Cinque Terre or Umbria?

Cinque Terre has the sea, and that decides it. Monterosso's long stretch of sand and fine pebble at Fegina is the one proper beach. In the other villages you swim off rocks and slipways in clear water, which is ideal for a dip between walks, and Levanto just north has a broader beach.

Umbria has no coast at all. The lidos at Castiglione del Lago and Passignano on Lake Trasimeno are warm and shallow, which suits paddling, but the water is often cloudy and the bottom soft in places. Most visitors end up swimming in a farmhouse pool instead.

Both kitchens rest on a few strong local products, but Umbria's goes deeper. Black truffle shaved over strangozzi, Norcia's pork, Castelluccio lentils and Sagrantino tasted at the Montefalco estates make eating a reason for the trip, and Perugia has the widest choice of restaurants.

Cinque Terre cooks from the sea and the terraces: trofie with pesto, Monterosso's anchovies, fried fish in a paper cone and a glass of sweet Sciacchetrà, which inland Umbria cannot match for seafood. The range is narrow, though, and in the busiest villages many menus are written for day-trippers, so the better meals take some finding.

The gap here is wide. Umbria holds art of the first rank: Giotto's frescoes in the Basilica of St Francis at Assisi, Signorelli's Last Judgement in Orvieto's cathedral and Perugino in Perugia's Galleria Nazionale. Gubbio, Spoleto, Todi and Spello each deserve an unhurried day of their own.

In Cinque Terre the landscape is the heritage. The terraced coast and its five villages are UNESCO-listed, and the real sight is walking Vernazza's harbour or Corniglia's ridge-top lanes. The striped parish churches and the Doria tower are pleasant, but a day or two covers them.

Neither has clubs, but Umbria has the livelier evenings, almost entirely because of Perugia. With its students, the cathedral steps and the wine bars around the old centre fill on warm nights. In Cinque Terre the evening means a sunset glass on a harbour wall and one of the few bars in Monterosso or Riomaggiore, and most of the coast is asleep before midnight.

Cinque Terre edges ahead for walkers because its paths are the whole point. The Sentiero Azzurro runs between the villages above the sea, the Sentiero Rosso follows the wooded ridge, and you can take the train back. Kayaks go out to the grottoes, and divers explore the marine reserve.

Umbria's outdoors are broader and gentler, spread across wooded hills and river valleys. Highlights include the flowering plain of Castelluccio below the Monti Sibillini, rafting in the Valnerina, the Marmore Falls and cycling the old Spoleto to Norcia railway path. It suits a road trip with boots and a bike better than a coast you walk from end to end.

Umbria is made for day trips. From a base near Perugia or Spoleto, Gubbio, Todi, Bevagna and the Montefalco wine hills are each a short drive away. Cortona, Montepulciano and Siena lie over the Tuscan border, and Rome is a little over an hour by train from Orvieto.

Cinque Terre does well too, mostly by rail and boat: Portovenere by sea, Lerici and Sarzana close by, Pisa and Lucca along the main line, and Genoa and Portofino to the north. The difference is that in Umbria the outings are the trip, while here they fill a day or two between walks.

Neither is easy with small children, but Umbria is the kinder choice. A countryside farmhouse with a pool, animals and space to run, the shallow water of Lake Trasimeno and an outing to the Marmore Falls make for a calm family week.

Cinque Terre's villages are built of stairs and steep alleys, Corniglia sits hundreds of steps above its station, and the trains are packed in summer. It works with older children who like walking and swimming off rocks. Families with toddlers usually stay in Monterosso, which is mostly flat and has a gently shelving beach.

Cinque Terre is the easier place to manage without a car. The coastal train links all five villages a few minutes apart, ferries run between the harbours in season, and the trails connect them on foot. A car is only a burden here, though crowded summer platforms and the constant climbs take effort.

Umbria is the reverse. Driving is easy, and you park below each hill town and ride up by escalator or funicular, as in Perugia and Orvieto. Without a car, the railway covers Assisi, Spello and Spoleto, but buses to Gubbio or Todi are infrequent and the countryside is out of reach.

Umbria gives you far more to buy, almost all of it craft and food: Deruta's painted majolica, hand-loomed linen from Montefalco and Bevagna, cashmere outlets near Perugia, and hams and truffles in Norcia. Cinque Terre's shops stop at pesto, anchovies, lemon liqueur and bottles of Sciacchetrà, which make good gifts but not a day's shopping. Neither offers fashion beyond Perugia's ordinary high street.

Umbria is the cheaper vacation. Farmhouse stays and small town hotels cost noticeably less than in the Tuscan hills, village set lunches are good value and most churches cost little or nothing. The costs that add up are a hire car and summer rooms in Assisi and Orvieto.

In Cinque Terre the rooms are the problem. They are few, small and in heavy demand, so they cost far more than elsewhere on the coast, and you also pay for the park paths. Food and the train stay reasonable, and many travellers sleep in La Spezia or Levanto to save money.

Umbria is far ahead, though mainly in early summer. Umbria Jazz fills Perugia in July, with free bands in the squares, and Spoleto's Festival dei Due Mondi brings opera, theatre and dance to its Roman theatre and opera house from late June. Orvieto holds a winter jazz edition around the New Year.

Cinque Terre has almost nothing beyond the odd summer concert in a church and the bands that follow the processions on the patron saints' feast days. For a play or an orchestra you go to La Spezia or Genoa.

In Cinque Terre, rest depends on when you go. The car-free villages and a terrace above the sea are soothing early in the morning, or in spring and autumn. On a summer afternoon, though, the lanes are too full to unwind, and apart from a massage at a few guesthouses there is no spa.

Umbria's quiet is steadier because it comes from the countryside. Days pass slowly between a long lunch and an evening walk, and many country houses have a pool, massage or yoga. The hermitages on Monte Subasio above Assisi draw people looking for silence. The small spas at San Gemini and Nocera Umbra, known for their mineral waters, are modest but a real option.