Chamonix or San Marino?

Neither is a beach town, but San Marino has the sea within reach. The sandy Romagna shore at Rimini and Riccione is about half an hour down the hill, with shallow water and rows of umbrellas from July to early September.

In Chamonix, swimming means a lake. Lac de Passy down the valley works in midsummer, and Lake Annecy, a little over an hour away, makes a full day out. The town pool covers the rest.

Both cities eat well rather than memorably, and the difference is in what is on the plate. Chamonix is melted-cheese country, with fondue, raclette and tartiflette at their best on a refuge terrace facing the glaciers, and an international run of bistros and pizza places in town.

San Marino cooks like the Romagna hills around it: hand-rolled pasta, passatelli, grilled meat, piadina and the republic's own small-vineyard Sangiovese. In both places the setting lets kitchens coast, and in San Marino the honest meals are in the family trattorias of Borgo Maggiore rather than on the summit.

San Marino has more to see because the whole summit is the sight. It is a medieval walled town on the crest of Monte Titano, with towers you can climb along a cliff path and the Palazzo Pubblico of one of the oldest surviving republics. It is compact, but it is a real historic place.

Chamonix's culture is the history of climbing, told well in the Musée Alpin, the guides' quarter and the climbers' cemetery. Anyone who loves mountains will find it absorbing, and anyone else will be done with it quickly.

Chamonix is the one with a night out. In winter, après-ski fills the bars from late afternoon, then moves on to the pubs along a narrow lane in the old town and a couple of small clubs. The crowd of guides, seasonal workers and visitors is young and mostly English-speaking.

San Marino goes quiet once the coaches leave, and an evening means dinner and a glass of wine with the coast lit up below. For anything later, you drive down to the Riviera clubs of Rimini and Riccione.

This is the widest gap between the two. Chamonix sits under the Mont Blanc massif, with cable cars up to the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842m, the rack railway to the Mer de Glace and the Tour du Mont Blanc on the doorstep. Mountaineering, skiing, climbing and paragliding are all world-class.

San Marino's Monte Titano is a limestone ridge of about 740m. It has fine views to the Adriatic, woodland paths around the towers and gentle cycling in the Montefeltro hills. That makes a pleasant morning, but there is no high country or adventure sport to build a trip around.

San Marino has the richer surroundings. Roman Rimini lies just below, and the rock fortress of San Leo, Urbino's Renaissance court and Ravenna's mosaics are all within about an hour or so, with Bologna further on. Most of the hill towns need a car.

Chamonix's outings come from its borders: Courmayeur and Roman Aosta through the tunnel, Annecy and Geneva a little over an hour away, and Martigny by the Mont Blanc Express. Beyond those, slow mountain roads and other ski resorts limit the choice.

Chamonix is the better family base for children who like being outside. Winter has nursery slopes and sledging. Summer brings easy lake walks, a luge, treetop courses, the marmots and ibex of the Merlet park and the little red train to the Mer de Glace. The weak points are the highest cable cars and wet days.

San Marino gives children towers, battlements and a cable car ride, but little else on the summit, and the steps are hard going with a pushchair. Its family attractions are on the coast, at Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia, the waterparks and the shallow beaches, which are easy to reach with a car.

Chamonix is easier. The centre is flat and walkable, with the big lift stations in town, and the guest card gives free buses and trains along the valley from Les Houches to Vallorcine. The one drawback is the packed ski buses in winter.

San Marino's car-free core is small but steep, all steps and slopes, and a cable car links it to Borgo Maggiore. The bus from Rimini is the one dependable link, so exploring the surrounding hills means hiring a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and each has one speciality. Chamonix sells serious mountain equipment in long-established shops where climbers and skiers buy their big gear, along with Savoyard cheese and génépi.

San Marino relies on its lower taxes, with perfume, watches, leather and spirits along the main streets, an outlet centre in the valley, and stamps and coins for collectors. For fashion, Chamonix looks to Geneva and San Marino to Bologna.

San Marino is much the cheaper stay, priced like provincial central Italy. Hotels are moderate outside August, the trattorias in the lower villages are fairly priced and the sights cost little. Only the summit view terraces charge extra.

Chamonix is a famous resort and charges like one, with expensive high-season rooms, lift passes, guides and paragliding flights. Free valley transport, self-catering, trails that start from the valley floor and the quieter shoulder seasons all help.

Live performance in both places is mostly a summer affair, and the difference is in its character. Chamonix takes its music up the mountain: a long-running jazz festival plays some of its sets high on the slopes, and the rest of the year offers little beyond mountain film evenings and the odd concert in a church or hall.

San Marino's summer is all pageantry. During the Medieval Days festival the summit town fills with musicians in period costume, crossbow contests and flag-throwers, and a small theatre adds occasional local concerts. Anyone hoping for opera will find the nearest real season down the coast in Pesaro, Rossini's home town and the seat of his festival.

Chamonix is the better place to unwind, once you have earned it. It has a large day spa with hot outdoor pools under the glaciers, saunas in many chalets and the thermal springs of Saint-Gervais down the valley. The town itself is busy in high season.

San Marino has no bathing culture, only a few hotel spas. What it offers instead is evening calm on the walls once the day visitors have gone.