Florence or Monaco?

Monaco has the sea on its doorstep, even if it has only a little beach. Larvotto is short and groomed, with clear, sheltered water, and the rocky bathing platforms, beach clubs and the coves at Cap d'Ail add more places to swim.

Florence has no swimming of its own. The sandy Versilia coast near Viareggio is about an hour and a half away by train and takes a whole day, so in summer most visitors cool off in a hotel pool or a public pool on the edge of the city.

Florence is the stronger place to eat, and the more varied. You get bistecca and ribollita in family trattorie around Santo Spirito, lampredotto from street carts, the market halls of San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio, and Chianti by the glass.

Monaco's cooking is concentrated at the top end, in starred hotel dining rooms and harbourside terraces serving Riviera food. Its own specialities, such as barbagiuan and socca at the Condamine market, are a nice find, but there is little casual eating in between.

These two are not close. Florence holds the Renaissance itself: the Duomo and Baptistery, the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Bargello, the Pitti Palace and smaller treasures such as the Brancacci Chapel. Serious visitors fill a week here and still book ahead.

Monaco's sights are elegant but few. They are the Prince's Palace and its guard ceremony, the cathedral where Grace Kelly lies, the Belle Époque Oceanographic Museum and the Casino. Here the setting does more of the work than the collections.

Monaco has the edge, but only for a certain kind of night. You dress up for the Casino square, the hotel bars and the glossy clubs at Larvotto and the port, and summer and Grand Prix weekend are its peak. Off season the principality goes to bed early.

Florence is more relaxed. Aperitivo leads to wine bars, crowds gather with drinks on Piazza Santo Spirito, and the bars around Sant'Ambrogio draw locals. There is little in the way of clubs, so evenings here are about long dinners rather than dancing.

Monaco's surroundings are the more dramatic. Limestone mountains rise straight from the coast, the Tête de Chien cliff looks down over the principality, and the old mule path climbs from Èze-sur-Mer to Èze. Clear water also makes diving, snorkelling and paddleboarding easy.

Florence's countryside is gentler and more cultivated: olive terraces at Fiesole, the vineyards and cypress lanes of Chianti for cycling, and the beech forests of the Casentino further out. It is lovely walking country, but it is pastoral rather than steep.

Both make excellent bases, but Florence's list is hard to beat. Siena, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Volterra and the Chianti villages are all close, and Bologna is a quick train ride away.

From Monaco the Riviera opens up by train and bus. Nice and Villefranche lie to the west, Menton to the east and Èze up the hill, with Antibes, Saint-Paul-de-Vence and the Italian markets at Ventimiglia a little further. It is a fine spread of places, but there are fewer towns of Siena's weight.

Monaco is the easier place with children. It is safe and spotless, public lifts take care of the hills, there are sharks and turtles at the Oceanographic aquarium, and the water at Larvotto is gentle, although the formal restaurants and limited choice mean a few days is enough.

Florence's great sights are made for adults. Climbing the dome, the secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio and the Boboli Gardens help, but narrow pavements and summer heat make spring or autumn the time to bring young children.

Both are places you walk, but the effort differs. In Florence the main sights are on the flat, about twenty minutes apart, though the crowded streets and hard stone paving wear you down. Monaco is only about 3km long but climbs steeply, and its free public lifts and escalators do much of the work once you know where they are.

Each has a well-placed station. Santa Maria Novella sits in the centre of Florence for Tuscan day trips, while Monaco's station is tunnelled into the hillside and serves the coastal line. A car helps in neither centre.

Florence is the better place to shop because of its crafts. You find leather workshops, marbled paper, goldsmiths on the Ponte Vecchio, gilders and framers in the Oltrarno, antiques on Via Maggio, and Via de' Tornabuoni for the fashion houses.

Monaco is almost entirely luxury. The Carré d'Or near the Casino has the big jewellers and watchmakers in a few streets, but there are no craft quarters or flea markets, so for anything more ordinary visitors go to Nice.

Neither is a bargain, but Florence is far easier to manage. Rooms and museum tickets add up, yet street food, market lunches, cheap house wine and walking everywhere keep daily costs reasonable, especially in winter or if you stay across the river.

Monaco is priced for the very wealthy, from hotel rooms to a café coffee. The free things are the lifts and walks around the Rock and harbour. Sleeping over the border in Beausoleil or along the coast is the usual way round it.

The two are broadly level but strong in different ways. Florence has the deeper roots: opera was more or less born here, the Maggio Musicale is one of Europe's oldest festivals, and the Teatro della Pergola stages theatre in Italian. What most visitors actually hear is tourist concerts in churches.

Monaco offers more for an international audience. Opera plays in the gilded Salle Garnier, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo has a wide reputation, and summer brings shows by the sea, though the best of the season falls between winter and spring.

Monaco is the more restful stay. It has a large seawater thalassotherapy centre beside the Casino, sizeable spas in the grand hotels, and quiet mornings in the Japanese Garden or on the ramparts of the Rock.

Florence offers little within the city beyond hotel spas, and the centre is crowded in high season. Its real bathing culture is a day out or more away: the old spa halls of Montecatini Terme, the hot outdoor pools at Saturnia and Bagno Vignoni, or a few slow nights on a farm in the hills.