Bologna or Zadar?

Bologna has no sea of its own. A trip to the Romagna Riviera at Rimini takes about an hour by train and means rows of rented sunbeds in organised lidos and water that is often greenish, so it works as an escape from the city heat rather than a beach vacation.

In Zadar, swimming is part of everyday life in summer. Locals go in off the stone promenade on the peninsula, Kolovare and Borik are close by, and Nin's shallow sand or the ferries to Ugljan, Pašman and Sakarun on Dugi Otok widen the choice. The town beaches are pebble and concrete rather than sand, though, and they get crowded.

Bologna is a place to travel for its food in a way Zadar is not. Ragù, tortellini and lasagne verdi started here, and the Parmigiano, Parma ham and balsamic vinegar come from towns within an hour. A week of meals can follow one deep regional tradition back to where it is made. Seen beside a coastal town, the weakness is weight. Egg pasta and cured meats are hard going at 32°C, and there is little outside Emilian cooking to turn to.

Zadar's food is lighter and simpler, built on what the Adriatic and the islands provide: grilled fish, black risotto, slow-cooked peka dishes and Pag cheese, with Maraschino as the town's own speciality. On a hot evening it suits better than a bowl of tortellini. But the menus are much the same from one konoba to the next and there is little ambitious cooking, so a meal here rounds off a day at the sea rather than being the reason for the trip.

Bologna has the bigger historic city by a wide margin. The whole medieval centre in red brick, with its UNESCO-listed porticoes, Piazza Maggiore and San Petronio, the Two Towers and the seven churches of Santo Stefano, is the main sight. The Archiginnasio's anatomical theatre and the Pinacoteca's Bolognese painting add depth for two or three days.

Zadar packs a lot into a small walled peninsula: an open Roman forum, the round St Donatus church, Venetian gates and a fine Museum of Ancient Glass. Its best-known modern pieces, the Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun, are a charm Bologna has nothing like, but two days cover the lot.

Bologna's student population gives it the livelier nights, with young crowds outside cheap bars around Piazza Verdi, taverns along Via del Pratello and aperitivo turning into wine bars near Via San Vitale. Clubs are out on the edge of town, and in August the students leave and the city goes quiet.

Zadar runs on the opposite calendar. High summer is its season, with sunset drinks on the Riva and terrace bars on the walls, and Zrće on Pag, about an hour away, is the place for real partying. From October to May going out mostly means a café-bar.

For time outdoors, Zadar is far stronger. The Velebit range rises behind the coast, with Paklenica's gorges for hiking and climbing, while sailing and boat trips reach the stark Kornati islands and Telašćica's cliffs and salt lake. Krka's waterfalls, Plitvice Lakes, the birdlife at Vrana and sea kayaking add plenty more.

Bologna's outdoors is gentler: the arcaded climb to San Luca, the Colli Bolognesi paths and the gypsum caves of the Parco dei Gessi. Its draws are the Via degli Dei trail over the Apennines to Florence and modest skiing at Corno alle Scale, which Zadar cannot match.

Bologna is one of the best rail bases in Europe. Florence is about half an hour by fast train, Ravenna's mosaics and Ferrara's walls are within an hour, Modena and Parma are short hops along the Via Emilia, and Venice, Verona and Padua all make easy day returns without a car.

Zadar has fine outings too, with hillside Šibenik and its cathedral, tiny Nin, and Split and Trogir further south. They are mostly by road and Split makes a long day, so a hire car or an organised excursion is needed. The island ferries from the harbour are the easiest trips.

Neither city has much built for children, so the difference is in how the days are spent. In Bologna the flat, mostly car-free centre and shady porticoes make walking easy, and climbing the Asinelli tower is a small adventure, but the fun outings are away from the city, at Mirabilandia or the beach at Rimini.

Zadar's family days are spent by the water. The Sea Organ and the light show of the Greeting to the Sun please most children, and Nin's shallow sandy beaches suit the youngest. The waterfront promenade is ideal for pushchairs, and evenings out with children are normal.

Both old towns are flat and easy to cross on foot, but Bologna is better connected. Its porticoes keep you out of the sun and rain, buses reach the hills, and the central station at the edge of the old town puts the rest of northern Italy within easy reach.

Zadar's peninsula is just as walkable and the island ferries leave from its edge, but local buses go little further than the suburbs. For the national parks, Šibenik or the wider coast you will want a car, and summer parking near the old town is tight.

Bologna offers more to buy, and most of it is edible: mortadella, aged Parmigiano and fresh tortellini from the Quadrilatero delis. Beyond that there are high-street chains on Via dell'Indipendenza, a small luxury cluster on Via Farini and in the Galleria Cavour, and markets at the Montagnola and Santo Stefano.

Zadar's shopping barely goes beyond Kalelarga and the open-air market by the walls. What is worth taking home is local, such as Maraschino, Pag cheese, olive oil and the fine Pag lace.

Overall the two cost about the same, but the spending falls in different places. In Bologna meals and aperitivo are fair value and most sights are free churches and squares, while hotel rooms are expensive and can be scarce during the big trade fairs.

In Zadar the cost depends on the season. Private apartments are good value outside July and August, buses and ferries are cheap, but park entry and boat excursions soon add up.

Bologna has the real music scene. The Teatro Comunale stages opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, basement jazz clubs play most nights, students fill small rock venues, and Piazza Maggiore hosts concerts and films outdoors in summer.

Zadar's highlight is a single setting: the Musical Evenings of early and chamber music in the ninth-century St Donatus, plus klapa singing in squares in July and August. Outside summer there is very little on.

Neither city is a spa destination, and they offer different ways to relax. From Bologna you can reach thermal water at Castel San Pietro Terme or the old spa town of Porretta Terme in the Apennines, though the city itself is noisy around the university.

Zadar has no springs, just hotel spas at Borik and the mud lagoon at Nin. Its calm comes from the pace: slow café mornings and sunset on the Sea Organ steps.