat farmland.

Bologna is one of the best bases in Europe for day trips. Florence is barely half an hour by fast train, and Ravenna's mosaics, Ferrara, Modena and Parma are all easy rail trips, with Venice and Verona within reach. You can see a different art city every day without moving hotel.

Split's outings are coastal and maritime: Trogir and Šibenik for UNESCO-listed old towns, Salona and Klis close by, and ferries to Hvar and Brač. They are lovely, but they rely on boats and buses, and they need more planning outside summer.

The two are about equally suited to children, and in both there is little made specifically for them. Bologna's flat, largely car-free centre and shady porticoes are easy with a pushchair. Climbing the Asinelli tower is a fun outing, but the beach or the Mirabilandia theme park means a day trip.

Split has paddling built in, with the shallow water at Bačvice, Marjan for running about and a ferry ride that children tend to love. Its polished stone streets and many steps are harder on small legs and buggies.

Bologna is the easier city to get around. Its centre is flat, compact and sheltered by arcades, and the main station is at the edge of the old town, with fast trains across northern Italy. There is no metro, but you will rarely need one.

Split's core is just as walkable, and its ferry port, bus station and railway station sit together at the harbour. Local buses are basic, though, and the coast road is slow in summer. A car helps for trailheads inland, and the palace's steps make heavy luggage awkward.

Bologna gives you more to browse. The Quadrilatero delicatessens are ideal for buying aged Parmigiano, mortadella and balsamic vinegar to take home, the Galleria Cavour has a small luxury cluster, and the Montagnola market and the antiques fair in Piazza Santo Stefano add some variety.

In Split, the palace shops are mostly souvenirs, lavender and ties, and Marmontova has the usual chains. The Pazar market by the east gate is the best place to look around, and Dalmatian olive oil and wine are what to take home.

Overall costs are similar, but what pushes them up is different. In Bologna, eating out is the good news, with trattorias and aperitivo food cheaper than in Italy's main tourist cities. Rooms are what cost, especially when a large trade fair fills the city.

In Split the season decides the price. July and August bring Western European room rates and fish priced by weight on the Riva, and ferry fares add up for families. In May, June, late September and winter it is far cheaper to stay.

Bologna has the fuller calendar. The Teatro Comunale stages opera, ballet and concerts through its season, small basement jazz clubs play most nights, and students keep the indie and rock venues busy. In summer there are free concerts and films in Piazza Maggiore.

Split's highlights are seasonal and tied to the setting. The Summer Festival puts opera in the Peristyle courtyard, and klapa singers fill the domed vestibule of the palace. The Croatian National Theatre runs a season, but outside summer there is much less on.

Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own, and spa time mostly means hotel spas. Bologna has real thermal water close by, at Castel San Pietro Terme twenty minutes away and the old spa town of Porretta Terme in the Apennines.

Split has the sea and fjaka, the Dalmatian habit of long, idle coffees on the Riva. The pine woods of Marjan and the islands are the quieter places to find it, because the old town is loud in midsummer.