Florence or Graz?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but they cool off in different ways. From Florence, the sea means a full day out to the sandy, lounger-lined beaches of the Versilia, about an hour and a half away by train, so most visitors settle for a hotel or public pool.

Graz has no sea at all, but its gravel-pit bathing lakes, especially the Schwarzlsee just south of town, have grassy banks and jetties. You can fit one into a hot afternoon, which the Tuscan coast does not allow.

Florence is the stronger place to eat. Thick bistecca, ribollita, lampredotto from the carts and the stalls of the Mercato Centrale and Sant'Ambrogio make for a confident local cuisine, and Chianti Classico starts just outside the city. The best meals are in family trattorie in the Oltrarno rather than near the Duomo.

Graz has an appealing regional table built on pumpkin seed oil, cold fried chicken salad and Wurzelfleisch, with morning farmers' markets at Kaiser-Josef-Platz and Lendplatz. Its crisp white wines are best tasted at the rustic Buschenschank taverns in the southern hills. There is less variety, though, and fewer meals that people travel for.

Here the gap is wide. Florence holds the core of the Renaissance in a compact centre: the Duomo and Baptistery, Botticelli and Leonardo at the Uffizi, David at the Accademia and the sculpture of the Bargello, followed by a long list of chapels and palaces. You could fill a week and still miss things.

Graz is a well-kept historic town rather than an art capital. Its highlights are the arcaded courtyards of the old town, the Uhrturm on the Schlossberg, the remarkable armoury of the Landeszeughaus and Schloss Eggenberg, with the modern Kunsthaus for contrast. Two or three days cover it comfortably.

Both cities give you a good evening out but little late-night dancing. The difference is in the setting. Florence revolves around aperitivo and wine bars, with crowds holding drinks in Piazza Santo Spirito, and in summer outdoor bars open along the Arno.

Graz is more of a student pub-crawl town, centred on the lanes of the Bermuda Triangle near Mehlplatz, with artier bars in Lend. Unlike Florence, it gets noticeably quieter in the long summer break.

Graz has more to offer outdoors. The Schöckl rises right above the city, with a cable car, trails and paragliders, the Mur cycle path runs through town, and the gorge of the Bärenschützklamm and the alpine walls of the Gesäuse are within a day's reach.

Florence's countryside is gentler and more cultivated. You get olive terraces at Fiesole, cypress-lined lanes through Chianti for cycling, and the forests of the Casentino further out. It is lovely walking in spring and autumn but rarely wild, and summer heat cuts it short.

Florence is one of the best bases anywhere for day trips. Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra, Bologna and the Val d'Orcia towns are all within reach, many of them by train from Santa Maria Novella.

Graz has pleasant outings rather than famous names: the South Styrian Wine Road, Riegersburg on its crag, the Lipizzaner stud at Piber, the library of Admont Abbey and Maribor across the border. Most of them are easier by car, and a few days covers the best of them.

Graz is more relaxed with children. The Schlossberg alone makes a half-day, with its lift, the Märchenbahn tunnel train and the long slide down inside the hill. Add a dedicated children's museum in the Augarten, toboggan runs on the Schöckl and buggy-friendly trams.

Florence can work with older children who will climb the dome or go looking for the secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio, and the Pinocchio park at Collodi is a classic outing. But narrow pavements, heavy summer crowds and adult-focused galleries make it harder going.

Both are compact cities you explore on foot, and neither needs a car inside it. In Florence the main sights are within about twenty minutes' walk, but stone paving and crowded streets wear you down, there is no metro, and the central station is where the rail trips to other Tuscan towns begin.

Graz is flatter and largely pedestrianised. Trams run right through the old town, cycling along the Mur is easy, and a funicular saves the climb up the Schlossberg. In both, the countryside beyond is far easier by car.

Florence is much the better shopping trip, built on centuries-old crafts. You will find leather workshops and the San Lorenzo stalls, marbled paper, goldsmiths on the Ponte Vecchio and gilders and restorers in the Oltrarno. Via de' Tornabuoni adds the big Italian fashion houses, though you need to look closely for quality.

Graz is pleasant to browse along the Herrengasse and the steep Sporgasse, with small design and vintage shops in Lend. Its best souvenirs are edible: pumpkin seed oil, Schilcher rosé and regional chocolate, plus traditional costume and loden.

Graz is the somewhat gentler city on the wallet, though neither is cheap. Florence charges heavily for central hotel rooms from spring to autumn, and the entry fees for its big museums add up quickly. Street food, market lunches and house wine help keep daily costs down.

Graz is fair rather than a bargain. Student-driven lunch menus and bakeries keep daytime eating reasonable, hotels are moderate for Austria, and combined tickets cover the Joanneum museums.

The two are evenly matched but offer different things. Florence has the heritage: opera was more or less born here, the Maggio Musicale is among Europe's oldest festivals, and the Teatro del Maggio runs a classical season. Many visitors, though, end up at tourist-oriented church concerts, and jazz is thin.

Graz is broader and more contemporary. Its large opera house mixes in operetta and musicals, and steirischer herbst brings avant-garde work every autumn. Graduates of the music university's jazz programme keep a real club scene going. Spoken theatre is in Italian in one city and German in the other.

Graz is a little better for unwinding. Its centre is quiet by day, the coffee houses and the Stadtpark invite you to linger, and the Styrian thermal villages, including Hundertwasser's Bad Blumau and the large pools of Loipersdorf, are about an hour east.

Florence's centre is rarely restful in high season, though the Boboli and Bardini gardens help. The grand old spa town of Montecatini Terme is under an hour by train, and the sulphur pools of Saturnia and Bagno Vignoni suit an overnight stay in the countryside.