Ljubljana or Padua?

Neither city is on the coast, but Padua has the easier day at the sea. Sottomarina and the Lido of Venice offer real sand about an hour away, and the shallow, calm water suits small children, even if the shore is lined with rows of umbrellas.

From Ljubljana the Slovenian coast is further off, and Piran and Izola have mostly concrete platforms and pebbles. Summer swimming there tends to mean the Sava or the Alpine lakes, with Bled warm enough in July and colder Bohinj the clearer and more beautiful of the two.

Padua eats a little better, mainly because food is woven into its daily routine. The morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, bigoli with duck sauce and baccalà, and the evening spritz with small bites in the squares give the city a fuller food culture.

Ljubljana is more modest at the table, with hearty štruklji, žganci and Carniolan sausage in its gostilna inns. It makes up ground with wine: orange wines from the west and bottles from Brda and Vipava, poured by the glass on the riverbank.

Padua has the deeper sights. Giotto's Scrovegni frescoes changed European painting, and the UNESCO-listed fresco cycles, Donatello's work at the Basilica of Saint Anthony and the anatomical theatre in Palazzo Bo add up to an art city of real weight.

Ljubljana's interest lies in the whole townscape rather than its contents. Plečnik's bridges, colonnades and library, the baroque old town and the castle on its hill make for lovely wandering, but its museums are solid rather than essential, and two or three days are enough.

The two are close, and both suit a sociable evening more than a big night. What differs is the setting. In Ljubljana people drink on terraces along the Ljubljanica embankments, and Metelkova's scruffy squat clubs give it one genuinely late, alternative scene at weekends.

Padua's evening starts earlier and centres on the aperitivo, with crowds standing over spritz glasses in the squares around the Palazzo della Ragione, then wine bars in the old ghetto. Its few clubs sit out of town, and both cities go quiet once the students leave.

Ljubljana is far ahead. Forest begins at Tivoli Park, Šmarna Gora is a before-work climb, and within about an hour lie Velika Planina's high pastures, Triglav National Park and the Vintgar gorge. Further west, and a longer day out, the emerald Soča is the place for rafting and kayaking, while small ski resorts are within reach in winter.

Padua's outdoors is gentler and further away. The volcanic Euganean Hills offer vineyard trails and good road cycling, and the Brenta towpaths make easy flat rides, but proper mountain walking on Monte Grappa or the Asiago plateau means an hour and a half's drive.

Both are good bases, but Padua is outstanding. Venice is under half an hour by train, close enough to visit several times, and Vicenza, Verona, Treviso, Ferrara and Bologna all lie within about an hour on fast trains. The Brenta villas and the walled towns of Este and Montagnana are closer still.

Ljubljana's excursions are more about scenery: Bled's island church, Predjama Castle in its cliff, Škofja Loka and the coast at Piran. Trieste and Zagreb add variety, but the smaller places are easier with a car.

Ljubljana is the friendlier city for children. Beyond its flat, car-free centre it has things they remember: the funicular up to the castle, the dragons on the Dragon Bridge, a zoo on Rožnik hill, a hands-on science centre and a puppet theatre whose shows need no language.

Padua is just as safe and easy with a pushchair, and children are welcome in any trattoria, but its sights are frescoes and churches. Beyond running around Prato della Valle, families usually rely on day trips to Gardaland, Lake Garda or the beach.

Getting around is equally easy in both, with every main sight about twenty minutes' walk apart in a largely pedestrianised core. Ljubljana relies on feet, bike share and electric shuttles, with no tram, and for trips out intercity buses beat the slow trains. Padua has a tram from the station to Prato della Valle, arcades that shelter you from sun and rain, and a main-line station that makes going without a car easy.

Padua offers a bit more to browse. The arcaded streets towards the station carry Italian fashion and shoe shops, university bookshops and independent boutiques, and the delicatessens under the Palazzo della Ragione are ideal for cheese and Euganean wine to take home.

Ljubljana is smaller still, best for local produce such as honey, pumpkin-seed oil, coastal salt and Idrija lace, with a Sunday flea market on the embankment and a few design shops on Trubarjeva. Neither replaces Venice or Milan for serious fashion.

Overall costs are about the same, but the money goes in different places. In Ljubljana the main expense is a room, since summer hotels in the old town cost much the same as in Western Europe, while set lunch menus and cheap sights keep the rest of the bill down.

Padua's hotels are its bargain, a calmer and cheaper bed than Venice for touring the region, though rooms get dearer during trade fairs and graduation weeks. The Scrovegni Chapel and the main museums charge normal entry fees.

Ljubljana offers more for a night of music. The Slovenian Philharmonic, the National Opera and Ballet, a year-round programme at Cankarjev dom and the summer Ljubljana Festival in Plečnik's Križanke courtyard give a city of its size a full calendar, even if most theatre is in Slovene.

Padua's offer is smaller: plays and some opera at Teatro Verdi, and chamber concerts in the Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica. Its real advantage is being close to La Fenice in Venice and the summer Arena in Verona.

Padua has the stronger hand. Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, about 12km away, form one of Europe's largest thermal districts, with hot springs, mud treatments dating to Roman times and spa hotels that take day visitors, easily reached after a morning of sightseeing.

Ljubljana has no bathing tradition of its own beyond a water park sauna and hotel spas. Its restfulness comes from quiet, green streets and long riverside afternoons, while Slovenia's thermal spa towns need a drive of up to an hour.