Milan or Monaco?

Monaco has the sea on its doorstep: Larvotto's short, sheltered beach with clear, calm water, rocky bathing platforms along the shore and the coves of Cap d'Ail just over the border. Milan has no coast at all. In summer you swim at the Idroscalo basin, at a public pool, or after an hour on the train at the pebbly lidos of Como and Maggiore.

Even so, Monaco's beach is small and groomed. For long days on wide sand, people head to Menton or Nice.

Milan has more to offer at the table. There is saffron risotto, ossobuco and cotoletta cooked in butter, good cooking from every other Italian region, and an aperitivo ritual in Brera, Isola and along the Navigli that can turn early evening into a meal. It also works at several levels, from office lunches to serious fine dining.

Monaco's eating is concentrated at the top, in starred and grand hotel dining rooms cooking Riviera food with olive oil, fish and herbs, where the harbour view is part of the point. Its own snacks, barbagiuan and socca from the Condamine market, are worth finding. Casual meals are scarce enough that many visitors eat in Nice or Menton instead.

Milan's sights carry more weight. The Duomo has rooftop terraces among its spires, Leonardo's Last Supper must be booked well ahead, and the city also has the Pinacoteca di Brera and Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà at the Castello Sforzesco, with Sant'Ambrogio and the Ambrosiana close by. The heritage sits in clusters inside a modern city, and it repays several days.

Monaco's sights are compact and theatrical. On the Rock are the Prince's Palace and its guard ceremony, Grace Kelly's grave in the cathedral and the Belle Époque Oceanographic Museum on the cliff edge, with the Casino across the harbour. A day or two covers it all, and the setting leaves a stronger impression than the collections.

Range is what separates the two. An evening in Milan starts with aperitivo and carries on into the bars along the Navigli towpaths, into smarter, quieter Brera, or into the easier-going streets of Isola and Porta Venezia, which is also the heart of the city's gay scene. Clubs run from dressy Corso Como venues, where the door policy counts, to warehouse nights on the edge of town.

Monaco offers one kind of night and does it with gloss. It centres on the Casino square, the hotel bars and a few clubs by the Larvotto seafront and the port, where champagne and yachts set the tone. Outside summer and Grand Prix weekend it goes to bed early. The two also peak at opposite times: Milan empties in August, just when Monaco is at its liveliest.

Both cities sit next to fine country rather than in it, and the difference is lakes against sea. From Milan, the train reaches Como and Maggiore in about an hour, with ferries, lakeside paths, sailing and the Grigne ridges for hiking and via ferrata. The canal towpaths give flat cycling out into the rice fields.

Monaco's scenery rises right behind the rooftops, with old mule paths up to Èze, the view from the Tête de Chien and coastal walks around Cap d'Ail and Cap Martin. Its clear water also adds diving and snorkelling, which Milan cannot offer.

Both are excellent bases, but Milan reaches further and wider. High-speed trains make Verona, Turin and Bologna easy days out. Bergamo's upper town, Bellagio and Varenna, the Certosa di Pavia, Mantua, Parma and even Lugano add art cities, lakes and food towns from several regions.

Monaco's options run along a single coastline. Nice is under half an hour away, Menton and Villefranche are closer still, and Èze sits on the hill above. Further out are Antibes, Cannes, Grasse and the Italian border towns of Sanremo and Dolceacqua. The settings are lovely, but the days have less variety than Milan's.

Neither city is built around children, and each falls short in its own way. Milan has the science and technology museum with its submarine and trains, playgrounds in Parco Sempione and theme parks such as Leolandia and Gardaland within reach. But its summers are heavy and its big sights are aimed at adults.

Monaco is small, safe and easy to cover with a pushchair thanks to its public lifts. Children enjoy the sharks in the aquarium, Larvotto's gentle water and the palace guard. After a couple of days, though, the formal restaurants and steep streets leave little else to do.

Both are easy without a car, for different reasons. Milan has a flat centre, five simple metro lines and old orange trams that fill the gaps, plus direct trains to the lakes. Its weak points are hot platforms in summer and the long transfer from Malpensa.

Monaco is only about 3km end to end, so you walk everywhere. The problem is height rather than distance, and free public lifts, escalators and a small solar ferry across the harbour take much of the effort out of it.

Milan is a reason to travel in itself. The great Italian fashion houses have their flagships in the Quadrilatero della Moda, and La Rinascente and the Galleria add a century of history. For more everyday shopping there are Corso Buenos Aires, the independent shops of Brera and Porta Ticinese, the design showrooms and the antique markets on the Navigli.

Monaco's Carré d'Or has the luxury houses and high jewellers within a quarter-hour's walk, and window-shopping there is part of a Monte-Carlo evening. Beyond that there is little: no real high street, few independents and no flea markets, so visitors who want more choice shop in Nice.

Neither is cheap, but Milan is far easier on the wallet. Hotels are expensive and much harder to find at fair rates during fashion weeks and trade fairs. Aperitivo snacks, set lunches, fairly priced transport and a room near a metro stop outside the centre all help.

Monaco is among the costliest places in the world to visit, with hotels, meals and even café coffee priced for the very wealthy. The lifts are free and walking the Rock costs nothing. Most people on a budget sleep in Nice, Menton or Beausoleil and come in for the day.

La Scala gives Milan the edge. It has a season of opera, ballet and concerts, and gallery seats for the determined. Around it are the Piccolo Teatro, a fine symphony orchestra, small jazz rooms and big summer concerts at San Siro.

Monaco has real pedigree for its size, with opera in the gilded Salle Garnier and internationally known ballet and philharmonic companies. But its season clusters in winter and spring, and there is little spoken theatre or casual live music. In summer the balance shifts somewhat: Monaco's open-air shows by the sea carry on while Milan's opera goes quiet.

Monaco is the more restful of the two. The thalassotherapy centre beside the Casino has heated seawater pools, the grand hotels have large spas, and mornings in the Japanese Garden or on the Rock's ramparts are quiet. Milan is a work-focused city where most people relax by leaving for the lakes, although its thermal spa complex and the 1930s Bagni Misteriosi pools are good for an afternoon.