Cortina d'Ampezzo or Portofino?

There is no contest here. Cortina sits high in the Dolomites, so swimming means a cold dip in a snowmelt lake such as Ghedina or a hotel pool, and the Adriatic is more than two hours away.

Portofino has no sandy beach of its own either, but the sea is right there. Ladders and rock platforms line the path to the lighthouse, Paraggi's small bay is a short walk away and San Fruttuoso's pebble beach is a boat ride off. The spots are small and crowded, and much of Paraggi is loungers in clubs you pay to use, so don't expect long open sand.

Cortina eats better of the two, mostly thanks to its mountain huts. Ampezzan dishes such as casunziei with poppy seeds, or polenta with game, taste best on a rifugio terrace. The valley adds a few ambitious kitchens and wine lists drawn from the Veneto and South Tyrol.

Portofino serves sound Ligurian staples, from trofie with pesto to Recco's cheese focaccia, but by the harbour you pay mainly for the view of the yachts. Keen eaters head to Camogli or the trattorie in the hills. Neither place has street food or much that is cheap.

Neither is a place for sightseeing, and both are about setting more than monuments. Cortina's centre has its basilica, the 1956 Olympic ice stadium and the Rimoldi art collection for a rainy afternoon. Its most striking heritage, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, takes a day in the mountains.

In Portofino the sight is the village itself, with San Giorgio, Castello Brown and the walk to the lighthouse. Beyond the point is the medieval abbey at San Fruttuoso, which no road reaches. A day covers it all.

Cortina has a little more life after dark, at least in the peak winter weeks. Then après-ski drinks, the passeggiata on the Corso Italia and a few late bars and clubs keep a smart crowd out. An evening in Portofino is an aperitivo and dinner facing the yachts. There are no clubs, so a real night out means a trip to Santa Margherita, Rapallo or Genoa. Out of season both go quiet early.

Both are superb, but Cortina is on another level. The Dolomites ring the valley, lifts climb from town towards the Tofane and Cristallo, and the Tre Cime and Lago di Misurina are close by. Winter brings the vast Dolomiti Superski area. Summer brings the Alta Via 1, via ferrata, climbing and paragliding.

Portofino's protected headland has cliff-top trails to San Fruttuoso and Punta Chiappa, some of them with chains. Its marine reserve adds something Cortina cannot: diving among red coral and down to the Christ of the Abyss statue.

Portofino makes the better base for days out. Camogli, Rapallo and Santa Margherita are a bus or boat ride away. Genoa's medieval centre and the palaces of the Strade Nuove are less than an hour off, and in summer ferries reach the Cinque Terre and Portovenere.

From Cortina most outings go up into the mountains rather than out to other towns. The best towns lie in South Tyrol: San Candido, Brunico and Bolzano, whose archaeology museum holds the Iceman. Venice is possible, but it is a long coach day.

Cortina is easier with children, as long as they will ski or walk. They get ski schools for all ages, beginner slopes at Socrepes, skating in the ice stadium and gentle trails to huts with meadows to run around in. Wet days drag, though, and nothing is built for children beyond the outdoors.

Portofino is calm and safe but made for adults. Its steep steps defeat a pushchair, and most of the sand at Paraggi belongs to beach clubs you pay to use. Families tend to stay in Santa Margherita or Rapallo and go to Genoa for its aquarium.

Both have tiny centres you can cross on foot and are awkward to reach, but in different ways. Cortina has had no railway since 1964, so you arrive by coach from Venice or after a long drive. Local buses to the passes are limited, which is why many visitors hire a car.

In Portofino a car is a burden, with one narrow road from Santa Margherita and very little parking. Instead, a bus connects with trains at Santa Margherita, and from spring to autumn ferries make it easy to move along the coast.

Cortina gives you more to browse, though it is still one street. The Corso Italia has luxury fashion, jewellers and high-end mountain wear. The Cooperativa, a store on several floors founded in 1893, sells everything from local food to outdoor gear, and other shops sell local wood carving and filigree.

Portofino fits designer boutiques, linen and resort wear into a few lanes you can see in under an hour. For a longer browse, people go to the arcaded streets of Chiavari or to Genoa.

These are two of the most expensive places to stay in Italy, and neither is a bargain. Cortina's extra costs are lift passes and equipment hire. Meals at the rifugi are fairly priced, and rates ease in early summer and late September. Portofino charges for the view, the loungers and the parking, and only walking and the buses are cheap. The same answer works in both places: sleep in a cheaper valley near Cortina, or in Santa Margherita, Rapallo or Camogli, and come in for the day.

Neither town has a theatre season or a regular venue. Cortina has slightly more to go to, with summer chamber and classical music festivals in churches, halls and sometimes out in the mountains, plus the odd concert at New Year. Portofino has occasional summer events in the piazzetta or at the castle. For opera, concerts and theatre, you spend an evening at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

Cortina's way to unwind is the Alpine hotel spa: a sauna, a steam room, a hay bath and a massage after a day on the slopes, followed by a slow afternoon on a hut terrace in the clear mountain air. Portofino's calm comes less from treatment rooms than from the setting, with long lunches facing the water and shaded coastal paths where you hear only birds and the sea.

Hotel spas are all either place has, as there are no thermal springs or public baths in either. Both also lose their peace in the busiest weeks, Cortina to the traffic and crowds of peak season and Portofino to the tour boats that fill the harbour in the middle of the day.