Cortina d'Ampezzo or Salerno?

Cortina has no beach to speak of. The small lakes at Ghedina and Pianozes are fed by snowmelt, so a swim usually means a hotel pool, and the Adriatic is over two hours away.

Salerno is on the sea itself, with grey-sand city beaches a short walk east of the centre. A day trip south brings wide sandy shores among pine woods, and the ferries go west to the clear, pebbly coves of the Amalfi Coast.

Cortina eats well for a small mountain town. The best of it is Ampezzan cooking like poppy-seed casunziei and polenta with game, ideally on a rifugio terrace among the peaks. Choice in the valley is narrow, though, and almost nothing is cheap.

Salerno gives you more and better everyday eating. There is wood-fired pizza, fried seafood, buffalo mozzarella made that morning on the Paestum plain and colatura from Cetara next door. Its old-town trattorias, friggitorie and pastry shops feed you well at any hour and for far less.

Cortina's sights fill an afternoon: the basilica and its bell tower, the 1956 Olympic ice stadium and the Rimoldi collection of modern Italian art. Its most moving heritage is the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, but reaching them takes a mountain outing.

Salerno has more to see within the city. There is the Norman cathedral with Saint Matthew's crypt, the Giardino della Minerva, which is tied to Europe's first medical school, and the Arechi Castle above the gulf. A day or two covers it, but there is real history in those stepped lanes.

Neither town is built for clubbing, but Salerno has the livelier evenings. On weekends and all summer long, young locals spill out of the wine bars and pubs into the lanes around Largo Campo until late, and Naples is close for anything bigger.

Cortina's evenings are après-ski drinks, a stroll along the Corso Italia and a long dinner. Only in the peak winter weeks do a few smart bars stay open late. In summer the town is quiet early.

Cortina sits in one of the world's great mountain landscapes. A ring of Dolomite peaks surrounds the valley, the Tre Cime and Lago di Misurina are close by, and lifts run straight from town. The skiing, climbing and hut-to-hut walking are of a different order from anything near Salerno.

Salerno's natural setting is still very fine. You have the Amalfi cliffs and lemon terraces, the Path of the Gods, and the gorges and headlands of the Cilento, plus kayaking and sailing that the Alps can't offer. Spring and autumn are the times to hike there.

Day trips are where Salerno pulls well ahead. Paestum's Greek temples and Pompeii are each about half an hour away by train, and Amalfi is a short ferry crossing. Naples, Herculaneum, Caserta and Ravello are all easy days out, so a week can be packed with first-rate sites.

From Cortina, most outings head deeper into the mountains. The towns within reach, such as San Candido, Brunico and Bolzano with its Iceman, are pleasant rather than essential, and Venice is a long day there and back.

The two are about even for families, and the difference is the kind of trip. Cortina suits children who ski or hike. It has ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, public skating and gentle trails to huts with meadows, but rainy days drag and costs climb fast.

Salerno is a sea-and-gelato vacation. The car-free promenade has playgrounds along it, and the sandy beaches to the south are shallow, but the old town's steps and the winding Amalfi roads are harder work with small children.

Both centres are easy to walk, but Salerno is far better connected. Direct trains run to Naples, Pompeii and Paestum, ferries serve the Amalfi Coast in summer, and most visitors never need a car.

Cortina has had no railway since 1964, so arriving means a coach from Venice or a long drive. Buses to the passes are infrequent, which is why many visitors end up hiring a car.

Shopping is about even, but the two towns sell different things. Cortina's Corso Italia is a short luxury strip of jewellers, furriers and upmarket ski wear, anchored by the old Cooperativa store.

Salerno's long Corso Vittorio Emanuele is mostly Italian chains with very little luxury. Its best buys are local: Vietri majolica, limoncello and Cetara's anchovy sauce.

This is one of the sharpest differences between the two. Cortina charges luxury-resort prices for hotels and meals in peak winter and August, and lift passes and equipment hire add more. Only the rifugi and the shoulder seasons ease the bill.

Salerno is a working port city where pizzerias and trains charge what locals pay. It is a cheap base for the costly coast nearby. Summer ferries, lido sunbeds and entry to the big archaeological sites are the main costs to plan for.

Salerno has a proper stage in the gilded Teatro Verdi, modelled on the San Carlo in Naples, with a season of opera, ballet and concerts. In summer you can also reach the Ravello Festival's cliff-top concerts.

Cortina has no theatre season at all. Apart from summer chamber music in churches and the odd concert at New Year, there is little to go to.

Cortina is the better choice for a restful stay. Many of its hotels have Alpine spas with saunas, hay baths and indoor pools, and in June or September the clear air and quiet hut terraces are restful too, though the peak weeks are crowded.

Salerno's spas are also in its hotels, and the nearest thermal pools are at Contursi Terme, about an hour inland. Its calm comes from sunset walks along the palm-lined seafront, against the traffic and noise of a port city.