Como or Rovinj?

Rovinj is a real swimming destination and Como is not. Below Rovinj's walls and along the Golden Cape, flat limestone ledges and small pebble coves lead into very clear Adriatic water. Taxi boats run to St Catherine and Red Island for quieter spots, and on summer evenings people swim off the rocks at sunset.

Como's swimming happens at lidos with lawns and pontoons, such as the one by Villa Olmo, or from small jetties further up the lake. The water is cooler, and at the city end it is less clean. Neither place has much sand, so in both you are swimming from stone, and in Rovinj you need water shoes because of sea urchins.

The two eat about as well as each other, but they draw on different kitchens. Como cooks Lombard lake and mountain food: risotto with perch, sun-dried missoltini, and polenta with game or valley cheeses, with aperitivo plates on the squares near the cathedral. Rovinj looks to the sea and to Istria, with scampi buzara, truffle pasta, peppery olive oil and Malvazija and Teran wines.

They also share the same weakness. Waterfront terraces in both charge for the view, and the best meals are often a short trip out of town, in Como's hill villages or in the countryside konobas of Istria.

Como has more to see and more of it is of real quality. There is the marble cathedral with its Baroque dome, the Romanesque churches of San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, Terragni's Casa del Fascio, the Volta museum and the silk museum, which add up to a full day.

In Rovinj, the town itself is the attraction: pastel Venetian houses climbing to St Euphemia, a bell tower you can climb, and the Balbi Arch. After the small town museum and the Batana House, the list is done in a slow afternoon.

Both places are quiet after dinner, and the difference lies in the setting. In Como the evening is an aperitivo on the old town squares and a few wine and cocktail bars around Piazza Duomo. Rovinj's best moment is a drink on the rocks as the sun goes down, and in high season a couple of venues stay open late for dancing, though the town is mostly quiet by midnight and nearly shuts outside summer. Como has one advantage for a big night: Milan is a short train ride away.

Como's landscape is the more dramatic of the two. Steep wooded mountains drop straight into a narrow glacial lake, and from the funicular to Brunate you can follow ridge paths to the Volta lighthouse. The Via dei Monti Lariani and Monte Bisbino have views towards the Alps, and road cyclists climb to the Madonna del Ghisallo.

Rovinj's outdoors is flatter and stays close to the sea. There are gravel paths through the Golden Cape pines, sea kayaking and diving around the archipelago's reefs and wrecks, and the Lim Fjord a short drive north. There are no mountains, but underwater it offers what the lake cannot.

Como is one of the best bases anywhere for day trips, and most of them need no car. Ferries reach Bellagio, Varenna, Villa Carlotta and Balbianello, and by train Milan takes about forty minutes and Lugano about half an hour, with Bergamo and Lake Maggiore also within easy reach.

Rovinj has a good list too: Pula's Roman amphitheatre, the mosaics of the Euphrasian Basilica in Porec, the hill towns of Motovun and Groznjan, and the Brijuni islands. Without a railway, though, most of these mean driving.

Both are calm, safe and quite limited for children, in different ways. Como's appeal is the rides: the funicular, the ferries, a lido paddle and a flat promenade that is easy with a pushchair. The villas and churches, though, are aimed at adults.

Rovinj has seaside resort comforts, with large campsites and hotels that have pools and playgrounds, shaded park paths and island boat trips. Its rocky shore needs watching with small children, however, and the steep old town cobbles are hard work with a pushchair.

For travel beyond town without a car, Como is the easier base. Trains from its two stations reach Milan, and the Swiss line continues north to Lugano. In town the flat old centre and lakefront need nothing but your feet, and the funicular handles the hill to Brunate.

Things slow down on the lake: a ferry to the upper villages is a long, scenic ride rather than a quick hop, and in summer driving the shore is rarely any faster.\n\nRovinj is even simpler as long as you stay in town, since cars are kept out of the old town and you can walk along the shore into the Golden Cape, with bikes and taxi boats for the coast and the islands. Once you look further afield, though, the only public transport is the bus to the larger towns such as Pula and Porec. Motovun, the wineries and much of the coast are really for drivers, and the steep, polished lanes call for good shoes.

Como has something particular to buy: silk, which it has made for centuries. Scarves and ties come from old town specialists and from mill outlets, there is a short run of boutiques on Via Vittorio Emanuele II, and Milan's fashion streets are close by.

Rovinj's shopping is for the larder and the wall: truffle products, olive oil, Istrian wine and brandy, and the artists' studios along Grisia. It is pleasant but small, and thin outside summer.

Neither is a budget choice, but Rovinj gives you slightly more ways to save. Private apartments and the big campsites around town undercut the hotels, and bakeries and the market keep lunch simple, although fish sold by weight soon adds up.

Como attracts a luxury lake crowd, and summer villa rentals and lakeside hotels are steep. Rooms back from the water and old town trattorias are fairer, and trains and ferries are cheap. In both places the shoulder months cost noticeably less than July and August.

Como has a real stage and Rovinj essentially does not. The Teatro Sociale presents opera, ballet, concerts and theatre, and in summer it moves into the open-air Arena next door. Chamber music in Romanesque churches and lakeside villas, with La Scala a train ride away, rounds it out.

Rovinj's programme is a summer one: occasional concerts in St Euphemia, music on the harbour and, now and then, bitinada singing. For anything bigger you go to concerts in Pula's Roman arena.

Neither town has thermal springs, so in both spa time means the wellness areas of the larger hotels. What differs is how you unwind. In Como it is still water, gardens running down to the shore and slow ferry rides to villages that go quiet early. In Rovinj it is long lunches, late swims off the rocks and evening walks under the pines. Both are crowded in midsummer, so for a restful stay go in spring or autumn.