Genoa or Stuttgart?

This is the widest gap between the two. Genoa lets you swim without leaving town, at the cove of Boccadasse, from the bathing establishments along Corso Italia or off the rocks at Nervi. Better bays at Camogli, Sestri Levante and Varazze are a short train ride away. Expect pebbles, rented loungers and crowded weekends rather than a beach-resort vacation.

Stuttgart offers no beach life at all. The Neckar is a working river, Max-Eyth-See is for boating, and a summer swim means an outdoor pool, some of them fed by mineral springs.

Genoa eats better and more distinctively: pesto with trofie, pansoti in walnut sauce, focaccia at breakfast, and chickpea farinata and fried fish by the slice from old friggitorie in the caruggi. Seafood and Vermentino along the coast complete it, though high-end dining is thin.

Stuttgart's Swabian table is heartier, with Maultaschen, Käsespätzle and onion-heaped roast beef in wine taverns. Its strengths are the city's own vineyards, the seasonal Besen taverns and a deeper fine-dining tier than Genoa's, but its street food is far more limited.

Genoa has more to see and more of it is old. One of Europe's largest medieval quarters runs below the UNESCO-listed palaces of Via Garibaldi and Via Balbi, where the painted halls of Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco are as striking as the Van Dycks. Add San Lorenzo's striped cathedral and the marble sculpture of Staglieno, and the city fills several days.

Stuttgart's sights are modern rather than medieval: the Mercedes-Benz and Porsche museums, the Staatsgalerie with its postmodern wing, and the Le Corbusier houses of the Weissenhof Estate. Wartime bombing left the historic core in pockets around Schlossplatz, and two or three days covers it.

Neither city is built for a big night out, and both go quiet on weeknights. What differs is the setting. In Genoa it is aperitivo and late wine in the medieval squares around Piazza delle Erbe, moving to the seafront and beach clubs in summer.

Stuttgart has more of a club layer, in basements and old industrial spaces with an electronic following, plus the bar strip on Theodor-Heuss-Strasse. Its biggest nights come at set times of year, with the beer tents of the Cannstatter Volksfest and the wine village in the old centre.

Genoa's landscape is the more dramatic, with steep hills dropping into the sea. A funicular takes you up to the ridge forts above the port, the Portofino promontory's cliff paths lead down to San Fruttuoso, and the Cinque Terre trails are a train ride away. Whale and dolphin trips, kayaking and diving add the sea.

Stuttgart's countryside is gentler: vineyard trails above the Neckar, deer forests at Rotwildpark and Schönbuch, and easy riverside cycling. The limestone cliffs and caves of the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest ridges are about an hour out, good walking but without a coastline.

Both are excellent bases, and the choice comes down to coast against castles. Genoa's trips run along a single railway: Camogli, Portofino and Sestri Levante to the east, the Cinque Terre a little further, quieter Finale Ligure and Noli to the west, with Milan and Turin about an hour and a half inland.

Stuttgart's list is about palaces, abbeys and old towns. You can reach baroque Ludwigsburg, half-timbered Esslingen, Tübingen's punts, Heidelberg's castle, Maulbronn monastery, Hohenzollern on its hill and Ulm's great spire, and Strasbourg makes a long day over the border.

Children are well catered for in both cities, but in different ways. Genoa has one big draw: the Porto Antico, with its large aquarium, science centre, biosphere and walk-through submarine all side by side. Away from the harbour, the dark, stepped lanes are hard work with a pushchair, though swimming coves and gelato make up for it.

Stuttgart spreads its family appeal more evenly. Wilhelma's zoo and gardens fill a day, Killesberg has a miniature railway and animals, and there are playgrounds, outdoor pools and beer gardens, plus a fairy-tale garden at Ludwigsburg.

Stuttgart is the easier city to move around. Its centre, from Königstrasse to the Markthalle and Schlossplatz, is flat and walkable, and one ticket covers light rail, S-Bahn, buses, the rack railway and the funicular, out to Wilhelma, the car museums and the airport.

Genoa takes more effort. The old town is a steep maze, the metro is a single short line and buses crawl through narrow streets, though the funiculars and public lifts help on the hills. Its trump card is the coastal railway, which makes Nervi and the Riviera easy without a car.

Stuttgart is the better place for a shopping trip. Königstrasse is a long pedestrian high street, a nineteenth-century family department store anchors the designer end, and the outlet town of Metzingen is half an hour away. Independent shops sit around Calwer Strasse and the Bohnenviertel.

Genoa's appeal is smaller and more particular: arcaded Via XX Settembre for Italian labels, but above all old-town shops for candied fruit, olive oil and pesto, and workshops making silver filigree and coral.

Genoa is the cheaper stay. Street food like focaccia and farinata costs very little, central hotels undercut Italy's best-known cities, and only the smart Riviera resorts and lounger rentals add up in summer.

Stuttgart is a prosperous business city with prices to match, and hotel rooms are at their dearest during trade fairs. Weekend stays and hearty tavern meals soften the bill, but smart dining and central rooms are noticeably expensive.

Stuttgart is the city to plan an evening around. The Stuttgart Ballet, famous since John Cranko's time, and an adventurous opera company share the state theatre beside the palace gardens. The Liederhalle carries a strong Bach tradition, and the Möhringen theatres run long musical seasons, with jazz through the week.

Genoa offers enough for a night or two. There is opera and ballet at the Carlo Felice, Paganini concerts and small clubs that keep its singer-songwriter heritage alive, while the drama at the Teatro Nazionale is in Italian.

Stuttgart has a real bathing culture, which Genoa lacks. The mineral springs of Bad Cannstatt and Berg feed public baths where you soak in naturally fizzy warm water, indoors and out, with saunas at the larger ones.

In Genoa, unwinding means a walk along Nervi's promenade and villa gardens or a long lunch in a Riviera village. Spas are mostly in hotels, and the nearest thermal waters are at Acqui Terme, over an hour inland.