Como or Nuremberg?

Neither is a beach destination, but Como at least puts the water on your doorstep. It has lidos with lawns and pontoons, such as the one by Villa Olmo, and from June to early September small pebble strands at Cernobbio, Moltrasio and the Tremezzina are a short ferry ride away.

Nuremberg has nothing to swim in close by apart from its outdoor pools. The nearest open water is the Franconian Lake District, about an hour south, where the Brombachsee has grassy shores and small sandy strips. It makes a day out rather than part of daily life.

Nuremberg comes out ahead, mainly because of its beer. Franconia's many small breweries pour cloudy, unfiltered Kellerbier and local lagers in beer gardens along the Pegnitz, and Bamberg's smoked Rauchbier is close by. The city also has a signature dish in its little bratwurst grilled over beechwood, with Schäufele and Lebkuchen alongside. The food is heavy and built around pork, but it is distinctive and the taverns do it well.

Como's cooking leans on the lake, with perch risotto, missoltini and polenta from the valleys, and an aperitivo on the cathedral squares is a pleasure. The choice is narrower, though. Lakefront terraces charge for the view, and the best meals are often in family-run places away from the town.

Nuremberg has more to see, and more weight to it. The Kaiserburg stands above a walled old town with St Sebaldus, St Lorenz and Dürer's house, and the Germanisches Nationalmuseum can take a whole day on its own. The Rally Grounds and Courtroom 600 add a sobering twentieth-century chapter that few cities can match.

Como's sights are fewer but fine: the marble cathedral, the Romanesque San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, Terragni's Casa del Fascio for architecture lovers, and the Volta and silk museums. One day covers them, while Nuremberg rewards two or three.

Neither is a city for big nights out, but Nuremberg gives you more to do after dinner. Gostenhof, west of the walls, has small bars and alternative venues in old working-class streets, students fill the squares and riverbanks in summer, and there are a few clubs.

Como winds down early. The evening is an aperitivo, a long dinner, a last drink near Piazza Duomo and a stroll along the lake, and anyone after a club takes the train to Milan.

This is where Como pulls clearly ahead. Steep wooded mountains rise straight out of the lake, the funicular takes you up to Brunate and the ridge trails in minutes, and the water is there for kayaking, sailing and paddling. Road cyclists head for the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo.

Nuremberg's outdoors is gentler and further away. The Reichswald pine forest at the edge of town is good for easy walks and rides, and the limestone towers, caves and climbing crags of Franconian Switzerland are about an hour away. It is good walking and cycling country, without Como's drama.

Both make excellent bases, and Como edges ahead because its best outings start at the jetty in town. Ferries run to Bellagio, Varenna and Villa del Balbianello, Milan and the Last Supper are about forty minutes away by train, and Lugano is closer still.

Nuremberg's day trips are mostly old towns rather than landscapes. Bamberg, Regensburg and Würzburg are each about an hour away by train, and Rothenburg, Bayreuth and Munich are also within easy reach, so you could spend a week on German history using regional trains.

Nuremberg is the easier choice with children. Its toy-making past lives on in the Toy Museum, the railway museum has full-size locomotives, the zoo spreads through wooded former quarries and has a dolphin house, and there is a toy-brand play park in Zirndorf.

Como has the boats, the funicular and a summer lido, which children enjoy. Beyond those there is little built for them, and the villas and churches mostly interest adults.

Nuremberg is simpler to get around. The walled centre is about 1.5km across and easy to walk, the main station sits at its southern gate, and one ticket covers the U-Bahn, trams, buses and S-Bahn out to Fürth, Erlangen and the Rally Grounds.

Como's centre is also flat and compact, and trains to Milan and Lugano are easy. The lake is the slow part: ferries are scenic but take a long time to go far north, and the shore roads clog with traffic in summer.

Silk against gingerbread and a Christmas market: each city has one thing worth taking home, and they could hardly be more different. In Como it is silk, with scarves, ties and fabric from specialist shops in the old town and outlets at the mills that supply the fashion houses. A short run of boutiques fills the rest, and serious fashion is an easy train ride away in Milan.

Nuremberg sells Lebkuchen in decorated tins, wooden toys and crafts from the Handwerkerhof, along ordinary chain-store streets. Its Advent Christkindlesmarkt, though, gives it a shopping season that Como has nothing to match.

Nuremberg is the cheaper stay by a fair margin. Tavern meals and local beer are inexpensive, transport costs little, and hotels are fairly priced outside trade-fair weeks and the Advent market.

Como draws a luxury crowd, and lakeside hotels and villas are expensive in summer. Rooms back from the water, trattorias in the old town and spring or autumn dates all help, as do the cheap trains and ferries.

Nuremberg gives you more nights at the theatre. The Staatstheater stages opera, ballet and drama in repertory, the city's two orchestras play in the Meistersingerhalle, and summer adds a big open-air concert in the Luitpoldhain and the free Bardentreffen folk weekend.

Como's Teatro Sociale is a handsome neoclassical opera house with a modest season and a summer arena next door, and the chamber concerts in churches and villas owe much to their settings. For anything bigger, people go to La Scala in Milan.

On wellness the two are close, but they relax you in different ways. In Como it is the setting that does it: still water, gardens, slow ferries and early evenings, with spas mostly found in the grand villa hotels.

Nuremberg relies on the German sauna habit. There is a large thermal spa in Fürth a short U-Bahn ride away and mixed nude saunas at the leisure pools, and about an hour west, Bad Windsheim has saline pools you can float in.