Como or Portofino?

Portofino is the better place to swim, though neither is a beach resort. The water off the rock platforms along the lighthouse path is clear and deep, the sea is warmer in late summer than the lake, and the season runs into early October. Paraggi has a small sandy bay, mostly taken by beach clubs, and San Fruttuoso has a pebble cove you reach by boat or on foot.

In Como you swim in the lake. That means lido lawns and pontoons like the one by Villa Olmo, or jetties further up the lake at Moltrasio and the Tremezzina. The water is cooler, the season is shorter, and the city end is the least inviting stretch of the lake.

Como gives you a little more choice at the table. Its Lombard cooking, with risotto with perch, missoltini and polenta from the valleys, comes from a town with real trattorias and wine bars. The aperitivo on the squares around the cathedral is part of daily life rather than a show.

Portofino has the Ligurian classics: trofie with pesto, pansoti in walnut sauce and Recco's cheese focaccia. But it has only a small ring of harbour terraces, where you pay as much for the yachts as for the cooking. To eat well you usually have to leave the village for Camogli, Santa Margherita or the hills.

Como gives a sightseer far more. The marble cathedral, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, Terragni's Casa del Fascio, the Tempio Voltiano and the silk museum add up to a full day of real quality.

In Portofino the main sight is the village itself: the painted houses around the harbour, with San Giorgio and Castello Brown above them and the abbey of San Fruttuoso around the point. It is a place for setting and atmosphere, with no museum of any size, so a culture-minded visitor runs out of sights much sooner.

Neither place is for a late night, but Como has a little more going on: a few wine and cocktail bars around Piazza Duomo and San Fedele, summer strolls by the lake, and the train to Milan for anything bigger. In Portofino the evening is a dressed-up aperitivo at the harbour bars facing the yachts, then quiet, and outside July and August the village goes to bed early.

Both are superb for the outdoors. The difference is lake and mountains against sea and headland. From Como the funicular lifts you to Brunate for the ridge walk to the Volta lighthouse, the Via dei Monti Lariani runs above the western shore, and road cyclists climb to the Madonna del Ghisallo.

Portofino's headland is a regional park, with trails through holm oak and pine to San Fruttuoso and Punta Chiappa, and some exposed sections have chains. What sets it apart is underwater: the marine reserve has red coral walls and the Christ of the Abyss statue for divers, which the lake cannot match.

Como is one of the best bases in northern Italy for excursions. Ferries and hydrofoils reach Bellagio, Varenna and the Tremezzo villas, Milan is under an hour by train, and Lugano, Bergamo's upper town and the Borromean Islands are each easy in a day.

Portofino's list is shorter but lovely. Camogli, Santa Margherita and Rapallo are close by bus or boat, Genoa is within an hour, and summer ferries go to the Cinque Terre and Portovenere. Once the ferries stop for the year, outings take more planning, while Como's rail links work all year.

Neither is built around children, but Como works better. The funicular, ferry rides and summer lidos are easy wins, and the flat promenade and Villa Olmo gardens suit a pushchair.

Portofino is mostly steep steps and paid beach clubs, with no playgrounds. Families usually stay in Santa Margherita or Rapallo, where there are more beaches, and go to Genoa for its aquarium.

Como is the easier place to reach and move around. The old town is flat, two stations have trains to Milan, and the Swiss line runs to Lugano. The lake ferries are slow, though, and the shore roads clog in summer.

Portofino takes a few minutes to cross on foot, but it is steep, and it depends on a single narrow road from Santa Margherita, about 5km away, with almost no parking. The bus to the station and the seasonal ferries are the way in, and both get crowded in summer.

Como has a real local speciality: silk, as scarves, ties and fabric, from old-town specialists and the mill outlets at the edge of the city. There is also a short run of boutiques on Via Vittorio Emanuele II and a weekend market by the walls.

Portofino's few lanes hold big-name fashion and jewellery boutiques and resort wear for people off the yachts, plus some lace and pesto, and you can see it all in under an hour. For proper browsing, from Como you go to Milan, and from Portofino to Chiavari, Rapallo or Genoa.

Both are expensive, but Portofino is in another bracket. Its few hotels are luxury properties that cost as much as the grandest addresses in Europe's major cities, and loungers, boat hire and parking all add up. Many visitors sleep in Santa Margherita, Rapallo or Camogli instead.

Como is costly on the lakefront in summer. Still, rooms in town or away from the water, old-town trattorias and cheap trains and ferries make a moderate budget workable, especially in spring and autumn.

Como has a proper stage. The Teatro Sociale is a neoclassical opera house with tiers of boxes, putting on opera, ballet and concerts, and in summer there is the open-air Arena and chamber music in churches and villas. It is a modest programme, but La Scala is an easy train ride away.

Portofino has no theatre or regular venue, only occasional summer concerts in the piazzetta or at the castle. An evening of opera or theatre means going to Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice.

Neither has thermal baths, and in both a spa means a luxury hotel, so the rest comes from the setting. Como offers still water, villa gardens and slow ferry rides between quiet villages. Portofino offers long lunches looking at the sea and shaded coastal paths where you hear birdsong and the sea.

Both lose their calm at the busiest times: the Como lakefront in midsummer, and Portofino's harbour when the tour boats arrive in the middle of the day. In either place, spring and autumn, or the early mornings and evenings, suit a restful stay.