Cannes or Como?

This is the biggest gap between the two. Cannes is built around a sandy bay with calm, warm water. You can pay for a lounger at a private concession or walk to the long, mostly free Plage du Midi, and the Lérins islands and the red rocks of the Esterel are close for clearer water.

Como has no beaches in that sense. Swimming happens from lido lawns and pontoons, such as the one by Villa Olmo, or from small pebble strands up the lake. The season is shorter, and the water at the city end is less inviting.

Cannes eats better, mainly because of the sea and the produce of Provence. The covered Forville market, grilled fish and socca in Le Suquet, and a real fine-dining tier towards Mougins give it more range, even if the Croisette itself serves plenty of overpriced plates.

Como's cooking is heartier lake-and-mountain food: perch risotto, polenta and sun-dried shad. Its best ritual is the evening aperitivo on the squares by the cathedral. Variety is limited, and the best meals tend to be up the lake.

Como has the stronger old town. The cathedral mixes Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio show the old skill of the Lombard masons, and the Casa del Fascio draws architects from far away. Villa Olmo, the Tempio Voltiano and the silk museum fill out a full day.

Cannes is more about atmosphere than monuments. There are the castle museum and church on Le Suquet, the Belle Époque palace hotels and the red-carpet steps of the Palais. Anyone serious about art goes along the coast for it.

Neither town is a party destination, but Cannes has a real summer scene. Beach clubs on the Croisette turn into evening venues, a few clubs stay open until dawn and the lanes behind the old port fill with cocktail bars. It is glossy and expensive, and it goes quiet out of season.

Como's night out is aperitivo, dinner and a stroll along the lakefront. After that only a few bars around Piazza Duomo stay open, and anyone after a club takes the train to Milan.

Como has the edge for anyone who wants to be outdoors on foot. The funicular lifts you straight from the lakefront to the ridge trails at Brunate, and the Via dei Monti Lariani and Monte Bisbino open views towards the Alps. Cyclists climb to the Madonna del Ghisallo chapel.

Cannes's landscapes are coastal and need a short trip. The Esterel's volcanic red rock is twenty minutes west, and there are the Cap d'Antibes shore path and island walks on Sainte-Marguerite. Diving and sailing add a sea dimension the lake lacks, but summer fire risk can close trails.

Both are excellent bases, and the difference is in the kind of outing. From Cannes the coastal train strings together Antibes, Nice, Villefranche, Monaco and Menton, with perched villages such as Saint-Paul-de-Vence and Èze, and Grasse just inland.

From Como the outings mix lake villages and big cities. Ferries go to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello, while trains reach Milan's Last Supper, Lugano across the Swiss border and Bergamo's upper town.

Cannes works a little better with children, mostly thanks to the beach. Gently sloping sand, calm water, carousels along the flat Croisette and the boat to the picnic woods of the Lérins islands fill days easily, and Monaco's aquarium is close by train.

Como relies on the funicular, the ferries and a summer lido. Without much sand and with little else built for children, it suits a slower stay with outdoor days.

Both centres are compact and easy on foot, and both have rail links that make a car unnecessary for the main trips. Cannes's train runs along the coast from a station in the middle of town, with ferries to the islands from the old port.

Como's links point in two directions, south to Milan and north into Switzerland. Getting around the lake itself is slower, because boats take a long time to reach the far villages and the shore roads clog in summer.

Cannes is much the better place to shop. The big Paris fashion and jewellery houses face the sea along the Croisette, Rue d'Antibes adds over a kilometre of mid-range French clothes and chocolatiers, and Rue Meynadier sells olive oil and Provençal fabrics.

Como's speciality is silk: scarves, ties and fabric from old-town shops and mill outlets. Beyond that it has only a short run of boutiques, and keen shoppers head to Milan.

Both are pricey, but Cannes is the harder on the budget. Seafront hotels and private-beach loungers are priced for a wealthy crowd, and rates climb steeply during the film festival and trade fairs. Market picnics, the public beaches and staying in a neighbouring town help.

Como is expensive by Italian standards, especially for lakeside hotels in summer. Even so, rooms back from the water, old-town trattorias and cheap ferries and trains make a stay there somewhat easier to manage.

Cannes builds its programme around a festival hall, while Como has a proper opera house. The Palais des Festivals takes touring shows, comedy and concerts by the regional philharmonic, and the town runs a respected dance festival. The film festival itself is closed to the public, but in May its free open-air screenings on the beach let visitors share a little of it. Summer brings classical concerts in the castle courtyard on Le Suquet and, a short way along the coast, the long-running jazz festival at Juan-les-Pins.

Como's Teatro Sociale is a neoclassical house with tiers of boxes, close to the cathedral. It stages opera, ballet, orchestral concerts and theatre, and on warm evenings performances move outdoors to its Arena. Chamber concerts in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas make the setting part of the evening, and La Scala is a short train ride away in Milan.

Neither has thermal springs, so spa time in both means the grand hotels. Cannes adds seawater thalassotherapy along the coast and slow terrace mornings, but festival weeks and August are noisy.

Como's restorative appeal is the setting more than the treatments. Still water, gardens running down to the shore, unhurried ferry rides and villages that go quiet early make it the more naturally peaceful of the two in spring and autumn.