Como or Genoa?

Genoa has real sea swimming on its doorstep. There is the pebble cove at Boccadasse, bathing platforms along the Corso Italia and the rocks below Nervi's promenade, all in clear, warm water. A short train ride takes you to Camogli, Sestri Levante's twin bays or the sandier shore at Varazze. Space is mostly rented loungers and weekends are crowded, but you can swim most afternoons.

Como offers a lake dip, not a beach. You swim from lawns and pontoons at lidos such as the one by Villa Olmo, or from small pebble strands up the lake at Moltrasio and the Tremezzina. The water is cooler, the season is shorter and there is very little sand.

Genoa is the more rewarding place to eat. This is the home of pesto, and the old town still has friggitorie selling farinata, panissa and fried fish by the slice. The Mercato Orientale shows off Ligurian produce, and the coast supplies the seafood and Vermentino.

Como's cooking is lake and mountain food: risotto with perch, sun-dried missoltini, polenta with valley cheeses. Aperitivo near the cathedral is a pleasant ritual, but the range is narrow. The lakefront terraces trade on the view, so the better meals are up the lake or in the hills.

Genoa has far more to see. Its medieval caruggi make up one of Europe's largest old quarters. Above them, the UNESCO-listed palaces of Via Garibaldi and Via Balbi hold Van Dyck and Rubens in painted halls, and the Staglieno cemetery's marble sculpture is extraordinary. It easily fills several days.

Como's sights are fewer but fine: the marble cathedral, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio, which architects travel to see. The Volta temple and the silk museum complete a day's sightseeing.

Neither is a party city, but Genoa at least has some life after dinner. Students fill the small bars around Piazza delle Erbe and the university until late at weekends, and in summer the crowd moves to the Foce waterfront and the beach clubs.

In Como the evening is aperitivo, a long dinner and a stroll by the lake. A few bars near Piazza Duomo stay open a while, and young locals who want more take the train to Milan.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, set in very different landscapes. Como gives you a steep glacial lake under wooded mountains. The funicular takes you to Brunate's ridge paths, the Via dei Monti Lariani crosses the slopes above the western shore, and road cyclists climb to the Madonna del Ghisallo. Kayaks and paddleboards make the most of the calm water.

Genoa's landscape is sea and hills. A funicular reaches the ring of fortresses above the port, and the cliff paths of the Portofino promontory and the Cinque Terre terraces are a train ride away. Boats go out to watch whales and dolphins in the Pelagos Sanctuary, and the coast is good for diving.

Both have a long list of trips. Como's are by boat: hydrofoils to Bellagio and Varenna, and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello at Tremezzo. Milan is close enough for a half-day, and Switzerland's Lugano is nearer still.

Genoa's are by coastal train, along a string of famous seaside villages: Camogli, Portofino, Sestri Levante and the Cinque Terre to the east, and the quieter Finale Ligure Borgo and Noli to the west. Milan and Turin are full days out from Genoa, not half-days.

Genoa gives children more to do. Its Porto Antico gathers one of Europe's largest aquariums, a children's science centre, the tropical biosphere and a walk-through submarine at the Galata museum. The catch is the old town's steep, dark lanes and endless stairs, which are hard with a pushchair.

Como is gentler and easier with small children, with the flat lakefront promenade, the Villa Olmo gardens, boat rides and the Brunate funicular. Once those are done, little is aimed at children, so it suits a slow family stay with outdoor days.

Each is easy in its own way, and each has a weak point. Como's old town and lakefront are flat and compact, and trains reach Milan and Lugano quickly. Moving around the lake is the slow part, by unhurried ferry or on narrow shore roads that clog in summer.

Genoa's centre is walkable but steep and maze-like. Funiculars, public lifts and a single metro line help you up the hills and along the valley. The coastal railway is its best asset, reaching Nervi and the Riviera towns without a car.

Como is a one-subject shopping town, and the subject is silk. The mills that weave for the big fashion houses sell scarves, ties and lengths of fabric through outlets on the edge of the city, and specialist shops in the old town carry the same, so it is a good place to buy a quality gift. Past that the choice is thin: a few streets of Italian clothes and shoes, a weekend crafts and antiques market by the walls, and a train to Milan for anything more.

Genoa gives you more to browse, though it isn't a shopping destination either. The long arcades of Via XX Settembre make a proper main street, with the smarter labels on Via Roma and in the Galleria Mazzini. The old town adds what Como lacks: Ligurian food to take home from long-standing shops and the Mercato Orientale, and handmade silver filigree and coral. Its weak point is depth, with no real luxury or design scene.

Genoa is clearly kinder to the wallet. A slab of focaccia or farinata makes a cheap lunch, central hotels are reasonable for Italy, and the lifts and funiculars cost little. Costs rise in the Riviera resorts and with rented loungers on beach days.

Como attracts an international luxury crowd, and lakeside hotels and villa rentals in July and August are expensive. To keep costs down, stay back from the water, eat in old town trattorias and travel by train and ferry, which stay cheap. Spring and autumn are noticeably cheaper.

Genoa has more of an evening programme. The Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari stages opera, ballet and symphony concerts, and the Teatro Nazionale is a leading Italian drama company, though its plays are in Italian. The city also holds Paganini concerts and keeps its singer-songwriter tradition alive in small clubs.

Como's Teatro Sociale is a handsome early nineteenth-century opera house, and in summer performances move outdoors to its Arena. Chamber concerts in villas and Romanesque churches have lovely settings, but most nights are quiet, and La Scala is a short train ride away in Milan.

Como is the more restorative place to stay. Neither city has a bathing tradition, but Como's still water, shoreline gardens, slow ferries and early evenings do the work, and the grand villa hotels have proper spas. Spring and autumn are calmest.

Genoa's centre is too busy and noisy to unwind in. You find quiet in Nervi's promenade and villa gardens or over long lunches in the Riviera villages. Genoa does have the one thermal option of the pair, at Acqui Terme, a little over an hour away.