Como or Milan?

Neither is a beach destination, but Como at least lets you swim where you are staying. There is the lido beside Villa Olmo, with lawns and pontoons, and ferries go up the lake to the pebble strands and jetties of Cernobbio and Moltrasio.

Milan's options are the Idroscalo basin near Linate and the open-air city pools. For anything better, Milanese take the train to the same lake that Como sits on.

Milan gives you far more choice. Saffron risotto, ossobuco and cotoletta are the classics, and the city also has some of Italy's best cooking from other regions and a serious fine-dining tier. Aperitivo in Brera, Isola or along the canals is generous, and the historic pasticcerie set the rhythm of the day.

Como's cooking is narrower and more local: risotto with perch, missoltini and polenta from the valleys. Expect to pay for the view on the lakefront terraces. The memorable meals tend to be in family trattorias up the lake or in the hills rather than in town.

Milan has the sights people cross Europe for. You can walk among the spires on the Duomo roof and stand in front of the Last Supper. The Brera holds great Italian painting and the Castello Sforzesco has the Rondanini Pietà. Plan several days, and book Leonardo well ahead.

Como's old town is small but intact and walled, and it fits easily into a single day. It has the marble cathedral, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, the Tempio Voltiano and Terragni's Casa del Fascio. That last one is the pick for anyone interested in modern architecture.

Milan has a real night out. The Navigli towpaths fill with drinkers on summer evenings, Porta Venezia anchors the gay scene, and nights end in dress-up clubs near Corso Como or warehouse parties on the edge of town. It does go quiet in August.

In Como the evening is aperitivo, dinner and a stroll by the water, with a few bars around Piazza Duomo afterwards. It has no club scene, and the town's own young people take the train to Milan.

Here Como clearly wins. The mountains start at the edge of town. A funicular that has run since 1894 lifts you to Brunate for the ridge walk to the Volta lighthouse, and you can paddle, sail or watch seaplanes from the city shore.

Within Milan, nature means Parco Sempione and flat towpath rides into the rice fields. The Grigne ridges and lakeside paths are good, but each one is a train journey away rather than a walk from your hotel.

Both are excellent bases, but they point in different directions. From Como you are on the water, with hydrofoils to Bellagio and Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello. Lugano is half an hour away and Milan about forty minutes.

Milan's strength is the high-speed rail network, which reaches art cities rather than lakeside villages. Verona and Turin are about an hour away, Bologna a little further, and Mantua, Cremona and Parma are close behind. That makes Milan the better base for touring northern Italy's cities, and Como the better one for the lakes.

Milan has more for children, though neither city is built around them. The science and technology museum, with its submarine and hands-on labs, saves a rainy day. Parco Sempione has playgrounds next to the small aquarium, and Leolandia and Gardaland are within reach for older children.

Como is calmer and gentler. Young children enjoy the funicular, the ferries and paddling at a lido, but once those are done there is little else aimed at them.

Milan is easier to get around. Five simple metro lines take a contactless card, and trams, including the old orange cars, fill the gaps between them. You will not need a car, and three main stations send trains out to the lakes and nearby towns.

Como's flat centre and lakefront are a pleasure on foot, and the funicular takes care of the hill. Further up the lake, things slow down: slow ferries take a long time, and the narrow shore roads clog in summer.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Milan is a world fashion capital. The great Italian houses have flagships in the Quadrilatero della Moda, the Galleria and La Rinascente sit beside the Duomo, and design showrooms and Navigli antique markets add depth.

Como has one speciality worth the trip: silk. Buy scarves and ties from old-town specialists or from mill outlets that supply the fashion houses. Beyond that, the run of boutiques on Via Vittorio Emanuele II is short.

Both are expensive, for different reasons. In Como the cost comes from the luxury lakeside trade, so summer villa hotels and waterfront terraces are dear. A room back from the water, a trattoria in the hills and a spring or autumn visit cut it down noticeably.

In Milan, business and fashion drive prices up. Hotels during trade fairs and fashion weeks are the main hazard. Office-worker lunch menus, aperitivo as a light supper and a room near a metro stop outside the centre help. Trains and transport are fairly priced in both.

Como's Teatro Sociale is a neoclassical house near the cathedral. It runs a respectable provincial programme of opera, concerts, ballet and theatre, but many nights stay quiet. It is at its best in summer, with performances in the open-air Arena and chamber music in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas, which is just when Milan's opera and concert season slows down.

Milan is the place for a serious night at the opera. La Scala's season opens each December on the feast of Sant'Ambrogio. Big nights are hard to get into, though with some persistence a gallery seat or a less famous performance can get you inside. The Piccolo Teatro, the orchestra at the Auditorium, jazz rooms and big summer concerts at San Siro fill the rest of the calendar.

Neither city has a strong spa culture, so the difference lies in what kind of rest each offers. Como's comes from the setting: still water, gardens running down to the shore, slow ferries and villages that go quiet early, plus the spas of the grand villa hotels.

Milan has the facilities: a thermal spa complex with outdoor pools and saunas, and the restored 1930s Bagni Misteriosi pools for a summer afternoon. Even so, its visitors who want calm usually end up taking the train to the lakes.