Como or San Marino?

San Marino has the better beach, but you have to go down to it. The sandy Romagna shore at Rimini and Riccione is about half an hour away, with warm, shallow water and rows of umbrellas from July to early September.

Como's swimming is on the doorstep but on a smaller scale: lidos with lawns and pontoons, such as the one by Villa Olmo, and pebble jetties up the lake at Moltrasio or the Tremezzina. The water is cooler and the season shorter. Como is for a swim between other things, and San Marino's coast is for a proper day on the sand.

Como eats better, and lake fish is at the heart of it: perch risotto, missoltini and polenta from the valleys, with an evening aperitivo on the squares around the cathedral. San Marino serves honest Romagna cooking such as piadina, passatelli and strozzapreti, but the summit is geared to day-trippers.

In both places the view terraces charge for the setting, and the better meals are found away from them. For Como that means up the lake or in the hills. For San Marino it means Borgo Maggiore or across the border.

Como has more to see and more variety. It has a marble cathedral, Romanesque San Fedele and Sant'Abbondio, Terragni's Casa del Fascio for anyone interested in modern architecture, and the Volta and silk museums. Together they make a full day.

In San Marino the sight is the setting: three towers on a limestone crest and the Palazzo Pubblico of one of the world's oldest republics. It makes a striking single picture rather than a range of collections, and half a day covers it.

Neither is a place for a big night, but Como has a little more going on. A few wine and cocktail bars around Piazza Duomo stay open after dinner, and the lakefront fills with people strolling on summer evenings. Milan is a train ride away.

The summit of San Marino goes quiet once the coaches leave. Its night out is the Riviera clubs of Rimini and Riccione, and you have to drive down to reach them.

This is the widest gap between the two. Como sits in a glacial lake under steep wooded mountains. The funicular to Brunate leads onto ridge trails, the Via dei Monti Lariani crosses the slopes and Monte Bisbino looks towards the Alps. The water adds kayaking and sailing, and road cyclists climb to Ghisallo.

Monte Titano's cliffs and views over the plain to the Adriatic are lovely. Its paths between the towers, and the quiet roads of the Marecchia valley, fill a morning rather than a week.

Both are strong bases, but Como's day trips are easier to reach. Ferries go to Bellagio, Varenna, Villa Carlotta and Balbianello, trains reach Milan's Last Supper and Lugano's lakefront, and Bergamo is also within reach, all without a car.

San Marino's list is impressive in its own way: the fortress of San Leo, Renaissance Urbino, Ravenna's mosaics and the castle at Gradara. Most of these need your own wheels, though, as the only regular bus goes down to Rimini.

The two are about equal for families, but in different ways. Como is gentle and easy with a pushchair, with boat rides, the funicular, a summer lido and a flat promenade, which suits a slow stay.

San Marino excites children more, with battlements, cliff edges and the cable car, although the steps make pushchairs hard work. Down on the coast there is much more aimed at children, including Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia and the waterparks, as long as you have a car.

Como is easier to get around. Its old town and lakefront are flat and walkable, two stations connect it to Milan and a line runs north into Switzerland. Ferries are slow going up the lake, and the shore roads clog in summer.

San Marino's centre is small but almost every street climbs, often by steps, and the cable car to Borgo Maggiore helps. The one public link to the outside world is the bus from Rimini, so beyond the summit you will need a car.

Como has something real to buy, which is silk. Scarves, ties and fabric come from old-town specialists and from outlets on the edge of the city that supply the fashion houses, and Via Vittorio Emanuele II adds Italian boutiques.

San Marino's shops lean towards souvenirs, stamps and coins for collectors, and lower-tax perfume, watches and spirits, with an outlet centre down in the valley. Serious shoppers leave both, heading for Milan from Como and Bologna from San Marino.

San Marino is noticeably easier on the wallet. Its hotels follow provincial central Italian prices, the sights cost little and lower taxes make fuel cheaper, although rooms on the summit and the view terraces cost more.

Como draws an international luxury crowd, and lakeside hotels and villa rentals in summer are expensive. Staying back from the water, eating in the trattorias in the hills, using the cheap trains and ferries and travelling in spring or autumn all help.

Como has a proper stage. The Teatro Sociale is a neoclassical opera house with tiers of boxes and a season of opera, ballet and concerts, and it moves outdoors to its Arena in summer. Chamber music in lakeside villas adds to the programme, and La Scala is a train ride away.

San Marino has a small theatre and occasional local concerts. Its highlight is the summer Medieval Days festival, with crossbow contests and flag-throwers, which is more pageant than performance.

Como is the more restful of the two. Neither has a bathing tradition, but Como has spas in its grand villa hotels, still water, gardens running down to the shore and slow ferry rides, all of which make for an easy pace.

San Marino offers a different kind of quiet: evening walks along the walls once the day visitors have gone, with the plain spread out below. Its daytime crowds and few hotel spas give it less to work with, and the thermal baths are a separate outing.