Lake Como or Umbria?

Neither has sand, but Lake Como gives a far better swim. Clear, deep water off the lidos at Bellagio, Lenno and Menaggio, or along the open upper shore at Domaso, makes a dip between ferry rides a real part of a summer day.

Umbria has no coast at all. Lake Trasimeno is warm and shallow, good for small children, but often cloudy, with reeds and a muddy bottom in places. Most visitors end up swimming in their farmhouse pool.

Umbria eats noticeably better. Black truffle on strangozzi, Norcia's pork, Castelluccio lentils and Trevi olive oil give its trattorie a depth of local produce that the lake lacks. Sagrantino tastings around Montefalco and the whites of Orvieto make wine a reason to come in its own right.

Lake Como has one classic plate in perch with risotto, and its best meals are found in crotti and hill-village trattorias rather than on the lakefront, where terraces tend to be pricey and generic. Both kitchens are firmly regional and short on anything beyond Italian cooking.

Umbria is in a different league for art. Assisi's basilica, Signorelli's Last Judgement at Orvieto and the Galleria Nazionale in Perugia are major works, and Gubbio, Spello, Todi and Montefalco each add frescoes or a fine square.

Lake Como's heritage is more about setting than masterpieces. Villa Carlotta, Balbianello and Melzi are best enjoyed for their gardens, reached by boat, while Como town adds its cathedral and Terragni's rationalist buildings. Neither destination relies on big museums.

Both are quiet after dinner, and neither has clubs. Umbria has a slight edge thanks to Perugia, where students fill the cathedral steps and the wine bars of the old centre on warm evenings. On Lake Como the night out is a cocktail in Como town or a terrace drink in Bellagio or Varenna before the last ferry, and anyone after more takes the train to Milan.

Lake Como has the more dramatic landscape. Mountains rise more than 2,000m straight out of a deep glacial lake, and walkers on the Greenway or the old mule track above Varenna have the water below them all the way. The breva wind on the upper lake adds windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Umbria is softer: olive groves, oak woods and river valleys. Its drama lies in the far east, where the Castelluccio plain flowers under the Sibillini, the Valnerina offers rafting and canyoning, and the Marmore Falls drop about 165m.

Umbria is built for day trips. From a base near Perugia or Spoleto, a different hill town fills each day, Tuscany's Cortona, Montepulciano and Siena are close, and Rome is a little over an hour by train from Orvieto.

Lake Como is a strong base too, with Milan, Bergamo and Lugano all within about an hour, and ferry hops around the central villages that need no planning. Beyond those, the choice is thinner, and the Bernina line and Lake Maggiore make for long days.

These two are about even for children, and in both the best family days are simple ones. Lake Como offers boat rides, the Brunate funicular and lido swims, but steep stepped villages and narrow roads without pavements make it tiring with a pushchair. The flatter upper lake near Domaso is the easiest base.

Umbria works best around a farmhouse with a pool and space to run, with Trasimeno's shallow water and the Marmore Falls as outings. Its cobbled hill towns are no kinder to pushchairs than Bellagio's stairs.

Getting around is about as easy in either, but in different ways. On Lake Como the boat is king: ferries cross the central basin in minutes and trains run up the eastern shore, so staying car-free in Bellagio, Varenna or Menaggio works well, while driving the narrow shore roads is a trial.

Umbria is the reverse. Roads are good and quiet, so a car is the practical choice, with escalators and lifts carrying you up from the car parks below Perugia, Orvieto and Spoleto. Rail links the main towns, but the countryside is hard to reach without a car.

Neither is a shopping destination, and in both the best buys are local crafts. On Lake Como that means silk, scarves and ties from Como's mills and outlets, with Milan an hour away for real fashion. In Umbria you buy painted majolica from Deruta's workshops, hand-loomed linen from Montefalco, cashmere near Perugia, and truffles and hams in Norcia.

Umbria is the far cheaper trip. Farmhouse stays and small town hotels cost less than in nearby Tuscany, village set lunches and local wine are good value, and most sights cost little to enter. The main extra cost is the hire car.

Lake Como in summer is one of the dearer corners of Italy. The central lake is lined with grand hotels, and the lakefront restaurants charge for the view. You can save by staying in Como town or Lecco, camping on the upper lake, or coming in spring or autumn.

Umbria has more to offer here, at least in early summer. Umbria Jazz fills Perugia's squares in July, and the Festival dei Due Mondi brings opera, dance and theatre to Spoleto, while small towns keep their old jewel-box theatres for occasional performances.

Lake Como has Como's Teatro Sociale with a real season, and summer concerts in villas and churches, but for anything bigger it relies on La Scala in Milan.

Both offer rest through their slow pace rather than through bathing. On Lake Como it comes with luxury: the villa hotels near Cernobbio and Tremezzo have serious spas with pools over the water, and the small villages grow very quiet in the evening.

Umbria's calm is more rustic and spiritual, with farmhouse pools, yoga and massage, and the hermitages on Monte Subasio for silence. Its few spa towns are modest, and neither destination has a real thermal tradition.