Cortina d'Ampezzo or Rovinj?

On this the two could hardly be further apart. Cortina sits in a high valley more than two hours from the coast. Its small alpine lakes, such as Ghedina, stay cold all summer, so swimming mostly means a hotel pool.

Rovinj lives by the water from June to September. The Golden Cape shore has kilometres of limestone ledges, pebble coves and bathing platforms. Taxi boats run to quieter coves on St Catherine and Red Island, and you can swim right below the old town walls. The catch is that it is all rock, so bring water shoes and don't expect sand.

Both eat well for small places, and the difference is mountain against sea. Cortina's Ampezzan cooking means casunziei with poppy seeds, polenta with game, and barley soup, and the best meals are often on a rifugio terrace among the peaks.

Rovinj relies on grilled fish, scampi buzara and Istrian truffle pasta, with Malvazija and Teran wine, and the country konobas are worth the drive. Neither town has much street food or cheap everyday eating.

Rovinj has more to see, because the town itself is the sight. Its old town fills a former island of Venetian houses climbing to St Euphemia, whose bell tower gives a view over the roofs and islands. The Batana House tells the story of the local fishing boats.

Cortina's centre is pleasant, with its basilica, painted houses and the 1956 Olympic ice stadium, and the three small Regole museums fill a rainy afternoon. Its most striking history is the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, but reaching them takes a day in the mountains.

Neither is a place for a big night out, but the evenings feel different. Cortina's revolve around après-ski drinks, the passeggiata on the Corso Italia and a smart crowd out late in the peak winter weeks. Rovinj's belong to summer: a drink on the rocks at sunset, waterfront cocktail bars and a couple of places to dance in high season, with both towns quiet early out of season.

Cortina is in another league here. The Dolomites ring the Ampezzo valley, lifts climb from town onto the Tofane and Cristallo, and the Tre Cime and Lago di Misurina are under an hour away. Winter brings the Dolomiti Superski area, and summer the Alta Via 1, via ferrata, climbing and mountain biking.

Rovinj's outdoors is gentler. There are flat paths through the pines of the Golden Cape, sea kayaking and diving around the archipelago, and boat trips into the Lim Fjord. It is pleasant in spring and autumn but has no real high ground.

Rovinj has the richer surroundings. Pula's Roman amphitheatre and the UNESCO-listed mosaics of the Euphrasian Basilica in Porec are each about forty minutes away. The hill towns of Motovun and Groznjan sit among the vineyards inland, and Trieste and Piran are also within reach.

Most outings from Cortina head into the mountains rather than to towns. South Tyrol's San Candido and Brunico are close, Bolzano and its Iceman are about two hours away, and Venice makes a long day by coach. These are charming places, but they lack the run of Roman, early Christian and medieval sites around Rovinj.

Cortina keeps children busy on snow and trails. There are ski schools for all ages, beginner slopes at Socrepes and above the town, and public skating at the Olympic ice stadium. In summer there are easy lake walks and a forest rope park. Rainy days drag, though, and costs climb fast.

In Rovinj, the days revolve around taxi boats to the islands, gelato on the harbour and the pools and playgrounds of the big resort campsites. The flat paths of the Golden Cape suit pushchairs. The rocky shore and the steep, polished cobbles of the old town need care with small children. Neither town has much made just for children, though Rovinj has large waterparks a short drive up the coast.

Rovinj is a little easier to manage. Its old town is closed to cars, a waterfront promenade leads into the Golden Cape and taxi boats run to the islands, so a stay in town needs no transport. Buses link it to Pula, Porec and Zagreb.

Cortina's centre is also small and walkable, and in winter ski buses and lifts serve the slopes. Getting there means a coach from Venice or a long drive, because there has been no railway since 1964, and buses up to the passes are limited. In both places, the wider region is really car country.

Cortina has more to buy, even if it is all on one street. The Corso Italia is lined with luxury fashion, jewellers and upmarket mountain wear. The Cooperativa di Cortina, founded in 1893, sells everything from local food to outdoor gear.

Rovinj's shopping is about taking the region home: truffle products, olive oil, Malvazija and lavender, plus the galleries and studios along Grisia. There is no fashion shopping to speak of.

Neither is cheap, but Cortina is in a different bracket. It is one of Italy's most expensive places to stay, with luxury-resort rates in winter and August and lift passes and equipment hire on top. Rifugio meals and the quieter months help, but many budget travellers stay in cheaper valleys nearby.

Rovinj charges sought-after resort prices in July and August, and fish sold by weight adds up. Even so, private apartments, campsites, bakeries and markets leave real room to save, especially in late spring and September.

Neither town has a theatre or a regular concert life, so performance is a seasonal extra. Cortina's comes from summer chamber and classical festivals, sometimes held out in the mountains. Rovinj has concerts in St Euphemia, open-air music by the harbour and now and then the bitinada, its unaccompanied local singing, with Pula's Roman arena close by for big summer concerts.

Cortina's way of unwinding is Alpine. Hotel spas offer saunas, steam rooms, hay baths and indoor pools after a day on the slopes. In June and September you can add clear air and a long afternoon on a hut terrace.

Rovinj winds down by the water, with late swims off the rocks, long lunches and evening walks under the Golden Cape pines. Some resort spas there also let in outside guests. Neither town has thermal springs, and both lose their calm in the peak weeks: Cortina to traffic, and Rovinj to crowded old town lanes.