Lecce or Zadar?

Both cities offer equally good swimming, but in different ways. Lecce lies inland, so every beach day means a drive or a seasonal bus to the sandy coves of Torre dell'Orso or the shallow, fine-sand shores of Porto Cesareo on the Ionian side.

Zadar has the sea at its doorstep: you can swim off the stone promenade or walk to Kolovare, though the city beaches are pebble and concrete. For sand you take a short trip to Nin or a ferry to Sakarun on Dugi Otok.

Lecce has the stronger and more particular kitchen. Its day is built around local pastries, iced almond coffee and peasant dishes such as fava purée with chicory, all served cheaply in old town osterie and paired with the robust reds of the plain.

Zadar's Dalmatian menu of grilled fish, black risotto and peka is good but repeats from one konoba to the next. Its strongest points are the market by the walls and a glass of Maraschino, not a reason to plan the trip around meals.

Lecce is the more rewarding town for sightseeing. Its appeal is a whole townscape of richly carved Baroque facades, from Santa Croce to the enclosed Piazza del Duomo, with Roman and Messapian layers beneath, and you could spend days just walking it.

Zadar packs Roman forum, St Donatus and Venetian walls into a small peninsula, adds fine small museums such as the Museum of Ancient Glass, and finishes with the Sea Organ. It is absorbing, but two days covers it.

Neither town is somewhere to come for nightlife, and the evenings feel alike: aperitivo or sunset drinks, then wine bars or café-bars in the old lanes. The difference is the season. Lecce's student population keeps weekends lively for most of the year, while Zadar goes quiet from October to May. In summer, real clubbing means a drive in both cases, to Gallipoli's beach discos or to Zrće on Pag.

Zadar is far better for the outdoors. Mountains, a scattering of islands and two famous lake and waterfall parks are all within day range, along with climbing in Paklenica and sailing among the bare Kornati islands.

Around Lecce the land is flat olive country, so the outdoors means the coast: clifftop paths and sea caves between Roca Vecchia and Leuca, birdwatching at Le Cesine, and snorkelling or diving off rocky shores.

Both make excellent bases, so the choice depends on the kind of outing you want. From Lecce the trips are to stone towns: walled Otranto with its cathedral mosaic, island Gallipoli, white Ostuni and the trulli of Alberobello further north.

From Zadar, Šibenik's cathedral, Trogir and Split's palace mix with ferry hops to Ugljan or car-free Silba. In both cases a car makes everything easier.

With children the two are much alike. Both old towns are flat and largely free of cars, families stay out late in the piazzas or along the promenade, and neither has a zoo, aquarium or theme park. In Lecce the pleasures are those of an Italian evening, with gelato close at hand and safe lanes to run in. For the beach, the gentle, sandy shallows around Porto Cesareo suit small swimmers best.\n\nZadar gives children more to do on the waterfront itself.

The Sea Organ's music, played by the waves, and the Greeting to the Sun lighting up after dark hold their attention, and the wide promenade suits scooters and pushchairs. For younger ones, the boat out to Ugljan or Pašman is an outing in its own right. When they want sand, Nin's long, shallow beaches are the best choice on this side.

Zadar is the easier place to manage without wheels. Its compact peninsula, the footbridge across the harbour and the ferry quay at the edge of the old town let you swim and island-hop on foot, although the parks inland still need a car or tour.

Lecce's centre is just as walkable, but the beaches and Salento towns sit beyond slow local trains and summer-only buses. Most visitors end up hiring a car and parking outside the walls.

Neither is a shopping destination, though Lecce has a little more character. Its old town workshops make cartapesta saints and nativity figures, and carved local stone and Grottaglie ceramics make good gifts. Zadar's Kalelarga is mostly chains and souvenirs, so the best buys are edible or handmade: Maraschino, Pag cheese and Pag lace from the market by the walls.

Lecce gives somewhat better value, with cheap pastries, inexpensive trattoria meals and fairly priced rooms in old palazzi for most of the year. Zadar is reasonable for Croatia's coast, but restaurants on the main streets are priced for visitors, and national park entry and boat excursions soon add up. Both get expensive in August, and in both June and September strike the best balance.

Lecce has more going on. The Politeama Greco and Teatro Paisiello run opera and concert seasons, and the summer pizzica festivals peak at the vast Notte della Taranta in Melpignano.

Zadar's highlight is more intimate: early and chamber music inside ninth-century St Donatus, with klapa singing in the squares. Beyond July and August there is very little.

Sulphur grottoes in the sea cliffs at Santa Cesarea Terme give Lecce a real spa outing within an hour, and converted masserie in the olive country make quiet retreats with spas of their own. Zadar has only hotel spas at Borik and the old custom of coating yourself in mud in Nin's lagoon. Its best way to unwind costs nothing: watching the sun set over the islands from the Sea Organ steps.