Lake Como or Sicily?

On Lake Como, swimming means a lido, a pebble strip or a stone jetty at Bellagio, Lenno or Menaggio, with more open shores up at Domaso and Colico. In July and August a dip between ferry rides is lovely, but the season is short and the water turns cold just below the surface.

Sicily is a real beach destination with a lot of variety. There is the white crescent of San Vito Lo Capo, the marl cliffs of the Scala dei Turchi, the reserve beaches of Vendicari and Mondello's shallow bay near Palermo. Offshore are the turquoise rock pools of Favignana and the black volcanic beaches of the Aeolians. The sea stays swimmable for about a month longer at each end of summer.

Lake Como's cooking is narrow but rooted: perch fried in butter and sage on risotto, salted shad, polenta and Valtellina cheese. It is best eaten in hill-village trattorias and rock-cellar crotti, not on the lakefront terraces aimed at day-trippers.

Sicily is one of the great eating regions of Italy, and you eat well at every price. Palermo's Ballarò and Capo markets have arancine, panelle and sfincione at the stalls, and every town takes its pastry and granita seriously. Each area has its own dish or product, from Trapani's fish couscous to Modica chocolate and Bronte pistachios, and Etna's wineries offer tastings on the volcano's slopes.

Lake Como's sights are elegant and compact. The aristocratic villas and gardens, Villa Carlotta, Balbianello and Melzi, are reached by boat, and Como town adds a marble cathedral, Romanesque churches and Terragni's rationalist architecture. It makes a pleasant few days, but there are no major museums.

Sicily has heritage on another scale, left by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and the baroque rebuilders. You can see the Doric temples of Agrigento and Segesta, the theatres of Syracuse and Taormina, the mosaics at Piazza Armerina, Palermo's Palatine Chapel and Monreale, and the honey-coloured towns of Noto and Ragusa Ibla. Seeing it properly takes about a week and more than one base.

Nights on Lake Como are a dinner and a drink on a terrace. Como town has a few wine and cocktail bars, and the villages empty after the last ferry. Anyone wanting more takes the train to Milan.

Sicily is livelier, though it is no clubbing destination. Catania's historic centre fills with students and locals in the bars until late, and Palermo drinks in the street around the Vucciria. In summer, open-air clubs and beach bars at Mondello and below Taormina add a seasonal scene.

Both are superb outdoors, but in different ways. Lake Como is about mountains rising steeply from deep water. You can walk the Sentiero del Viandante and the Greenway, climb the Grigna, ride the funicular to Brunate, and windsurf or kitesurf on the afternoon breva wind at Domaso and Colico.

Sicily's landscape is volcanic and coastal: guided walks on Etna's lava fields, the night climb to watch Stromboli erupt, the Zingaro cliff path, and diving around the Egadi and Aeolian Islands. Its interior gets too hot for hiking in high summer, while Como's trails stay usable, if showery.

Lake Como's best day trips leave the lake, while Sicily's stay on the island. From Como or Varenna the train reaches Milan and its Last Supper in about an hour, Bergamo's upper town is as close from Lecco, and Lugano is just across the Swiss border. Closer to home, a ferry hop between Bellagio, Varenna and Menaggio fills a day without any planning.

Sicily is large enough to keep you busy within its own coast. From Syracuse you can see the baroque towns and Marzamemi, from Palermo you can reach Cefalù, Erice and Marsala, and the Etna wine villages are close to Catania. Ferries run out to Favignana or Lipari. Most of these trips are far easier with a car.

Sicily is the easier choice with children. Its shallow sandy bays at San Vito Lo Capo and in the south east suit small children, agriturismi with pools are common, and Sicilians welcome children late into the evening. Older children enjoy Etna and Palermo's puppet theatre. The drawbacks are long drives and hard summer heat.

Lake Como offers boat rides, the Brunate funicular and a lido, but the stepped lanes of Bellagio and Varenna, roads without pavements and hotels aimed at couples make it harder going. The flatter upper lake, with its campsites, is the family-friendly corner.

Lake Como is much easier without a car. Ferries link Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio and Cadenabbia in minutes, and trains come up from Milan to Como and Varenna. Driving is the part to avoid, with narrow shore roads and scarce parking.

Sicily mostly needs a hire car. Trains are sparse away from a few coastal routes, inland roads are slow, driving in Palermo and Catania is chaotic, and rough seas can cancel island ferries. Two city bases connected by bus can work, but you will see far less.

Neither is a shopping destination, and Sicily has slightly more range. On Lake Como the one real buy is silk, as scarves, ties and fabrics from Como's mills and outlets. For serious fashion you go to Milan.

Sicily's best buys are crafts and food: Caltagirone majolica, Trapani coral, Palermo puppets, Modica chocolate and Bronte pistachio cream. It also has its own fashion streets, Via Libertà in Palermo and Via Etnea in Catania.

Lake Como in summer is one of the dearer corners of Italy. The central lake is lined with grand villa hotels, lakefront dining charges for the view, and boat taxis add up. Como town, Lecco, the upper lake's campsites and the shoulder months soften the bill.

Sicily is far kinder to a budget. Street food and pastry cost little, trattorie are fair, and B&Bs and agriturismi stay reasonable even in summer. The exceptions are Taormina and the Aeolians in July and August, and the cost of a hire car.

Lake Como's stage is small. Como's Teatro Sociale has a real season, and in summer classical concerts are held in villas and churches, but La Scala in Milan is where serious opera-goers end up.

Sicily has much more. Palermo's Teatro Massimo is among Europe's largest opera houses, and Catania's Teatro Bellini honours its native composer. Greek tragedies are staged in Syracuse's ancient theatre and summer performances are held at Taormina with Etna behind the stage. The opera dei pupi, knights fighting in marionette theatres, is something Como has no answer to.

Lake Como is the more restful of the two. The grand villa hotels near Cernobbio and Tremezzo have proper spas, some with pools above the water, and the villages go silent in the evening, especially in May, June and September. It has no thermal baths of its own.

Sicily has more unusual waters, including hot springs at Sciacca, volcanic mud on Vulcano and Pantelleria's crater lake, but no bathing culture around them. Rest there means an agriturismo among olive groves or a slow island like Salina, with the summer heat to work around.