Innsbruck or Verona?

Neither city is on the coast, but Verona has the better swimming because Lake Garda is close. The southern shore is about half an hour away, with lidos, lawns running down to the water and Sirmione's flat limestone shelves. The water reaches around 24°C in July.

Swimming near Innsbruck means the small plateau lakes such as the Lanser See, which reach about 22°C in high summer and make a nice afternoon out. The Achensee is beautiful but cold.

Verona has the better and more varied table. It cooks the dishes of the Veneto hinterland, such as Amarone risotto, bigoli with duck and bollito with pearà, and serves them in wood-panelled osterie around Piazza delle Erbe and in Veronetta. The wines are made a short drive away, with Valpolicella and Soave among them.

Innsbruck's cooking is hearty Tyrolean food: Gröstl, Kaspressknödel and Kaiserschmarrn. It tastes best at a mountain hut after a walk, while the coffee houses in town are good for cake and strudel. Neither city has much street food.

Verona has more to see, and it covers more centuries. Its UNESCO-listed centre includes the Roman Arena and theatre, the Scaliger tombs, San Zeno's bronze doors and Castelvecchio, which links Roman, medieval and Renaissance Italy in one walk.

Innsbruck's heritage is mostly from its Habsburg period and sits close together: the Golden Roof, the Hofburg, Maximilian's tomb with its bronze figures in the Hofkirche, and Ambras Castle with its cabinet of curiosities. It is a fine set of sights, but a narrower one.

Nights out are about equally modest in both cities, but they feel different. Innsbruck's student crowd fills the bars and small clubs in the brick arches under the railway viaduct, which stay open late at weekends. In winter many visitors do their partying at après-ski in the resorts instead.

Verona's evenings are built around the aperitivo: a spritz or a glass of Valpolicella at outdoor tables in Piazza delle Erbe, then the cheaper wine bars of Veronetta. There is little dancing in the centre, so Innsbruck's arches are the better bet for staying out late.

This is where Innsbruck is far ahead. The Nordkette rises right above the old town and can be reached by funicular and cable car, the Karwendel lies behind it, and the Stubai Glacier keeps snow for most of the year. Summer brings via ferratas, hut-to-hut hiking, mountain biking and rafting.

Verona's landscape is softer. You get vineyard walks in Valpolicella, the Lessinia plateau, and Monte Baldo and the windsurfing at the north end of Garda about an hour away. The Dolomites are too far for a comfortable day trip.

From Innsbruck you can reach three countries. Hall in Tirol, with its medieval centre and old mint, is ten minutes away, and glassblowing Rattenberg lies further down the Inn valley. Munich and Salzburg are each a little under two hours by train, Bolzano and Merano are over the Brenner Pass, and Neuschwanstein is about two hours by car.

Verona is the stronger base, because its bigger destinations are closer. Venice is about an hour and ten minutes by train, Vicenza and Padua are nearer still, and Mantua, the Garda towns and the cellars of Valpolicella and Soave give each day a different flavour.

Children get mountain animals and hut playgrounds in Innsbruck, and theme parks and a safari around Verona. Innsbruck keeps things small and outdoors: the Alpenzoo with its ibex and lynx is a funicular ride up, the huts have adventure trails, and there are gentle ski slopes in winter.

Verona's big days out are Gardaland, the drive-through section of Parco Natura Viva and shallow swimming in Lake Garda. These usually need a car or a transfer, though, and summer afternoons in Verona can be very hot for small children.

Innsbruck is easier to get around. Trams and buses run to Igls and the Stubai valley, ski buses go to the slopes, and the funicular leaves from the old town. The mountains are almost as easy to reach as the shops.

Verona's centre, inside the loop of the river, is flat and mostly closed to traffic, so walking covers nearly everything. Beyond that there are only buses, Porta Nuova station is a twenty-minute walk away, and the wine villages are much easier by car.

Verona is the better place to shop. Via Mazzini's marble paving is lined with Italian fashion labels, there are smaller boutiques along Corso Porta Borsari, and the best things to take home are Amarone, Garda olive oil and pandoro. Innsbruck has high-street chains on Maria-Theresien-Strasse, loden, Speck and some excellent outdoor and ski shops. Neither is a fashion destination.

Neither city is cheap, but Verona is a little easier on the budget. You can walk everywhere, a glass at a wine counter comes with a snack, and local wines cost little. Rooms in the centre are the big expense, especially on opera nights and during trade fairs.

Innsbruck adds an Alpine resort premium on top of normal prices, and cable car tickets add up fast. The city cards help, and spring and autumn are noticeably cheaper.

Verona has the bigger stage. Summer opera in the Roman Arena, with Verdi and Puccini performed for thousands by candlelight, is reason enough for many people to go. The Teatro Filarmonico and the Roman theatre's Shakespeare and jazz festival fill out the year.

Innsbruck offers a solid programme at the Landestheater, folk evenings with yodelling, and the summer Festival of Early Music in settings such as the Spanish Hall at Ambras Castle.

Innsbruck relaxes you with hotel saunas and mountain air, while Verona has warm springs that have been used since Roman times. Around Innsbruck, the spas are in the hotels up in Igls and the plateau villages, often with a mountain view, and the large thermal complexes in the Ötztal and Zillertal are about an hour away.

Verona's springs are close by. Sirmione's thermal pools face the lake, a spring-fed lake warms an old villa garden near Lazise, and Caldiero lies just east of the city.