Genoa or San Marino?

Genoa has the better swimming because it is right on the water. You can swim off the rocks at Boccadasse, from the bathing establishments along Corso Italia or from the platforms below Nervi's promenade, and then take the train to Camogli or Sestri Levante for prettier bays. The shores are mostly pebble, though.

San Marino gives you sand, but only on a day out. Rimini and Riccione are about half an hour down the mountain, with their rows of numbered umbrellas and shallow water that suits small children. You go down for the day rather than swimming before lunch.

Genoa eats far better. This is where pesto comes from. Focaccia is dunked in cappuccino, the old-town friggitorie sell farinata and panissa by the slice, and harbour trattorias serve seafood with Vermentino. The Mercato Orientale shows what Liguria grows.

San Marino's Romagna cooking is honest enough: passatelli, piadina, strozzapreti and the Tre Monti wafer cake. But the summit terraces sell the view rather than the food, and good meals mean heading down to Borgo Maggiore or across the border.

Genoa offers far more to see. Its medieval centre is one of Europe's largest, and above it the UNESCO-listed Rolli palaces hold Van Dyck, Rubens and Paganini's violin in painted halls. Then there are the striped cathedral, the Lanterna and the Staglieno cemetery.

San Marino's appeal is the setting and the story. The towers on the cliff edge and the ceremonial Palazzo Pubblico belong to one of the world's oldest surviving republics, but the whole town takes about half a day.

Neither place is for clubbing, but Genoa at least has evenings. Students and locals fill the small bars around Piazza delle Erbe, drinks spill into the squares at weekends, and in summer the waterfront bars along Corso Italia stay busy. In San Marino, a glass of wine with the coast's lights below is about all there is. For anything livelier, you have to drive down to Rimini.

Genoa is a much bigger outdoors destination. A funicular takes you up to Righi and the fortress trail along the ridges. The Portofino promontory has cliff paths down to San Fruttuoso, the Cinque Terre are a train ride away, and the Beigua Geopark and whale-watching boats add variety.

Monte Titano is a fine limestone ridge with wide views to the Adriatic. Paths link its towers and drop through woods to Borgo Maggiore, but these are morning walks rather than full days on the trail.

Both make good bases, but Genoa makes it easier. Portofino, Camogli and the Cinque Terre are all on one coastal railway, and Milan and Turin are about an hour and a half away, so you never need a car.

San Marino's list is just as tempting: San Leo's fortress, ducal Urbino, Ravenna's mosaics, Gradara and Rimini. Almost all of them need a car, though, because the only regular public link is the bus down to Rimini.

Genoa has a proper family day out at the Porto Antico. There is the large aquarium with its dolphins and penguins, a walk-through submarine at the Galata museum, and funiculars that children enjoy riding. Away from the harbour, the steep, dark lanes are hard work with a pushchair.

In San Marino, children love the battlements and the cable car, but the summit has little made for them. The real attractions are down on the coast at Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia and the shallow beaches, and you need a car to reach them.

Genoa is easier without a car. The old town and the harbour can be walked, funiculars and public lifts take you up the hills, a short metro line runs through the centre, and the coastal railway reaches Nervi and the Riviera.

San Marino's car-free summit takes under half an hour to cross, though it is all steps and slopes. A cable car drops to Borgo Maggiore, but beyond the Rimini bus, local transport is thin.

Genoa is the better place to browse. Its old town has long-established shops selling candied fruit, pesto and olive oil, workshops making silver filigree and coral, and the arcades of Via XX Settembre. San Marino's shops lean on its lower taxes, with perfume, watches, spirits and an outlet centre, alongside souvenir crossbows and collectors' stamps, but there is little real craft.

On cost the two are much the same. The difference is in where the money goes. In Genoa, focaccia and farinata make meals very cheap, while loungers and the smart Riviera towns push up the price of beach days. In San Marino, staying on the summit costs more than staying a few kilometres down the slope, while lower taxes make fuel and spirits cheaper.

Genoa has a real programme. The Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari runs opera, ballet and symphony seasons, Paganini concerts honour the city's violinist, and small clubs keep the singer-songwriter tradition going.

San Marino has a small theatre and occasional concerts. Its big event is the costumed Medieval Days festival in summer, and for opera people go to Bologna or Pesaro.

Neither is a spa destination, but Genoa has more ways to slow down. You can walk Nervi's seafront promenade and villa gardens, linger over lunch in the Riviera villages, and reach the thermal waters of Acqui Terme in a little over an hour. San Marino's calm only comes in the evening, once the day crowds leave the walls, and its nearest spas are a separate outing down in the valleys.