Genoa or Syracuse, Sicily?

You can swim from the rocks in both cities. In Genoa that means the cove at Boccadasse and the bathing establishments along Corso Italia. In Syracuse it means the wooden platforms below Ortigia's sea walls. The difference is what lies further out: Genoa's Riviera is mostly pebble and coarse sand, much of it covered in rented loungers and crowded at weekends.

Syracuse has real beaches. There is gently shelving sand at Arenella and Fontane Bianche, and undeveloped pale sand in the Vendicari reserve. The water is slightly warmer and the season lasts into early October. For a beach vacation it wins easily, though you will want a car to reach the best of it.

Both kitchens are regional rather than global, and both are best eaten simply. Genoa's cooking is green and frugal: pesto with trofie, oily focaccia at breakfast, and chickpea farinata and panissa from old-town friggitorie, with Vermentino to drink.

Syracuse's cooking is sunnier and sweeter. It starts at the Ortigia market, with swordfish, sea urchins, sardines and capers, and the day begins with almond granita and a brioche, with cannoli and Nero d'Avola later on. Go to Genoa for herbs and street snacks, and to Syracuse for seafood and pastry.

These two are evenly matched, but they cover different eras. Genoa is a medieval and Renaissance merchant city: the narrow caruggi, the Rolli palaces on Via Garibaldi with their Van Dycks and painted halls, and the marble tombs of Staglieno.

Syracuse goes back to the Greeks. A temple to Athena is built into its cathedral, there is a huge rock-cut theatre at Neapolis, and the Paolo Orsi museum holds outstanding antiquities, with a Caravaggio on top. Choose Genoa for palaces and painting, and Syracuse for archaeology and baroque squares.

Neither city is for a big night out, and both run on aperitivo and a late glass of wine. Genoa spreads its evenings across student bars around Piazza delle Erbe, the Porto Antico and the Foce seafront, so there is a bit more going on outside summer. Syracuse puts almost everything into Ortigia's piazzas and sea walls. That is lovely on a July weekend, but from November to March the nights end early, and serious clubbing means a trip to Catania.

Genoa has the better and easier walking. A funicular takes you to Righi and 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 leave the harbour for whale and dolphin watching in the Pelagos Sanctuary.

Syracuse's outdoors is more about water and limestone. There are green pools at the bottom of the Cavagrande gorge, flamingos in the Vendicari saltpans, snorkelling at Plemmirio and papyrus on the Ciane river, with Etna within reach. Most of it needs a car, and summer heat makes hiking hard work.

Both are excellent bases, but the trips work differently. From Genoa they follow the railway. Eastward the line runs to Camogli, Santa Margherita, Sestri Levante and the five Cinque Terre villages, and Portofino is a short bus or boat ride on from Santa Margherita. Westward it reaches walled Finale Ligure Borgo and the medieval towers of Albenga, and inland trains take you to Milan or Turin for a big-city museum day.

From Syracuse most trips go by road, into a landscape of a different kind. Noto's honey-coloured baroque is close by, with Modica, Ragusa Ibla and Scicli further on, and Catania and Taormina lie to the north. The Roman mosaics at Piazza Armerina are worth the longer drive. A car makes all of this far easier than the buses.

Genoa gives children much more to do. The aquarium, the science centre, the biosphere and the Galata museum with its walk-through submarine all sit together at the Porto Antico, and the funiculars and lifts are a treat. The catch is the steep, stepped old town, which is hard going with a pushchair.

Syracuse's strength is gentle sandy beaches popular with Sicilian families, along with largely car-free Ortigia, the echoing Ear of Dionysius and the puppet shows. Beyond that there is no aquarium or theme park, and the summer heat confines sightseeing to the early morning and evening.

In Genoa you can do almost everything without a car. Funiculars, a rack railway and public lifts beat the hills, a short metro line runs through the centre, and the coastal trains reach Nervi and the Riviera towns. The buses are slow, but you rarely need them.

Syracuse is simple on Ortigia, which you can cross on foot in a quarter of an hour, and difficult everywhere else. City buses are infrequent, and regional links to Noto or Catania are limited. Vendicari and the inland gorges are realistically only reachable by car, so most visitors hire one for part of their stay.

Genoa is the better place to shop, though neither city is a shopping destination. It has the arcades of Via XX Settembre and the Galleria Mazzini, plus long-established old-town shops selling candied fruit, olive oil and silver filigree.

Syracuse's shopping is smaller and almost all on Ortigia. Look for hand-painted ceramics, linen, coral jewellery and papyrus paintings from the Ciane, with capers and pistachio products from the morning market to take home.

Both feel fair for Italy, but you save on different things. In Genoa the cheap items are focaccia, farinata and public transport, including the funiculars. Costs rise in the smart Riviera resorts and with lounger hire on beach days.

In Syracuse food is the bargain: market sandwiches, arancini, granita and trattoria meals cost less than in the north. Rooms on Ortigia in high summer are not cheap, though, and the car you will probably need for beaches and day trips adds to the bill.

Genoa has a proper evening programme. The Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari stages opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, and the Teatro Nazionale is an established drama company. There are also concerts in honour of Paganini and small clubs that keep the city's singer-songwriter tradition going.

Syracuse has one outstanding event. Each late spring and early summer, classical Greek drama is performed in the ancient theatre, a tradition dating back to 1914. Beyond that and the Sicilian puppet theatre on Ortigia, there is little to go to.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and in both, spas mostly mean treatments at the better hotels. Genoa's calm spots are the villa gardens and promenade at Nervi, and thermal waters are a little over an hour away at Acqui Terme.

Syracuse feels a little more restful because of its pace. Ortigia outside high summer means long lunches, walks on the sea walls and sunsets over the harbour, while August heat and crowds take that away.