Genoa or Strasbourg?

Genoa has the sea. Boccadasse's pebble cove, the bathing establishments along Corso Italia and the rocks below Nervi are all in the city, and the Riviera towns along the railway add larger bays. Expect pebbles, rented loungers and crowded summer weekends, though, rather than wide stretches of sand.

Strasbourg is far inland, so swimming means its old gravel-pit lakes, such as the Baggersee at the end of the tram line. They have calm fresh water and grassy banks, good for cooling off on a hot day, but they are not a reason to visit.

Genoa eats more distinctively and more cheaply day to day. There is focaccia at breakfast, pesto pasta at lunch, and farinata and fried fish from the friggitorie in the caruggi, with seafood and Vermentino along the coast. Its weakness is a thin fine-dining tier.

Strasbourg's cooking is heavier, a mix of French and German: choucroute, baeckeoffe and tarte flambée in a wood-panelled winstub, with Alsace Riesling by the pichet. It has the stronger high-end restaurants of the two, but the tables around the cathedral lean towards tourist menus, and the food suits a cold evening better than a summer one.

Genoa has more to discover. One of Europe's largest medieval quarters spreads below the Rolli palaces of Via Garibaldi, where painted halls hold Van Dyck and Rubens, and the striped cathedral, the old harbour and the marble sculpture of Staglieno could fill several more days.

Strasbourg's heritage is more compact and easier to take in. The pink sandstone cathedral and its astronomical clock, the timber-framed houses of Petite France and the German-built Neustadt form one UNESCO ensemble. Add the Palais Rohan museums and the European institutions, and two or three days covers it comfortably.

Neither city is built for a big night out, and both are quiet on weeknights. In Genoa, evenings mean aperitivo in medieval squares around Piazza delle Erbe and, in summer, beach clubs along the coast. Strasbourg's student crowd fills the beer cellars of the Krutenau and the riverside terraces, but things wind down earlier, often by midnight.

Genoa's landscape is far more dramatic, with the outdoors right on its doorstep. A funicular takes you up to the ring of hilltop forts, the cliff paths of the Portofino promontory lead down to San Fruttuoso, and the Cinque Terre trails are a train ride away. Boats also leave the harbour to watch whales and dolphins in the Pelagos Sanctuary.

Strasbourg is flat, and its strength is easy cycling along the Rhine and the canals, with storks and beavers in the riverside forests. The real hiking, in the Vosges and the Black Forest, is about an hour away and much easier with a car.

Genoa's excursions run along the sea. Camogli, Santa Margherita and Sestri Levante are stops on the coastal railway, with a short bus or boat ride from Santa Margherita to Portofino, and the Cinque Terre villages are about an hour and a half by train. Inland, Milan and Turin are close enough for a museum day.

From Strasbourg, the trips lead into vineyards and across a border. Colmar is half an hour south, the wine villages of Riquewihr and Eguisheim lie along the route between, and Freiburg and Heidelberg are across the Rhine. Trains serve the towns well, but the wine route is easier by car or bike.

Genoa's family appeal is concentrated in one place, the Porto Antico. It has one of Europe's largest aquariums and the walk-through submarine at the Galata museum, and children can ride the funiculars and public lifts. Away from the harbour, steep stairs and dark lanes make pushchairs hard work, and there is little green space outside the Nervi parks.

Strasbourg is easier day to day. Its flat, largely car-free centre has boat trips around the Grande Ile, storks and rowing boats in the Orangerie park, and hands-on science at Le Vaisseau. Europa-Park, about an hour away, is the treat to plan around.

Strasbourg is the easier city to get around. The old town island is pedestrianised and small enough to cross on foot, and trams and separated cycle lanes reach everything else, including Kehl across the Rhine.

Genoa takes more effort. The centre is a walkable maze, but it climbs steeply from the water, so funiculars and public lifts do the hard work, and buses crawl through congested streets. Its strongest link is the coastal railway to Nervi and the Riviera.

Neither city is a destination for fashion or luxury, and in both the best buys are regional. In Genoa, look for silver filigree, coral, pesto and candied fruit from old shops in the caruggi. Strasbourg offers Alsace wine, Soufflenheim pottery and printed linens, and in December its long-established Christmas market fills the centre with stalls.

Genoa is the cheaper stay. Focaccia and farinata make meals very cheap, central hotels cost less than in Italy's most visited cities, and the funiculars cost little. Costs rise mainly when you pay for loungers or stay in the smart Riviera towns in summer.

Strasbourg is priced like a French regional city. Winstub meals and wine by the pichet are fair, and many sights are free, but hotels are the big cost, and rooms are scarce and expensive during the Christmas market and the European Parliament's sessions.

Genoa's stage life looks to its past. The Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari is the place for opera, ballet or an orchestral night, and as Paganini's home town the city keeps coming back to his music. Its more personal side is the cantautori, the singer-songwriters it gave Italy, whose songs still fill small clubs. That makes an informal night of live music easier to find here than a grand production.

Strasbourg has the slightly fuller calendar, and more of it is new work. It has an opera house, a philharmonic and one of France's leading drama stages, and on top of those an autumn festival of contemporary music, a jazz festival, dance and experimental theatre. Very little happens outside that programme, though. You get the most from Strasbourg by booking a festival or a concert night ahead, while a Genoa evening can be left more to chance.

Strasbourg is the better place to slow down. It has the tiled pools and hammam of the Bains municipaux in town, Baden-Baden's thermal baths are within an hour, and canal-side walks set an easy pace for most of the year.

Genoa has no bathing tradition and is lively rather than restful. For quiet, head to the villa gardens and promenade at Nervi, or take a long lunch in a Riviera village. The nearest thermal spa, Acqui Terme, is over an hour inland.