Genoa or Trieste?

Neither city has a proper sandy beach in town, and swimming in both means going in off rocks. The difference is the setting. Genoa has the pebble cove at Boccadasse, bathing establishments along Corso Italia and the platforms below the cliffs at Nervi. Trieste has Barcola, where locals spread towels on concrete steps and pine-shaded lawns and climb down ladders into the Adriatic.

For prettier water, Genoa's train runs to Camogli, Sestri Levante and the longer sand at Varazze. Trieste offers the coves at Sistiana and Duino, and Piran across the border.

Genoa eats better and more distinctively. This is where pesto comes from, and focaccia, farinata and fried fish are sold by the slice in the old-town friggitorie, with the Mercato Orientale showing off the region's produce.

Trieste's table is more unusual than it is broad. Boiled pork carved at buffet counters, jota soup and strudel reflect its Austrian and Slavic side, and its coffee culture is unmatched in Genoa. Its restaurants, though, offer a narrower range.

Genoa has much more to see. Its medieval quarter is one of the largest in Europe, and above it the Rolli palaces on Via Garibaldi hold Van Dyck, Rubens and Paganini's violin. Add the striped cathedral, the Palazzo Ducale and Staglieno, and you have several full days of sightseeing.

Trieste's appeal is more about atmosphere: Piazza Unità facing the sea, the Canal Grande, San Giusto's mosaics and the white Miramare Castle. It is elegant and easy to see in a couple of days.

Neither is a city for clubbing, but Genoa has a bit more going on after dark. Students fill the bars around Piazza delle Erbe late into weekend nights, and in summer the action moves to the Corso Italia beach clubs. Trieste winds down earlier, with spritz on Piazza Unità and kiosks at Barcola, and on a winter weeknight the streets are quiet by midnight.

Genoa has the more dramatic outdoors. A funicular takes you up to the ring of hilltop forts, the cliff path on the Portofino promontory leads down to San Fruttuoso, and the Cinque Terre trails are a train ride away. Boats from the harbour go whale-watching in the Pelagos Sanctuary.

Trieste's landscape is the Karst. You can walk the Strada Napoleonica high above the gulf, hike the Val Rosandra gorge or visit huge caves such as the Grotta Gigante and Škocjan. On the water, the gulf is good sailing country.

Both are excellent bases, but the trips are of different kinds. From Genoa, the trips are one long coastline: Portofino, Santa Margherita and the Cinque Terre to the east, Noli and Finale Ligure Borgo to the west, all by train, with Milan and Turin also within reach.

Trieste's trips cross borders. Roman Aquileia and star-shaped Palmanova are in Friuli, while Piran, Ljubljana and the Postojna cave are in Slovenia, and Venice makes a long day out.

Genoa gives children more to do in one place. The Porto Antico puts one of Europe's largest aquariums next to a science centre, a tropical biosphere and a submarine you can walk through, and the funiculars and public lifts make getting around part of the fun.

Trieste is calm and safe, but has less aimed at children: a small aquarium, the Miramare gardens and the Grotta Gigante. Both cities are steep and stepped above the water, and neither has sandy shallows.

Getting around is about equally easy, but the cities work differently. Genoa climbs straight up from its port, and funiculars, a rack railway, public lifts and a single metro line deal with the slopes, while the coastal train reaches Nervi and the Riviera.

Central Trieste is flat and compact by the sea, and a dense bus network and bay boats to Muggia cover the rest. Only the climb to San Giusto takes real effort.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Genoa has more to browse. The arcades of Via XX Settembre and the Galleria Mazzini carry the familiar Italian labels, and old-town workshops still make silver filigree and coral. In Trieste, the best finds are in its antique and second-hand shops and its coffee roasters, and the city has little fashion to speak of.

The two cost about the same, both fairly priced for northern Italy. The savings come in different places. In Genoa it is focaccia and farinata, though loungers and the smart Riviera resorts push costs up in summer. In Trieste it is coffee and buffet plates, with free swimming at Barcola, but rooms are harder to find around the autumn regatta.

Both cities have one serious opera house and a modest scene outside it. Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari puts on opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, and the city honours Paganini and its singer-songwriter tradition.

Trieste's waterfront Teatro Verdi keeps a Habsburg fondness for operetta that is rare in Italy, and in summer there are concerts in the castle courtyard on San Giusto.

Neither city has thermal baths, so spa days mean hotel spas or a trip out, to Acqui Terme from Genoa. Trieste is the slightly more restful city overall, with its coffee houses and slow evenings on the Molo Audace. In Genoa, you go to the Nervi gardens and promenade for quiet.