Graz or San Marino?

San Marino is the one for a beach trip, even though it sits on a mountain. The long sands of Rimini and Riccione are about half an hour away, with rows of umbrellas, shallow water and a sea that reaches about 25°C in high summer. You still have to go down to them, though, rather than waking up by the water.

Graz is much further from the sea. Swimming means the former gravel pits on the plain south of town, the Schwarzlsee above all, with grassy banks and jetties. They are a pleasant break on a hot afternoon, but not why anyone comes.

Graz eats much better. Its Styrian cooking has a clear identity: pumpkin seed oil on everything from salad to ice cream, cold fried chicken salad, Wurzelfleisch with horseradish, and morning markets at Kaiser-Josef-Platz and Lendplatz. Crisp Sauvignon Blanc from the southern hills is poured in town and at the Buschenschank taverns under an hour away.

San Marino serves honest Romagna food such as passatelli, strozzapreti and piadina, but the summit terraces sell the view more than the cooking. The better meals are down in Borgo Maggiore's family trattorias or over the border.

Graz has the deeper offer. Its red-roofed old town runs up to the cathedral and the Mausoleum of Ferdinand II, and the Landeszeughaus armoury holds thousands of suits of armour. Add Schloss Eggenberg and the blue Kunsthaus across the Mur, and there is enough for two or three days.

San Marino's sight is the republic itself: three towers on a cliff edge, the Palazzo Pubblico and the story of one of the world's oldest surviving states. It is memorable, but most people have seen it by lunchtime.

Graz has a night out on its own doorstep, thanks to its students. Bars crowd the lanes of the Bermuda Triangle around Mehlplatz, and Lend has looser, artier places, though it is bars rather than clubs, and quieter in the summer break.

San Marino goes silent once the coaches leave, with just a terrace drink above the coastal lights. For anything later, you drive down to the Riviera clubs at Rimini and Riccione.

Graz has far more to offer outdoors. The Schöckl, its home mountain at 1,445m, has a cable car, trails and paragliders, and the Mur cycle path runs straight through town. Within about two hours the Gesäuse and the Hochschwab offer proper alpine hiking.

Monte Titano is about half that height, a limestone ridge with cliff paths between the towers and wide views to the Adriatic. Beyond it are the gentle Montefeltro hills and quiet cycling roads, which are lovely for a morning but not for longer outings.

San Marino has the more famous places within reach. Rimini's Roman arch is below the mountain, San Leo's rock fortress is half an hour away, and Urbino, Ravenna's mosaics, Gradara and Bologna are all close enough for a day out. That density of first-rate Italian towns is the strongest reason to stay on the mountain.

Graz's outings are quieter and more rural, such as the South Styrian Wine Road, Riegersburg on its volcanic crag, the monastic library at Admont and Maribor across the Slovenian border. In both places, a car makes most of these trips much easier.

Graz works better with children. The Schlossberg alone fills a morning, with a glass lift up, a long underground slide down and the Märchenbahn train through fairytale tunnels. There is also a children's museum in the Augarten, and trams take buggies.

San Marino's battlements and cable car thrill children, but the steep streets and steps are hard work with a pushchair. Its real family attractions, Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia and the waterparks, are down on the coast.

Graz is far easier to get around. The centre is flat and largely pedestrianised, and trams and buses on one ticket cover the city, so a car is only useful for the countryside.

In San Marino, nearly every street climbs or drops by steps. The bus from Rimini is the only regular public link, and the hill towns around it really need a car.

Graz is the better place to browse. The Herrengasse and the sloping Sporgasse hold traditional shops in historic buildings, Lend has vintage and design studios, and the best things to take home are edible: pumpkin seed oil, Schilcher rosé, apple brandy and craft chocolate.

San Marino's streets are mostly souvenirs and low-tax perfume, watches and spirits, plus stamps and coins that collectors seek out and an outlet centre on the valley floor.

San Marino comes out a little cheaper. It is priced like provincial central Italy, with inexpensive sights and fair trattorias in the lower villages, as long as you avoid the summit premium on view terraces and hotels.

Graz is fair for Western Europe rather than cheap. Student lunch menus and bakeries help by day, while dinners and wine cost the usual Austrian amounts.

The gap here is wide. Graz has the second largest opera house in Austria, the Schauspielhaus and the Musikverein's concerts. Styriarte brings early music in early summer, steirischer herbst brings avant-garde work in autumn, and the music university feeds a strong jazz scene.

San Marino has a small theatre and summer music in the squares. Its high point is the Medieval Days festival, with costumed musicians and flag-throwers, and for opera you go to Bologna or Pesaro.

An hour east of Graz lies a string of thermal spa villages, and that is what makes it the more restful choice. Bad Blumau has Hundertwasser's resort of wavy lines and grass roofs, and Loipersdorf and Bad Waltersdorf have large warm pools open to day visitors. Back in town, the coffee houses and the Stadtpark set an unhurried pace.

San Marino has only a few hotel spas, and its calm comes late, on evening walks along the walls after the summer crowds around the towers have gone. Its nearest thermal baths are a separate trip down to the coast or into the Apennines.