Cortina d'Ampezzo or Zadar?

On beaches there is no contest. Cortina sits in a high valley more than two hours from the Adriatic. Its snowmelt lakes, such as Ghedina and Pianozes, are for walking round rather than swimming in, so a hotel pool is the realistic option.

In Zadar, swimming is part of every summer day, from the stone promenade on the peninsula to Kolovare and Borik, although these beaches are pebble and concrete rather than sand. For softer, shallower water, the sandy beaches at Nin and Sakarun on Dugi Otok are easy outings.

Both towns eat well rather than memorably, and both have a narrow range with little international cooking. What differs is the landscape on the plate. Cortina serves Ampezzan mountain food: casunziei with poppy seeds, polenta with game, barley soup. Its best meals come on rifugio terraces among the peaks, and a few ambitious kitchens in the valley serve its wealthy visitors.

Zadar's cooking is Dalmatian and coastal: grilled fish, black risotto, octopus or lamb cooked under a peka, Pag cheese to start, and Maraschino as the local spirit. Eating out is more casual and cheaper there, while Cortina has the more polished top end.

Zadar has far more to see. Its walled peninsula fits the open Roman forum, the round Church of St Donatus, a Romanesque cathedral and the UNESCO-listed Venetian walls into a short walk. The Museum of Ancient Glass and the Sea Organ round out about two days of sightseeing.

Cortina's centre has a basilica, painted houses, the ice stadium from the 1956 Olympics and three small museums that will fill a wet afternoon. Its most striking history, the First World War tunnels on Lagazuoi and the Cinque Torri, takes a day in the mountains rather than a stroll through town.

Neither is a party town, but Zadar has more going on after dark. Summer evenings start with sunset on the Riva and move on to café-bars along Kalelarga and terrace bars on the walls. For proper clubbing, Zrće on Pag is about an hour away in high summer.

In Cortina, an evening means après-ski drinks, a stroll along the Corso Italia and a long dinner. A few smart bars stay open late, but only in the peak winter weeks. Outside those weeks Cortina is quiet by late evening, and Zadar is just as quiet from October to May.

Both are fine bases for the outdoors, but Cortina is the stronger. Dolomite peaks ring the town and lifts climb straight onto them, and the Tre Cime, Lago di Misurina and the Fanes-Sennes-Braies park are all close. Dolomiti Superski in winter and the Alta Via 1 and old via ferrata routes in summer make it a mountain base in both seasons.

Zadar's outdoors are more varied but more spread out. There is climbing and gorge hiking in Paklenica, sailing to the Kornati and Telašćica, and Krka and Plitvice by road. The midsummer heat makes walks on high ground hard work, so spring and autumn are better for hiking.

Zadar has the better choice of day trips. Šibenik and its UNESCO-listed cathedral are about an hour away and Nin is twenty minutes. Split and Trogir make a long but rewarding day, and ferries from the harbour reach Ugljan, Pašman and car-free Silba.

From Cortina, most days out lead into the mountains rather than to other towns. South Tyrol is the best direction, with San Candido, Brunico, and the Iceman in Bolzano's archaeology museum. Venice is possible, but it means a long coach ride each way.

Both work for families who like being outdoors, and neither has a zoo, aquarium or theme park. The difference is in what the days look like. Cortina suits children who ski or skate, with ski schools, beginner slopes at Socrepes and the Olympic ice rink, and in summer there are meadows by the huts and a rope park. Rainy days drag, though, and costs mount quickly.

In Zadar, family days are spent by the sea, and the shallow sandy beaches at Nin are best for small children. The car-free old town, the Greeting to the Sun lighting up after dark and short ferry rides fill the rest. The midsummer heat is the thing to plan around.

Both centres are small enough to walk across in minutes, so the difference lies in reaching everything else. Cortina has had no railway since 1964. You arrive by coach from Venice or after a long drive, and buses up to the passes and the Tre Cime are limited, so many visitors hire a car.

Zadar is easier. Kolovare beach is a walk from the old town, local buses run to Borik, and island ferries leave from the edge of the peninsula. A car still helps for the national parks and the wider coast.

Cortina has the better shopping, though of a very particular kind. 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.

Zadar is more modest, with chains and souvenir shops on Kalelarga. The best things to take home are edible or handmade, such as Maraschino, Pag cheese and Pag lace, and the market by the walls is the nicest place to browse for them.

In Cortina the bill follows the calendar and the sport. Rooms cost the most in the peak winter weeks and in August, and a ski day adds equipment hire on top of everything else. The cheaper meals are up the mountain rather than in town, because lunch at a rifugio costs less than the view would suggest. Early summer and late September bring rates down, though never to the point where Cortina feels cheap.

Zadar asks for a good deal less overall, and less than Split or Dubrovnik further down the coast. Its costs gather in a few places. A room on or near the peninsula costs far more in high summer than in June or September, and the restaurants along the main old town streets charge visitor prices, while a bakery breakfast stays fair. The real extras are the outings, because entry to Krka or Plitvice and a boat day to the Kornati soon add up.

Neither has much of a stage, but Zadar has the more memorable one. Each summer the Musical Evenings in St Donatus bring early and chamber music into the ninth-century church. In July and August there are also klapa singing and concerts in the squares, and a small national theatre puts on drama in Croatian.

Cortina has no theatre season and no regular venue. There are summer chamber music festivals in churches and sometimes outdoors in the mountains, and a few concerts around New Year.

Cortina is the better place for a spa-based rest. Its hotels have Alpine spas with saunas, steam rooms, hay baths and indoor pools, and a quiet June afternoon on a hut terrace is restful in itself, although the peak weeks bring traffic.

Zadar has no real spa culture beyond the hotel spas at Borik and the mud lagoon at Nin. Its rest comes from the pace of the day: long café mornings, a siesta, and sunset over the islands from the steps of the Sea Organ.