Cortina d'Ampezzo or Syracuse, Sicily?

These two are not comparable for swimming. Cortina sits in a high valley more than two hours from the Adriatic. Its lakes, Ghedina and Pianozes among them, are fed by snowmelt and stay cold, so swimming mostly means a hotel pool.

In summer, life in Syracuse revolves around the sea. People swim from the platforms under Ortigia's sea walls, families go to the lidos at Arenella and Fontane Bianche, and the Vendicari reserve, about forty minutes south, has sand with no development behind it.

Both cuisines are rooted in their regions, but Syracuse gives you more variety and more good meals. Cortina's Ampezzan cooking is mountain food: casunziei with poppy seeds, polenta with game and barley soup. Its best meals are on rifugio terraces, and the choice in the valley is narrow.

Syracuse starts with the Ortigia market, with its swordfish, sea urchins and capers and sandwiches made to order. From there come pasta with sardines, arancini, and granita with brioche for breakfast, with Nero d'Avola and sweet Moscato in the glass. Cortina has almost no street food to compare.

Syracuse is one of the great ancient sites of the Mediterranean, while Cortina is a resort with a pleasant centre. In Cortina, the basilica's bell tower, the painted houses, the 1956 Olympic ice stadium and the Rimoldi art collection fill a rainy afternoon. Its most moving heritage, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, takes a day in the mountains.

Syracuse needs two or three full days. There is the cathedral built around the columns of a Greek temple, the baroque lanes of Ortigia, and the Greek theatre and Ear of Dionysius at Neapolis. The Paolo Orsi museum and Caravaggio's Burial of Saint Lucy complete the list.

Neither is a place for big nights out, but Syracuse has more going on after dinner. In Cortina the evening means après-ski, a stroll along the Corso Italia and a long dinner. A few smart bars and a club stay open late only in the peak winter weeks.

On Ortigia, an aperitivo along the sea walls leads on to small wine and cocktail bars in the lanes, which stay busy past midnight on summer weekends. In July and August the beach clubs to the south add some dancing. For serious clubbing you have to go to Catania.

Cortina is well ahead here, mostly because of the sheer scale of the scenery. A ring of Dolomite peaks, including the Tofane, Cristallo and the Cinque Torri, starts at the edge of town. You can ski the Dolomiti Superski area in winter and climb some of the oldest via ferrata routes in the Alps in summer.

The countryside around Syracuse is gentler and more varied than you might expect. There are green pools at Cavagrande del Cassibile and easy trails in the Anapo valley below Pantalica. Flamingos stop in the Vendicari lagoons, and the Plemmirio marine reserve is good for snorkelling.

Syracuse is by far the better base for day trips. Noto is about forty minutes away, and Modica, Ragusa Ibla and Scicli make up the rest of the UNESCO-listed Val di Noto towns. To the north, Catania and Taormina are within easy reach, and Etna makes a day on the volcano.

From Cortina, most outings go into the mountains rather than to towns. South Tyrol has San Candido, Brunico, and Bolzano with its Iceman, and Venice is possible as a long day by coach. These are pleasant extras rather than reasons to come.

The two are broadly level for families, but they suit different children. Cortina works for families who ski or hike. It has ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, public skating at the Olympic stadium and easy walks to huts with meadows to play in. Rainy days and the cost are its weak points.

Syracuse depends on the sea, with gently shelving sand at Arenella and Fontane Bianche. Children also tend to like the echoing Ear of Dionysius and the boat trips through the papyrus. Neither city has a zoo or a theme park.

Both centres are small and easy to walk, and both get harder to manage beyond them. Cortina has had no railway since 1964, so you arrive by coach from Venice or by car, and buses up to the passes and the Tre Cime are limited. In winter, ski buses and lifts do most of the work.

Syracuse has slow trains and regional buses to Noto and Catania, but Vendicari and the gorges really need a car. Within Ortigia's restricted traffic zones, though, a car is a burden. In both places the usual answer is to hire a car for part of the stay.

Cortina has the edge if you want to buy something smart. The Corso Italia is a short street of luxury fashion, jewellers, furriers and high-end mountain wear. It is anchored by the Cooperativa di Cortina, founded in 1893, but there is little beyond it.

Syracuse is more about crafts and food than designer labels. Ortigia's lanes sell hand-painted ceramics, linen, coral jewellery and papyrus paintings, and the market has capers and pistachio products to take home. There is no luxury street, and the Corso Gelone has only ordinary chain stores.

There is a wide gap in cost. Cortina is among the most expensive places to stay in Italy. Hotels and restaurants charge luxury-resort prices in the winter peak and in August, and lift passes and equipment hire add to the bill. Meals at the rifugi and the quieter early and late weeks of each season help a little, and many budget travellers sleep in cheaper valleys nearby.

Syracuse is reasonably priced. Market sandwiches, arancini and trattoria meals cost far less than in northern Italy. Rooms on Ortigia in summer are the expensive part, but mainland stays and the shoulder months keep costs moderate.

Neither has a proper theatre or concert season, but Syracuse has one event worth planning a trip around. Cortina has summer chamber and classical concerts in churches and sometimes in mountain settings, the odd concert around New Year, and little else.

In late spring and early summer, Syracuse stages Greek tragedies and comedies in its ancient theatre, a tradition running since 1914. Ortigia also keeps the Sicilian puppet theatre alive in small family-run theatres. For opera or an orchestra you would still have to go to Catania.

Neither has thermal springs, so the difference between them is in kind. In Cortina, wellness means hotel spas in the Alpine style, with saunas, hay baths, indoor pools and massages after a day on the slopes. The clear air and quiet hut terraces in June and September add to the calm.

Syracuse has fewer spas, and its restfulness comes from the slow pace of Ortigia: long lunches, evening walks along the sea walls and sunsets over the harbour. In August the heat and crowds take that away, much as the peak weeks do in Cortina.