Como or Dijon?

Neither is a beach destination, but Como at least offers a real summer swim. From June to early September there are lidos with lawns and pontoons, such as the one by Villa Olmo, and small pebble strands at Cernobbio, Moltrasio and the Tremezzina that you can reach by ferry.

Dijon is far from any coast. Its only open-water swimming is at Lac Kir, a reservoir on the western edge of town with a supervised bathing area, good for a hot afternoon alongside local families.

Dijon is the better place to eat. It has Burgundian classics such as boeuf bourguignon and jambon persillé, and the iron market hall of Les Halles sells Bresse poultry and Époisses cheese. Wine bars pour village Burgundies by the glass, and there is serious fine dining in and around the city.

Como's lake and mountain cooking, such as risotto with perch and sun-dried missoltini, is good and distinctive, but the choice is that of a small provincial city. The lakefront terraces charge for the view. The best meals tend to be up the lake or in the hills, so eating well there takes more effort.

Dijon has more sights to fill your days. The Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy holds the Musée des Beaux-Arts, whose highlight is the carved ducal tombs with their ring of mourners. Around it is a centre of half-timbered houses and Renaissance mansions, and Sluter's Well of Moses and the gargoyles of Notre-Dame add enough for two or three days.

Como has fewer sights, but they are of real quality. There is the marble cathedral, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio for anyone interested in modern architecture. Most visitors see it all in a day and then turn to the lake villas.

Dijon has the livelier evenings of the two, thanks to its large university. In Como a night out means an aperitivo, a long dinner, a cocktail near Piazza Duomo and a summer stroll along the lakefront. Little stays open late and there are no clubs to speak of, so anyone wanting more takes the train to Milan.

In Dijon, students fill the small bars and pubs of Rue Berbisey and the terraces around Place Émile Zola and the market quarter, and there are a few clubs. It is still mostly wine, beer and a late dinner, and outside term time the streets quieten by midnight.

Como's setting is in a different league. It sits on a glacial lake under steep wooded mountains. The funicular climbs to Brunate and the ridge path to the Volta lighthouse, the Via dei Monti Lariani crosses the slopes above the western shore, and cyclists ride up to the Madonna del Ghisallo chapel. On the water there is kayaking, sailing and paddling.

Dijon's countryside is gentle. The combes west of town have walks and climbing cliffs, the Burgundy Canal towpath is flat for easy cycling, and a signed route runs through the vineyards to Beaune. For wilder scenery you have to go about an hour and a half to the Morvan, and there are no mountains.

Both are excellent bases, but Como has more within easy reach. Boats run to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello. Milan and the Last Supper are about forty minutes away by train, and Lugano and Bergamo add a Swiss lakefront and a walled upper town.

Dijon's day trips centre on wine: the Route des Grands Crus to Beaune and the Côte de Beaune villages, with Fontenay Abbey, Semur-en-Auxois and Vézelay for a change from tasting. Many of them need a car, a bike or a tour, while most of Como's can be done by ferry or train.

Both are calm and safe, and neither has much built for children. Como comes out a little ahead because getting around is part of the fun: boat rides, the funicular to Brunate and paddling at a summer lido. Dijon offers less, mainly the planetarium and natural history museum in the Jardin de l'Arquebuse, the play areas of the Parc de la Colombière and Lac Kir. Its tastings and art museums are for the parents.

Dijon is the easier city to get around. Its pedestrian centre puts the station, market and palace a few minutes apart, and trams reach the outskirts. The TGV gets to Paris in under two hours, though wine villages away from the railway need a car or bike.

Como's flat old town is just as easy to walk, and trains link it well to Milan and Lugano. Travelling on the lake is slower: the ferries are scenic but take their time, the shore roads clog in summer and parking in the centre is hard.

There is little to choose between them overall, and in both the best thing to bring home is something the region makes. In Como that means silk. The town's mills have long supplied the big fashion houses, so a scarf or tie from a specialist in the old town or a factory outlet on the outskirts is the genuine article. For clothes there is only a short stretch of Italian boutiques and shoe shops along Via Vittorio Emanuele II, plus a weekend crafts and antiques market by the walls. Milan is an easy train ride away for anything more.

Dijon's souvenirs go into a cool bag rather than a wardrobe: mustard in many flavours, pain d'épices, cassis, Burgundy from the wine merchants and cheese from Les Halles. Its main street, Rue de la Liberté, is more everyday than Como's, with a department store and French chains, while the side lanes have antiques and small independent shops. Neither suits a fashion or luxury shopping trip.

Dijon costs noticeably less. Hotels are moderately priced, bistro set lunches are a fair-priced way to eat well, and wine by the glass is cheap even for France. The bill only climbs with serious restaurants and cellar tours.

Como attracts a luxury crowd, so lakeside hotels and villas are expensive in summer, and so are the terraces on the water. You can keep costs down by staying back from the lakefront, eating in old-town trattorias and coming in spring or autumn.

Dijon has the fuller calendar. The Opéra stages opera, concerts and dance in both the nineteenth-century Grand Théâtre and the Auditorium, which is known for its acoustics. The city also has a national drama centre and a venue for touring bands, with a season that follows the academic year.

Como's Teatro Sociale has a respectable season, moving to its open-air Arena in summer, and there is chamber music in churches and lakeside villas. Many nights are quiet, though, and La Scala in Milan is the bigger draw.

Neither has thermal baths, but Como is the more restful place to stay. The grand villa hotels on the lake have proper spas, and the still water, gardens along the shore and slow ferries do the rest, best in spring or autumn. Dijon has a few hotel spas and some grape-based treatments in the wine villages. Its calm comes from long lunches and quiet squares rather than from anything you would book.