Florence or Sorrento?

Florence has no beach at all. The Versilia sands near Viareggio take a full day by train, so in summer a pool is the realistic way to cool off. Sorrento has the sea right below the town.

The swimming there is from lidos on piers and from rocks rather than from sand, into deep, clear water you reach by lift or stairs. For pebbles, take a boat to Capri's coves or the bus to Marina del Cantone. Space is tight in high summer, but it is a real seaside stay.

Both are serious places to eat, but Florence gives a food trip more to explore. Its markets at San Lorenzo and Sant'Ambrogio, lampredotto from street carts, bistecca in Oltrarno trattorie and Chianti by the glass from vineyards just outside town give it real depth.

Sorrento's strengths are narrower and come from the coast and hills: gnocchi alla sorrentina, fish at Marina Grande, lemons in everything and mozzarella from the hill dairies. Its finest cooking is up in the peninsula villages. In both towns you eat better once you walk away from the main squares.

The gap here is wide. Florence holds the Renaissance in a compact centre: Brunelleschi's dome, the Uffizi, David at the Accademia, the sculpture of the Bargello and the frescoes at San Marco and the Brancacci Chapel, enough for a week of looking.

Sorrento's own heritage makes a pleasant day or two: the Roman street grid, the cloister of San Francesco, the Museo Correale and the deep ravine of the Vallone dei Mulini. Its great historic draws, Pompeii and the archaeological museum in Naples, lie outside the town.

Neither is a clubbing city, but Florence stays up later. The bars around Piazza Santo Spirito and Sant'Ambrogio fill on warm nights, a large student population keeps a pub scene going, and summer brings outdoor bars along the Arno. In Sorrento an evening means the passeggiata on Corso Italia, a drink on a terrace above the bay or a piano bar with Neapolitan songs, and for most of the year the town is quiet early.

Sorrento has the more dramatic setting. Limestone cliffs, lemon terraces and views of Vesuvius frame walks to Punta Campanella and the protected bay of Ieranto. Monte Faito, the Path of the Gods and kayaking among the coves are all close by.

Florence's countryside is gentler and more cultivated: olive terraces at Fiesole, cycling lanes through Chianti, and the Casentino forests and the Apuan Alps further off. In both places the summer heat makes spring and autumn the seasons for long walks.

Both are outstanding bases, and the difference is in where the trips take you. From Florence you go to towns and wine country: Siena, Pisa, walled Lucca, San Gimignano, Bologna by fast train and the Chianti villages, mostly by rail or by car.

From Sorrento you go to ruins, islands and coast. Pompeii and Herculaneum are on the Circumvesuviana line, along with Vesuvius, Capri is a ferry ride away, Positano and Amalfi are reached by boat, and Naples is within the hour. Much of the travelling is by sea.

Neither is built around children, and both rely more on Italian warmth and gelato than on attractions. Florence wins children over with the climb up the dome, the secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio and the Boboli Gardens, and the Pinocchio park at Collodi makes a day out. Summer heat and crowded pavements wear small children out, though.

Sorrento has boat trips and the ruins of Pompeii, and its flat centre is easy with a pushchair. The swimming is into deep water off piers and rocks, however, so families with young children usually want a hotel with a pool.

Florence is the easier place to get about. Its major sights are within about twenty minutes' walk of each other, trams run to the airport, and Santa Maria Novella station sends trains to the main Tuscan towns. Sorrento's centre is small and walkable too, but leaving it means the crowded, delay-prone Circumvesuviana, full buses on the Amalfi hairpins or the ferries, and hotels in the hills depend on shuttles or taxis.

Florence is far better for shopping. Leather from market stalls and workshops, marbled paper, the goldsmiths of the Ponte Vecchio, the Oltrarno artisans, the antique dealers of Via Maggio and the fashion houses on Via de' Tornabuoni give it real range.

Sorrento is mostly lemon-themed souvenirs and painted ceramics, with a few genuine crafts: intarsia wood inlay, sandals made to measure, linen and cameos. Serious shoppers staying there go on to Naples or Capri.

In Florence the money goes on a room in the historic centre and on sightseeing. The big museums and the Duomo climb each charge admission, and over a few days those tickets add up. Eating can stay modest, with lampredotto from a cart, lunch at a market counter and a carafe of house wine.

Sorrento costs about as much, but there the bill comes from the coast: a room with a sea view, a sunbed on a lido, a private boat to the grottoes. The Circumvesuviana and the coast buses cost little, and pizza in the back lanes is fairly priced. Timing matters in both. Rates fall considerably in Sorrento in spring and late autumn, and Florence is cheapest in winter.

Florence has a real classical life. Opera was born here, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino stages opera, concerts and ballet through the season, and its spring festival is one of Europe's oldest. Sorrento offers shows of Neapolitan song and tarantella for visitors and summer chamber concerts in the cloister of San Francesco, and for opera you travel about an hour to the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples.

Sorrento is slightly the more restful of the two. Clifftop hotels with spas and pools over the bay, lemon groves and old villa gardens set a slow pace, and the thermal gardens of Ischia are a ferry ride away.

In Florence the calm comes in pockets: early mornings, the Boboli and Bardini gardens and evenings in the Oltrarno. For real bathing you go out to Montecatini Terme or the sulphur pools at Bagno Vignoni and Saturnia. Neither town has a bathing tradition of its own.