Como or Ljubljana?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Como lets you swim without leaving town. Its lidos have lawns and pontoons, and the pebble coves at Moltrasio and the Tremezzina are a short ferry ride away. From June to early September a swim fits easily into a lake day.

In Ljubljana you have to travel for the water. Locals use the Sava, and Bled's lake, about an hour away, is the closest proper swim. The Adriatic at Piran has concrete platforms rather than sand.

Ljubljana has more to eat and drink. Its Central Market under Plečnik's colonnades, the summer street-food gatherings and a strong wine list from Brda, Vipava and Styria give it more depth than Como. Como's risotto with perch and missoltini are good, but the choice is narrow for a provincial town, and the lakefront terraces trade more on their view than on their cooking.

Both cities are short on international variety. In Como the best meals are often up the lake or in the hills. Ljubljana's best is found in its wine bars and riverside cafés.

The two are well matched, but they suit different amounts of time. Como's interest lies in a few fine buildings: the marble cathedral under its Baroque dome, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Rationalist Casa del Fascio, which architects travel to see. Add Villa Olmo and the Volta museum on the shore and most visitors have seen it all in a day.

Ljubljana's draw is the cityscape as a whole. Plečnik's UNESCO-listed bridges, embankments and library tie together a baroque and Secession old town under the castle hill, and Metelkova's murals add a rougher, alternative side. It rewards slower wandering, and two or three days cover it comfortably.

Ljubljana has more going on after dark. On warm nights the Ljubljanica embankments fill with drinkers, students keep the city busy in term time, and Metelkova's small clubs stay open late at weekends.

Como's nights centre on the aperitivo, a long dinner and a walk along the lakefront. A few wine bars around Piazza Duomo remain open after that, but there are no clubs, and locals who want a big night take the train to Milan.

Both cities have serious landscape on their doorstep, but of different kinds. Como is about lake and mountain together. The funicular climbs to Brunate for ridge walks, the Greenway runs between villages, and you can kayak, sail or ride the cycling climb to the Ghisallo chapel.

Ljubljana offers more variety, with longer journeys to reach it. Šmarna Gora and Tivoli are in town, Triglav National Park and the Soča's rafting are about an hour or more away, and the Postojna and Škocjan caves lie in the karst to the south-west.

Como is the better base for day trips, mainly because so much is so close. Ferries go to Bellagio, Villa Carlotta and Balbianello, the Last Supper in Milan is about forty minutes away by train, and Lugano is closer still.

From Ljubljana you can reach Bled, Škofja Loka, Predjama and Piran, plus Trieste or Zagreb further afield. Many of these mean longer rides, and a car makes the smaller places much easier to reach.

Ljubljana is a little easier with children. Its flat, car-free centre suits pushchairs, the dragons on the Dragon Bridge and the castle funicular go down well, and Tivoli's playgrounds, a small zoo and a puppet theatre that needs no Slovene fill out a few days. Como's appeal for families is mostly outdoors: boat rides, the Brunate funicular and paddling at a lido. Its villas and churches are aimed at adults.

Ljubljana is simpler to get around. Almost everything a visitor wants is within about 20 minutes on foot, the centre is pedestrianised, and the bike-share covers the flat districts, so buses are rarely needed.

Como's old town is just as easy to walk, and the trains to Milan and Lugano are quick. Going up the lake is slower, though: slow ferries take a long time to reach the far villages, and the shore roads clog with traffic in summer.

Como has a clear speciality. Its silk, sold as scarves, ties and fabric from old-town specialists and from mill outlets on the edge of town, makes a better souvenir than anything in Ljubljana. Via Vittorio Emanuele II adds a short run of Italian boutiques.

Ljubljana's shopping is about local produce and crafts: pumpkin-seed oil, salt from the coastal pans, Idrija lace and gingerbread hearts, plus a Sunday flea market on the embankment.

Ljubljana is clearly the cheaper stay. Set lunch menus at the inns, fairly priced wine and a centre where you will hardly pay for transport keep costs down. Only central hotel rooms in summer approach Western European prices.

Como draws a luxury crowd, and in July and August its lakeside hotels, villa rentals and lakefront restaurants cost far more than the Italian norm. Staying back from the water and eating in the hill trattorias helps, as do the cheap trains and ferries.

Ljubljana offers more to see. The Slovenian Philharmonic and the National Opera and Ballet perform all year, Cankarjev dom hosts concerts and dance, and the summer festival brings visiting orchestras to Plečnik's Križanke courtyard. Metelkova and smaller venues cover jazz and rock.

Como has one handsome stage, the neoclassical Teatro Sociale, with summer performances in its open-air Arena and chamber concerts in churches and villas. On many nights nothing is on, and La Scala is the real draw nearby.

Neither city has its own thermal tradition, so they are close here. The difference is in the kind of rest each offers. In Como you relax with the lake itself: still water, villa gardens, slow ferries and the spas of the grand lakeside hotels.

Ljubljana offers a quiet, green centre and long café afternoons by the river. Its spa options are a large water park with saunas on the edge of town and Slovenia's mineral spa towns about an hour's drive away.