Cortina d'Ampezzo or Turin?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Turin is closer to the water. The Ligurian Riviera around Savona is under two hours away, and in summer you can swim at lakes such as Avigliana and Viverone near town. From Cortina the Adriatic is a longer drive, and the snowmelt lakes of Ghedina and Pianozes are better for walking round than swimming in, so a hotel pool is the realistic option.

Cortina eats better than most small resorts. It has Ampezzan casunziei and polenta with game, and the long lunches on rifugio terraces are what many visitors remember most. The range is narrow, though, and rarely cheap.

Turin is one of Italy's serious food cities. It offers agnolotti del plin, vitello tonnato and bagna cauda, with Barolo and Barbaresco on the wine list. The aperitivo was born here, gianduiotti and bicerin are served in arcaded cafés, and Porta Palazzo market has plenty to graze on. That is a week of eating Cortina cannot match.

Cortina's sights fill a rainy afternoon: the basilica and its bell tower, the ice stadium from the 1956 Winter Olympics and the Mario Rimoldi art collection. Its most striking heritage is the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, which you reach on a day in the mountains rather than as a museum visit.

Turin is on another scale. The Museo Egizio alone justifies the trip. Around it stand the Royal Palace, Palazzo Madama, the UNESCO-listed Savoy residences, the Mole with its cinema museum, and contemporary art at Rivoli. A culture trip of several days is easy to fill here.

In Cortina an evening means après-ski drinks, a stroll along the Corso Italia and a long dinner. A few smart late bars open only in the peak winter weeks.

Turin has much more to do after dark. The aperitivo leads on to wine bars in the Quadrilatero Romano, pavement crowds in San Salvario, the riverside Murazzi in summer and clubs in old industrial buildings. The scene is sociable rather than wild, and it does not depend on the ski season.

Both cities have the Alps, but Cortina sits right among them. Lifts rise from town onto the Tofane and Cristallo, and the Tre Cime and Lago di Misurina are under an hour away. The Alta Via 1 trail and some of the oldest via ferrata routes in the Alps start close by.

Turin sits on a flat plain with the mountains on the horizon. The Gran Paradiso, the Susa valley and the Via Lattea ski slopes are an hour or more away. They make excellent days out, and in town the Superga hills, the Mandria forest and Valentino park offer gentler green space.

From Cortina, most outings go further into the mountains. South Tyrolean towns such as San Candido and Brunico make pleasant trips, and Bolzano with its Iceman fills a fuller day. Venice is possible, but it means a long coach ride each way.

Turin is much the better base for days out. The Langhe wine villages, Alba and Bra are about an hour south, and Milan is an hour away by fast train. The Sacra di San Michele abbey, Roman Aosta and Genoa's old port add plenty more.

For families who ski or hike, Cortina works well. There are ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes, public skating at the Olympic stadium and easy summer walks to huts. Bad weather with small children is harder to fill, and the bills mount quickly.

Turin has more for a wet day: the glass lift up the Mole, the mummies in the Museo Egizio, the car museum and the planetarium, with arcades that shelter pushchairs from rain and sun. That gives it the edge for families with children of different ages, though summers are hot and the Zoom zoo park is a drive out.

Cortina's centre takes minutes to cross on foot, but beyond it you rely on ski buses, a limited bus service up to the passes and, for most visitors, a hire car. There has been no railway since 1964, so you arrive by coach or after a long drive.

Turin is far simpler. Its grid of arcaded streets is easy to walk, a driverless metro line and trams fill the gaps, and fast trains link it to the rest of Italy.

Cortina's shopping is one polished street. The Corso Italia has furriers, jewellers and upmarket ski wear, anchored by the Cooperativa store, with some wood carving and filigree on the side.

Turin has more variety. Big labels line the arcades of Via Roma and mainstream shops fill Via Garibaldi. There are antique dealers and the Balon flea market, and above all chocolate makers and delicatessens selling truffles and wine to take home.

Cortina is one of 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 come on top. Rifugio lunches and the quieter months help, but many budget travellers sleep in cheaper valleys nearby.

Turin is comfortable rather than cheap, but much easier on the wallet. An aperitivo can stand in for dinner, trattorie and market food are good value, and you can walk most of the centre. Costs climb mainly with truffles and fine dining.

Cortina has summer chamber and classical concerts in churches, sometimes held out in the mountains, and little else for most of the year.

Turin has a full season: opera and ballet at the Teatro Regio, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra, concerts in the Lingotto auditorium, jazz clubs and long-running festivals. Its theatre is almost all in Italian, but the music needs no translation.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, so the two differ in kind rather than degree. In Cortina, relaxing means an Alpine hotel spa with sauna and hay baths, clear air and an afternoon on a hut terrace, best in June, September and the quieter winter weeks. Turin's calm is urban and slow: long coffees in historic cafés and walks under the arcades and along the Po, with real thermal waters at Acqui Terme close to two hours away.