Milan or Zadar?

Milan has no sea. A swim means the Idroscalo basin near Linate, a city pool, or a train of about an hour to the pebbly lidos of Como and Maggiore. That works as an occasional summer outing, not as the basis of a beach vacation.

Zadar is far stronger here, because swimming is part of every summer day. Locals swim straight off the stone promenade or at Kolovare and Borik, though these are pebble and concrete rather than sand. For sand, go to Nin or take the ferry to Sakarun on Dugi Otok.

Milan eats better and more widely. Beyond its own butter-rich cooking of saffron risotto, ossobuco and cotoletta, it serves food from every Italian region and has a serious fine-dining tier. Aperitivo in Brera, Isola or along the Navigli shapes the evening.

Zadar's food is Dalmatian, enjoyable but narrow: grilled fish, black risotto, octopus or lamb cooked under the peka, Pag cheese, and Maraschino to finish. Most konobas serve much the same menu, and the market by the walls is where the produce is at its best.

Milan's sights are fewer than its size suggests, but they are of higher rank: Leonardo's Last Supper, the Duomo with its rooftop among the spires, the Brera picture gallery and Michelangelo's Rondanini Pietà in the Castello Sforzesco. They sit in clusters within a largely modern city.

Zadar packs three thousand years onto one walled peninsula. The open Roman forum, round St Donatus and the UNESCO-listed Venetian walls are a few minutes apart. Its museums of ancient glass and church treasure are good but small, and two days covers everything.

Milan offers a proper night out. Aperitivo runs on into the canal-side bars of the Navigli, Porta Venezia has the gay scene, and clubs range from dressy Corso Como venues to warehouse nights on the edge of the city. It does go quiet in August.

Zadar's evenings are gentler: sunset at the Sea Organ, then café-bars on Kalelarga and terraces on the walls. For serious clubbing you need the hour's trip to Zrće on Pag in high summer, and out of season the town is quiet.

Zadar has the wilder outdoors close by. Paklenica's limestone gorges, for hiking and climbing, are under an hour away, and boats run to the Kornati and Telašćica. Krka's waterfalls and Plitvice make longer days out, and sea kayaking and island cycling are easy to arrange.

Milan sits on the flat, hazy plain, with Parco Sempione and cycling along the canal towpaths in town. The lakes and the Grigne ridges are an hour north by train, which suits walkers who are happy to travel to the start. Zadar has the sea and the mountains side by side.

Milan is the better base by a wide margin, because high-speed trains do the work. Bergamo, Lake Como, Verona and Turin are each about an hour away. The Certosa di Pavia, Mantua, Parma and Lugano across the Swiss border are also within reach, all without a car.

Zadar has good outings too: Šibenik's cathedral, royal Nin, the islands by ferry, and Split and Trogir on a longer day. Most of them, though, need a hire car or an organised excursion.

Both cities work with children without being built for them, but in different ways. Milan has the indoor attractions: the science and technology museum with its submarine, a small aquarium, and theme parks such as Leolandia and Gardaland within reach.

Zadar has none of these. What it does have is a car-free old town, the glowing tiles of the Greeting to the Sun and Nin's shallow sandy beaches, so days are easy and spent by the sea. Midsummer heat is tiring in both.

Milan is easier to get around without a car. Five simple metro lines with contactless gates, a dense tram network and direct trains to the lakes cover almost everything, and the central sights are a short walk apart.

Zadar's peninsula is small and flat, and you can walk across it in a quarter of an hour. Island ferries leave from its edge. Beyond that the local buses are basic, and the national parks and the coast really need a hire car or an excursion.

This is barely a contest. Milan is a world fashion capital, with the great Italian houses on Via Montenapoleone and Via della Spiga, historic shops under the Galleria's glass roof, design showrooms, and antique markets on the Navigli.

Zadar's Kalelarga has jewellers, fashion chains and souvenir shops. The things worth buying are local food and crafts: Maraschino, Pag cheese, olive oil and Pag lace, best found at the market by the walls.

Milan is Italy's most expensive city, and hotels are especially steep during trade fairs and fashion weeks. Aperitivo snacks, lunch menus aimed at office workers and a room near a metro stop outside the centre all help, but it remains the costlier stay.

Zadar is easier on the budget. Private apartments are good value outside July and August, and konobas, bakeries, ferries and buses are fairly priced. Park entry and boat trips are the costs that add up.

Milan has a world-famous opera house at its centre in La Scala, whose season of opera, ballet and concerts is a reason to visit on its own. Around it are the Piccolo Teatro, a symphony orchestra at the Auditorium, jazz rooms and big summer concerts at San Siro.

Zadar's calendar is short and seasonal. The Musical Evenings in St Donatus bring early and chamber music to the ninth-century church, and in July and August there are concerts in churches and squares and some klapa singing. The settings are memorable, but outside summer there is little on.

Neither city is a spa destination, but Milan offers a little more. Its thermal spa complex with outdoor pools and saunas, the summer pools of the Bagni Misteriosi and quiet lakeside villas an hour away all give real options for a rest day.

Zadar has only hotel spas at Borik and the mud lagoon at Nin. Its calm comes from the pace of the town instead: long café mornings and sunset from the Sea Organ steps, best outside high summer.