Como or Padua?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Como's water is right on the doorstep. You swim from lawns and pontoons at the Villa Olmo lido, or from pebble jetties at Moltrasio and the Tremezzina, with mountains rising behind. It is a short season of cool, clear-water swims rather than days on the sand.

From Padua, swimming means a day trip of about an hour to the long umbrella-lined beaches of Sottomarina or the Venice Lido. The Adriatic there is warmer and shallow, which suits small children, but it is a planned excursion rather than something you slip into an afternoon.

Padua is the better city to eat in. Its morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, and the delicatessens under the Palazzo della Ragione, make food part of the sightseeing. Venetian dishes such as bigoli in duck sauce and baccalà sit alongside Euganean wines and the long-running ritual of Caffè Pedrocchi.

Como's cooking is more mountain and lake: perch risotto, missoltini and polenta, often best in family-run places up the shore or in the hills. In town, the lakefront terraces tend to charge for the view, and the choice is narrower than in Padua.

Padua has the weightier heritage by some way. The Scrovegni Chapel alone is a reason to come, and the UNESCO-listed fourteenth-century fresco cycles, the domed Basilica of Saint Anthony, the frescoed hall of the Palazzo della Ragione and the university's anatomical theatre add up to a dense, varied centre.

Como's old town is fine but small. Its marble cathedral, the Romanesque San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio will interest anyone who loves architecture, and the Volta and silk museums add local colour, but most visitors have seen it all in a day.

Neither city has much of a club scene, but Padua has more going on after dark. Its students fill Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori with spritz drinkers until late on warm nights, and small pubs and wine bars line the side streets of the old ghetto, though it goes quiet in summer and during university breaks.

In Como the evening is aperitivo, a long dinner and a stroll along the lake, with a few bars around Piazza Duomo. Anyone wanting a big night out takes the train to Milan.

This is where Como pulls well ahead. Steep wooded mountains rise straight from the water, so ridge walks from Brunate, the Via dei Monti Lariani and the Greenway del Lago all start within easy reach of town. On the lake itself you can kayak, sail or paddleboard, and the Ghisallo climb is a classic for road cyclists.

Padua's outdoors starts beyond its flat plain. The volcanic Euganean Hills, about 15km away, offer vineyard trails and quiet cycling roads, and the Brenta towpaths make gentle level rides. Real mountain walking means driving an hour and a half to Monte Grappa or Asiago.

Both are excellent bases, and Padua is the stronger one. Venice is under half an hour away by train, Vicenza a quarter of an hour, and Verona, Bologna and Ferrara about an hour, so a week can take in several great cities without changing hotel. The Brenta villas and the walled towns of Este and Montagnana are closer still.

Como's outings are more about water and landscape: ferries to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello. Over land, Milan is about forty minutes by train and Lugano half an hour, which adds a Swiss lakefront to the list.

With children the two are much alike: safe, calm and short on attractions built for them. What differs is the kind of day you get. In Como the fun comes from the setting itself, with boat rides, the funicular and paddling at a summer lido.

Padua's pedestrianised centre and the open space of Prato della Valle are easy with a pushchair, but filling the days takes a trip out, to Gardaland and Lake Garda or to the shallow Adriatic.

Padua is the easier city to move around. Its flat centre is walkable, its arcades shelter you from rain and sun, and a tram and buses cover the rest. The main-line station makes trips to Venice, Verona or Bologna straightforward without a car.

Como's old town is just as easy on foot, but the lake slows everything else down. The ferries are lovely but slow up the lake, and the shore roads clog in summer. It does have a fast rail link to Milan and Lugano.

There is little to choose between them for shopping, and serious fashion shoppers from either city head to Milan. What you take home is the difference. In Como it is silk: scarves, ties and fabric from old-town specialists and the mill outlets that supply the fashion houses.

In Padua it is food and wine from the markets and the delicatessens under the Palazzo della Ragione. University bookshops and the monthly antiques market on Prato della Valle add to that.

Padua is noticeably cheaper. Its hotels are moderately priced for the region, many visitors sleep there and see Venice by day, and standing aperitivi and trattoria meals cost little.

Como draws a luxury crowd to its lake, so summer hotels, villa rentals and lakefront meals cost far more. You can keep costs down by staying back from the water, eating in trattorias and visiting in spring or autumn, when prices are kinder.

Both have modest provincial programmes, and both send serious opera lovers elsewhere: Como to La Scala, Padua to the Fenice or the Verona Arena. Como's appeal is setting, with the boxed Teatro Sociale, summer shows in its open-air Arena and chamber concerts in lakeside villas.

Padua's calendar runs more steadily through the year. Teatro Verdi stages theatre and some opera, a resident chamber orchestra plays in the Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica, and students keep small live-music venues going.

Padua has the real spa draw. Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, about 12km away, form one of Europe's largest thermal districts, with hot mineral pools and mud treatments that day visitors can reach by bus or train after a morning of sightseeing.

Como has no thermal tradition. Its rest comes from the setting: still water, villa gardens, slow ferries and early evenings, plus the spas of the grand lakeside hotels.