Lugano or Rovinj?

Neither town has sand, but Rovinj has the sea and Lugano does not. In Lugano you swim from lidos with lawns, decks and ladders into a lake that warms to the low twenties in high summer. It is pleasant on a hot day, but it is not a beach vacation.

Rovinj has several kilometres of limestone ledges and pebble coves running into the Golden Cape pines. The Adriatic water is very clear, and taxi boats cross to quieter coves on St Catherine and Red Island. You will need water shoes for the sea urchins.

Both are good places to eat well for a week rather than for variety, but the cooking is different. In Lugano the best meals are in grotti: polenta, braised meats and local cheeses at granite tables under chestnut trees, with Ticino Merlot, and all at Swiss prices.

Rovinj eats from the sea and the Istrian hinterland: scampi buzara, fuži with truffle, peppery olive oil and Malvazija. The family konobas inland are worth the drive, but the harbourfront menus are aimed at passing visitors.

Each town takes a day or less to see, but in different ways. Lugano has separate things to visit: Luini's Passion fresco in Santa Maria degli Angioli, the art collection at LAC and Palazzo Reali, and Hesse's house up in Montagnola.

In Rovinj the old town itself is the sight. Pastel Venetian houses climb to St Euphemia's bell tower, and the Batana House tells the story of the local fishing boats. It is more photogenic as a whole, but there are fewer places to go inside.

Both are quiet by midnight. In Lugano the evening is an aperitivo under the arcades or on the lakefront among a well-dressed local crowd, and anyone young who wants a real night out takes the train to Milan. In Rovinj it is a drink on the rocks at sunset and a few harbour bars in summer, and outside the season the town goes almost silent.

Lugano has the more dramatic landscape by a clear margin. Steep wooded mountains drop into the lake, and funiculars and a rack railway take you to Monte Brè, San Salvatore and Monte Generoso, with views towards the Alps. The Lema to Tamaro ridge and the Verzasca and Maggia valleys make serious day hikes.

Rovinj's outdoors is gentler and is mostly on the water. You can walk or cycle the flat paths of the Golden Cape, kayak and dive around the low islands, and take a boat up the Lim Fjord. There are no mountains.

From Lugano you can visit two countries by train. The Last Supper in Milan is a little over an hour away, Lake Como about half an hour, and the castles of Bellinzona closer still, with Lake Maggiore and the Borromean Islands beyond.

Rovinj also has strong trips, including Pula's Roman amphitheatre, the mosaics of Poreč and the hill towns of Motovun and Grožnjan. But there is no railway, so most of these need a car, and Trieste is the furthest you can reasonably go.

Lugano is the slightly easier choice with children, mainly because the attractions are rides. There are boats to the villages, funiculars and a rack railway, slides at the lidos and the miniature Swiss landmarks at Melide. It suits younger children better than teenagers.

Rovinj has big campsites and resorts with pools and playgrounds, and shady flat paths in the Golden Cape park. On the other hand, the rocky shore needs water shoes and close watching, and the waterparks are a drive away. Both towns are steep work with a pushchair.

Lugano is much easier to manage without a car. A funicular links the station to the old town, buses climb the hillsides, and boats, mountain railways and Swiss trains take you almost everywhere a visitor wants to go.

Rovinj is simple on foot, with a car-free old town and a promenade into the Golden Cape. Outside the town there is no railway, and the buses only link the larger towns, so the hill towns and wineries realistically need a hire car.

Lugano has more to buy. Via Nassa's arcades are lined with Swiss watchmakers, jewellers and Italian fashion houses, there is a large designer outlet near Mendrisio, and Milan is close for anything else. Rovinj's shopping is regional and small: truffle products, olive oil, Teran wine and lavender, plus the galleries and artists' studios along Grisia.

Neither is a bargain, but Rovinj leaves much more room to save. You can rent a private apartment or stay at a campsite, buy lunch from a bakery or the market, and go in late spring or September, when it is noticeably cheaper.

Lugano charges Swiss prices for everything from lakeside rooms to boat trips and funiculars. A grotto lunch and the regional transport pass that comes with most hotel stays help a little, but there is no cheap way to stay in the town.

Lugano has a proper year-round season. The Orchestra della Svizzera italiana plays in LAC's concert hall, the theatre puts on drama and dance, and Estival Jazz fills Piazza della Riforma with free concerts in summer.

Rovinj offers summer music only: occasional concerts in St Euphemia, open-air sets on the harbour and, if you are lucky, a performance of bitinada, the local unaccompanied singing. For anything larger you go to Pula's arena.

Lugano is a place to slow down by a lake and Rovinj by the sea, and each manages it about equally well. In Lugano the unhurried day is a coffee under the arcades, an afternoon on a lido or a bench in Parco Ciani, and a lunch in the hills that runs into the evening. For a wet day there is a large indoor complex of pools and saunas near Rivera, north of town.

In Rovinj you unwind with a late swim off the rocks and an evening walk under the Golden Cape pines. Several resort hotels along the shore open their pools, saunas and treatments to outside guests. Go in May, June or September, because in high summer the old town lanes fill up and you have to look for quiet further from the centre.