Como or Piran?

Neither town has a real sandy beach, but Piran is the better place to swim. You get into clear open sea from the ledges around the Punta headland, and the water stays warm well into September. When you want sand and sunbeds, Portoroz is a short walk or shuttle ride away, and the cliffs at Strunjan offer a quieter shore.

Swimming in Como happens at lidos with lawns and pontoons, such as the one beside Villa Olmo, or at the pebbly jetties of Moltrasio and the Tremezzina, often reached by ferry. The water at the city end of the lake is the least appealing, so here a swim is a summer bonus rather than the reason to come.

The two eat about equally well, and both are best for simple local cooking rather than variety. Como's table comes from the lake and the mountains: risotto with perch, sun-dried missoltini and polenta with game. There is also a proper aperitivo ritual on the squares around the cathedral.

In Piran the cooking turns to the sea. Konobas serve grilled fish and scampi buzara, with Istrian olive oil, truffles, Malvazija and Refosk from the hills behind. In both places, lakefront or harbour terraces charge for the view, and the best meals are found out of town, in the hills above Como or inland in Istria.

Como offers more to see. It has a marble cathedral where Gothic meets Renaissance, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio, which architects travel specifically to visit. The Tempio Voltiano and the silk museum add the story of Volta and of the trade that made the city rich.

In Piran, the town itself is the sight. It is a tight knot of Venetian Gothic houses around Tartini Square, with St George's campanile and the old walls above the red roofs. Its museums are small, so you go to wander rather than to tick off sights. Each town fills about a day.

Both towns go to bed early, so the difference lies in where you find the late hours. In Como, the evening is aperitivo, a long dinner and a few wine and cocktail bars around Piazza Duomo, and anyone wanting a big night takes the train to Milan. In Piran, you watch the sunset with a glass on the Punta, but Portoroz is only minutes away, with beach bars, a casino and some clubs in summer.

Here Como is far ahead. Steep wooded mountains drop into a long glacial lake, and the funicular from the lakefront to Brunate opens up ridge walks to the Volta lighthouse. The Via dei Monti Lariani and Monte Bisbino give views towards the Alps, while sailors, paddlers and road cyclists heading for Ghisallo all have serious terrain.

Piran's landscape is gentler and lies close to sea level. The Strunjan cliffs have a path along the top, the Secovlje salt pans are full of wading birds, and the Parenzana cycle route runs through olive groves. Within about an hour you can reach the walking country and caves of the Karst, but there is no high ground nearby.

Both towns make excellent bases, but Como's excursions are easier and more famous. Ferries and hydrofoils reach Bellagio, Varenna, Villa Carlotta and Villa del Balbianello. By train, Milan's Last Supper and Duomo are about forty minutes away, and Lugano, Bergamo and Lake Maggiore are also within reach.

From Piran you can visit three countries: Trieste's Habsburg squares, Rovinj and the hill towns of Motovun and Groznjan in Istria, Predjama Castle and Ljubljana. A summer boat also crosses to Venice. Without a railway, though, most of these trips are best done by car.

Both are calm, safe places for a few gentle days with children, and Piran is a little easier. Its old town has no cars, the sea is warm and calm, the harbour aquarium is a good size for small children, and Portoroz has a shallow sandy beach. Beware the steep lanes and the concrete ledges you swim from.

Como appeals to children through its transport: the funicular to Brunate, the ferries and the summer lido. The Villa Olmo gardens and the promenade work well with a pushchair, but the villa visits are for adults, and older children may soon get bored in either town.

Como is on the railway and Piran is not, and that shapes every trip beyond the centre. From Como, trains run to Milan and north along the Swiss line to Lugano, and ferries reach every village on the lake. The slow boats take a long time to go far up the lake, though, and the shore roads clog in summer, so the flat old town and the lakefront are easiest on foot.

Piran's car-free peninsula takes about a quarter of an hour to cross on foot, and a shuttle bus links it to the garage at the edge of town and to Portoroz. To go further you depend on slow regional buses, so for Istria and the Karst you will probably want a hire car.

Como gives you something worth shopping for. Its centuries of silk-making mean scarves, ties and fabric from old-town specialists and from outlets at the mills that supply the fashion houses. Via Vittorio Emanuele II adds Italian shoe and clothing boutiques, and Milan is close.

Piran's best buys are things to eat: salt flower from the Secovlje pans, olive oil and coastal wine. Beyond those, there are a few galleries and harbour souvenir stalls.

Piran costs noticeably less. Rooms in the old town carry a premium in July and August, but staying in Portoroz or outside high season, eating in konobas and drinking local wine keeps costs at a fair level, and the swimming and walking are free.

Como attracts an international luxury crowd, so summer lakeside hotels and villa rentals are expensive. To keep costs down, stay back from the water, eat in old-town or hillside trattorias, travel by train and ferry, and come in spring or autumn.

Como has a real season, Piran mostly summer concerts. The Teatro Sociale is a nineteenth-century opera house with tiers of boxes that stages opera, ballet, orchestral concerts and plays, moving to its open-air Arena in summer. There are also chamber concerts in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas, and La Scala is a short train ride away.

Piran's music honours its native violinist Tartini, with summer concerts in churches, the monastery cloister and on the main square. The small Tartini Theatre hosts the odd recital, and outside summer there is little to attend.

For treatments, Piran wins easily. Neighbouring Portoroz grew up as a spa resort with seawater pools and brine baths, you can lie in salt mud at the outdoor thalasso spa among the Secovlje lagoons, and Strunjan has a seawater health resort.

Como has no bathing tradition, so wellness means spas in the grand villa hotels. What relaxes you there is the setting: still water, gardens running down to the shore and slow ferry rides, best enjoyed outside the busy midsummer weeks.