Cortina d'Ampezzo or San Marino?

Neither town sits on the water, but San Marino has the sea close at hand. Rimini and Riccione are about half an hour down the mountain, with long sandy beaches, rows of umbrellas and warm, shallow water in high summer that makes an easy day out.

Cortina has nothing comparable. The Adriatic is more than two hours' drive away, and lakes such as Ghedina and Pianozes are for walking round rather than swimming in, so most swimming happens in a hotel pool.

Cortina eats better, largely because its kitchens cater to wealthy visitors. Ampezzan dishes such as beetroot casunziei and polenta with game are at their best on rifugio terraces among the peaks, and there are a few ambitious dining rooms in the valley.

San Marino's Romagna cooking of piadina, passatelli and strozzapreti is honest, but the summit terraces trade on the view, so the good meals are down in Borgo Maggiore or across the border. Both are narrow in range, and Cortina is the pricier of the two.

San Marino is the place itself as a sight: a walled town on the crest of Monte Titano, its three towers on the cliff, and the Palazzo Pubblico telling the story of one of the oldest surviving republics. Half a day covers it, but it feels complete.

Cortina's centre is pleasant, with its bell tower and painted houses, and the Rimoldi art collection fills a wet afternoon. Its most powerful history, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, sits up in the mountains rather than in town.

Cortina has the livelier evenings of the two, though only by resort standards. Après-ski starts as the lifts close, the Corso Italia fills for the passeggiata, and in the peak winter weeks a few smart bars and a club stay open late. In summer the town is quiet by late evening.

San Marino's summit empties once the coaches leave, and what's left is dinner and a drink on a terrace above the lights of the coast. Anyone who wants to dance drives down to the Riviera clubs of Rimini and Riccione.

This is where the two cities differ most. Cortina sits inside one of the great mountain landscapes, with the Tofane, Cristallo and Cinque Torri around the valley, the Tre Cime and Lago di Misurina under an hour away, and skiing, climbing, via ferrata and long-distance trekking straight from town.

San Marino offers gentler pleasures. Paths link the towers and circle the limestone ridge, there are wide views to the Adriatic, and the Marecchia valley and Montefeltro hills suit a drive or a quiet bike ride. It makes a lovely morning, but there are no high peaks or adventure sports.

San Marino makes the better base for excursions. Rimini's Roman arch is below, the fortress at San Leo is half an hour away, and Renaissance Urbino and the Byzantine mosaics of Ravenna are each about an hour's drive, with Gradara and Bologna also in range. A car or the train from Rimini is needed for most of them.

From Cortina, most outings go up into the mountains rather than to towns. South Tyrol's San Candido, Brunico and Bolzano with its Iceman are the highlights, while Venice is a long day on the coach.

Both suit families, in different ways. Cortina is for children who ski or hike, with ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, public skating and gentle trails to huts. Rainy days are hard there, and nothing is built purely for children.

San Marino has towers, battlements and the cable car to thrill children on the mountain, then Fiabilandia, Italia in Miniatura, waterparks and shallow beaches on the coast below, though the steep steps make pushchairs hard work.

Both have small centres you can walk, though Cortina's is flat and San Marino's climbs and drops by steps, with a cable car to Borgo Maggiore. Reaching them differs: Cortina has had no railway since 1964 and relies on coaches from Venice, while San Marino's bus from Rimini connects with Italian trains in under an hour. Beyond town, both really call for a car.

Cortina offers more polished shopping, all on the Corso Italia, with luxury fashion, furriers, upmarket mountain wear and the old Cooperativa di Cortina, founded in 1893, stocking everything from local food to outdoor gear.

San Marino's streets lean to souvenirs, collectors' stamps and coins, and tax-advantaged perfume, watches and spirits, plus an outlet centre in the valley. It suits bargain hunting more than browsing.

The gap here is wide. Cortina is among the most expensive places to stay in Italy, with resort prices for hotels and restaurants in the winter peak and in August, and lift passes and hire added on. Rifugio meals and the shoulder months soften it only a little.

San Marino costs about what provincial central Italy does. The summit carries a premium, but hotels a few kilometres away are moderate, the sights are cheap and lower taxes trim the price of fuel and spirits.

Neither offers a theatre or concert season, so evenings out for the arts are rare in both. Cortina's moments come from summer chamber and classical festivals, sometimes played in mountain settings. San Marino's comes from the costumed musicians, crossbow contests and flag-throwers of its summer Medieval Days, with Bologna and Pesaro for anything more formal.

Cortina is the more restorative stay. Many of its hotels have Alpine-style spas with saunas, hay baths and indoor pools, and an afternoon on a hut terrace in June or September is restful in itself, though the peak weeks bring traffic.

San Marino has only a few hotel spas. Its calm comes in the evening, walking the walls after the day crowds leave, and the thermal spas lie elsewhere, down on the coast or in the Apennine valleys.