Como or Positano?

Positano is the beach town of the two. Spiaggia Grande and Fornillo give you proper beach days, and Arienzo, Laurito and the coves along the cliffs add variety, all on clear sea that stays warm into early October. The shore is coarse and steep, so water shoes are worth packing.

In Como a swim is a summer extra. You can use the lawns and pontoons of the lido by Villa Olmo, or take a ferry to the small pebble strands at Moltrasio and the Tremezzina. The lake is a couple of degrees cooler than the sea at its warmest, and its season ends sooner.

The two are about equally limited, but they taste of different places. Como cooks from lake and mountain: perch risotto, missoltini and polenta with game. The aperitivo on the squares by the cathedral is a reliable ritual, and the best cooking is in family-run places in the hills.

Positano is all sea and lemons, with clams, scialatielli with seafood, grilled fish and limoncello on a terrace above the water. The setting is better, but the menus repeat each other and many kitchens close over the winter.

Como has far more to see. Inside the walls are the marble cathedral, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, and Terragni's Casa del Fascio, which architects travel to see. Along the shore are Villa Olmo, the Tempio Voltiano and the silk museum.

Positano's main sight is the town itself: houses stacked up a ravine under the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta, with the painted Roman villa beneath the church. That fills a morning. For more, you take a boat to Amalfi or make the longer trip to Naples.

Neither town is for a big night out, and in both the evening is mostly aperitivo and a long dinner. The difference is in kind. Como has a handful of wine and cocktail bars around Piazza Duomo, with Milan a train ride away for anyone who wants more. Positano has a few beach bars and one late, dressed-up club in a cave on Spiaggia Grande, and all of it fades when the season ends.

Both are superb for walkers, with mountains rising straight from the water, but the landscapes differ. Como's feel green and close to the Alps. You can take the funicular to Brunate and walk the ridge to the Volta lighthouse, follow the Via dei Monti Lariani, look towards the Alps from Monte Bisbino, or cycle up to Madonna del Ghisallo.

Positano's mountains are sheer and Mediterranean. The Path of the Gods runs high above the lemon terraces with views to Capri, and wooded trails climb to ridges above 1,000m. On the water, Como is for sailing and paddling on a calm lake, while Positano is for kayaking to sea grottoes and the Li Galli islets.

Both are exceptional bases, and the difference is in how you travel. From Como, trains make Milan, Lugano and Bergamo easy, and ferries run up the lake to Bellagio, Varenna and the gardens of Villa Carlotta and Balbianello.

From Positano, boats go to Amalfi, Ravello and Capri, and Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum are further afield. Most of the ferries stop over the winter, though, and the coast road is slow in summer, so it takes more planning.

Como is the easier family base. The promenade and Villa Olmo's gardens are good with a pushchair, and the funicular, boat rides and summer lido are reliable treats, even though little is built for children.

In Positano almost every route is a staircase, pushchairs are useless and the beaches shelve quickly. Older children who love swimming and boats will be happy, but toddlers and their parents will struggle.

Como is much easier to get around. The old town and lakefront are flat and compact, two stations connect to Milan, the Swiss line runs to Lugano, and ferries reach every village, if slowly. Only the summer shore roads and parking in the centre test your patience.

Positano is small but steep, with hundreds of steps on most walks, one bus loop through the upper town, and coast buses that fill up and crawl in summer. Boats do most of the work, mainly in season, and a car is more trouble than help.

Each town sells one thing well, and they are different things. In Como it is silk: scarves, ties and fabric from specialist shops in the old town and from mill outlets on the edge of the city, plus a short run of boutiques and a weekend antiques market.

Positano sells its own resort look: white linen, bright prints, sandals made to fit while you wait, and ceramics and lemon goods. For wider fashion, Como has Milan close by, while Positano has nothing beyond its own lanes.

Neither is cheap, but Como is the gentler of the two. Rooms in town or away from the water and trattorias in the hills give fair value, and trains and ferries cost little.

Positano is one of the most expensive places to stay in Italy, and sea-view rooms, loungers, restaurant terraces and boat transfers all add up. Staying in Praiano or Sorrento is the usual way to cut costs. Both towns are kinder outside July and August.

Como has a real if modest stage. The Teatro Sociale puts on opera, ballet, concerts and theatre, uses an open-air arena beside it in summer, and there is chamber music in churches and lakeside villas. La Scala is a short train ride away.

Positano has little beyond occasional summer concerts in churches and squares. Its best evening of music means going along the coast to Ravello's summer festival, held on a terrace above the sea.

A still lake under wooded slopes or open sea below a cliff: that is the real choice here. Como's version is green and quiet, with gardens running down to the water, slow ferry rides between villages and evenings that end early. For treatments there are the spas of the grand villa hotels or a day spa in town, and the lakefront is at its most peaceful in spring and autumn, after the summer crowds have gone.\n\nPositano's rest is sun and salt water, with a long lunch on a terrace and a pool cut into the cliff at one of the upmarket hotels. Neither town has thermal baths. The stairs and the crowds of July and August soon wear the calm thin, so May, June and late September show its gentler side.