Milan or Padua?

Neither city is chosen for the beach. Milan is landlocked, so swimming there means fresh water: the Idroscalo basin near Linate, the open-air pools, or the pebbly lidos of Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, about an hour away by train with mountain views. The Ligurian coast is around two hours away, which is possible but makes for a long day out rather than an afternoon.

Padua gets you to the sea more easily. Sottomarina and the Lido of Venice are about an hour away, and their shallow, calm Adriatic water suits small children. The beaches themselves are flat rows of umbrellas with little to look at.

Milan offers the wider and more ambitious table. Saffron risotto, ossobuco and cotoletta come with a serious fine-dining scene, and because so many Italians have moved to the city, you can also eat well from Naples to Sicily without leaving it. Aperitivo around the Navigli, Brera and Isola is generous enough to replace supper.

Padua's cooking is narrower and homelier: bigoli with duck sauce, baccalà, boiled meats with green sauce. Its strength is the morning markets in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza della Frutta, along with Euganean wines and coffee at Caffè Pedrocchi. Visitors who want variety or a special dinner will find more in Milan.

The two are broadly level, but their sights work in different ways. Milan has a handful of headline sights spread through a largely modern city: the Duomo and its roof, the Last Supper, the paintings of the Brera and the Rondanini Pietà in the Castello Sforzesco.

Padua's heritage is packed into a small medieval core. You get Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel and the UNESCO-listed fresco cycles around it, the domed Basilica of Saint Anthony with Donatello's bronzes, and the university's anatomical theatre and botanical garden, all within a short walk. It takes less time to see and is more intimate, while Milan is better for great collections of art.

Milan gives you more choice and a later night. After aperitivo there are the canal-side bars of the Navigli, the gay scene around Porta Venezia, dressy clubs near Corso Como with strict doors, and warehouse nights on the edge of the city.

Padua's evening is mostly the spritz hour. Students and locals stand in Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori, then move on to wine bars in the old ghetto. It is sociable and easy, but there are few clubs, and the town goes quiet when the university is on its summer break.

Both cities sit on a flat plain, but Milan's mountains and lakes give it the stronger outdoors. An hour north are the steep wooded shores of Como and Maggiore, with ferries, sailing and windsurfing, and the Grigne ridges above Lecco offer real hiking and via ferrata.

Padua's green escape is gentler and nearer. The volcanic Euganean Hills rise about 15km away, with vineyard trails, chestnut woods and quiet roads loved by cyclists. The Brenta towpaths and the lagoon add level rides and birdwatching, but proper mountains at Monte Grappa or Asiago mean a longer drive.

Both are outstanding bases with fast trains, and they share Verona and Bologna. What differs is the direction. From Milan you head to Bergamo's upper town, the villages of Lake Como, Turin, the Borromean Islands and Lugano over the Swiss border.

Padua's trump card is Venice, under half an hour away and close enough to visit again and again. Vicenza's Palladian buildings are a quarter of an hour away, and the Brenta villas, Arquà Petrarca and the walled towns around the Euganean Hills are closer still.

Milan has more to keep children busy. The science and technology museum, with its submarine and hands-on labs, is a reliable rainy-day option, there is an aquarium and playgrounds by Parco Sempione, and Leolandia is under an hour away.

Padua is easy with children, with a flat, safe and largely car-free centre and Prato della Valle for running about, but frescoes and churches hold little for them. Both cities rely on Gardaland for a big day out, and from Padua the shallow Adriatic is a good alternative.

Milan runs on rails. Five colour-coded metro lines take a contactless card at the gates, and a dense tram network fills the gaps, including the old orange cars that still run through the centre. The core from the Duomo to Brera and the Castello is walkable as well, and driving in the centre is restricted, so a car is no help. The drawbacks are the summer heat underground and the long transfer from Malpensa.

In Padua you mostly walk. Most sights are within about 20 minutes of each other, under arcades that keep off rain and sun, and much of the core is closed to traffic. One tram runs from the station through the centre to Prato della Valle, and plenty of people get about by bike. Neither city is hard to get around. The difference is that in Milan you use the metro and trams to cover the distances, while Padua is small enough to do on foot.

This is where the two differ most. Milan is a world fashion capital. The great Italian houses have their flagships in the Quadrilatero, the Galleria has some of the city's oldest shops, and Corso Buenos Aires, the vintage shops of Porta Ticinese and the furniture and lighting showrooms cover everything from everyday shopping to design.

Padua's arcades have shoe shops, a few independent boutiques and university bookshops. It is better for edible souvenirs from the delicatessens under the Palazzo della Ragione, or a browse at the monthly antiques market in Prato della Valle.

Padua is clearly easier on the wallet. Hotels are moderately priced, so it works as a sensible base for the region, trattorias are fair, and the centre is walkable, so you spend little on transport.

Milan is Italy's most expensive city. Rooms in particular cost a lot, and they become very hard to find at a sensible rate during fashion weeks and trade fairs. Office-worker lunch menus, aperitivo snacks and staying near a metro stop outside the centre help, but the gap remains.

Milan is the city for a night at the opera. La Scala's season of opera, ballet and concerts is among the most famous in the world, and the Piccolo Teatro, the symphony orchestra at the Auditorium and summer stadium concerts at San Siro add depth.

Padua's programme is modest: prose and some opera at Teatro Verdi, and chamber concerts in the frescoed Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica of Saint Anthony. In summer, when Milan's opera slows down, Padua is well placed for the open-air opera at the Arena in Verona.

Padua is far stronger for unwinding, thanks to Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme. This thermal district, one of Europe's largest, has hot mineral springs and mud treatments used since Roman times, and it is close enough to soak in after a morning of sightseeing.

Milan has one well-known thermal spa complex, some hotel spas and the 1930s pools of the Bagni Misteriosi in summer. Still, the city's pace is that of work, and most people looking for real calm take the train to the lakes.