Monaco or Turin?

Monaco at least has the sea on its doorstep, even if its own beach is small. Larvotto is short and groomed behind breakwaters, and much of the swimming happens from the rocks and from beach clubs. The coves at Cap d'Ail and the longer beaches of Menton and Nice are minutes away on foot or by train.

Turin has no sea at all. The Ligurian coast at Savona and Varazze is a long day out, so summer swimming from the city usually means a lake such as Avigliana or Viverone.

Turin is the stronger table by some way. Agnolotti del plin and vitello tonnato, Barolo and Barbaresco on the wine lists, white truffles in autumn and the aperitivo the city invented make eating a reason to come. It can also be done cheaply at Porta Palazzo.

Monaco's strength is the starred hotel dining room and the harbour terrace, serving Riviera cooking built on olive oil, fish and vegetables. Barbagiuan from the Condamine market is the local bite, but casual meals are scarce, and many visitors eat more freely along the coast.

Turin has the depth that Monaco lacks. The Museo Egizio alone justifies a visit. Around it stand the Royal Palace, Palazzo Madama, the cathedral of the Shroud and the Reggia di Venaria, with contemporary art at Rivoli, which is enough for several days.

Monaco's sights are fewer and closer together: the Prince's Palace with its changing of the guard, the cathedral with Grace Kelly's tomb, and the Oceanographic Museum on its cliff. They are handsome and quick to see, and the setting does much of the work.

Neither city offers a big night out, but their evenings are different. Monaco dresses up for the hotel bars around the Casino and the glossy clubs at Larvotto and the port. It is lively in summer and on Grand Prix weekend and quiet the rest of the time.

Turin is more casual and sociable. The evening starts with an aperitivo and moves on to the wine bars of the Quadrilatero Romano, the pavement crowds of San Salvario and, in summer, the riverside Murazzi.

Both cities have mountains in view, but Turin's are bigger and more varied. The Gran Paradiso, the Susa valley and the slopes around Sestriere offer skiing, ibex and hut-to-hut hiking about an hour or so away. In town, the Superga hills and Valentino park give you green space.

Monaco's outdoors is coast and cliff: the mule path up to Èze, the view from Tête de Chien and the paths through the pines around Cap Martin. Its clear water is good for snorkelling and paddleboarding, which Turin cannot offer.

Both make excellent bases, but for very different days out. From Monaco the coastal train links Villefranche, Nice, Menton and Antibes. Èze is just up the hill, and Italian towns such as Sanremo and Dolceacqua are across the border, all reachable without a car.

Turin's days out are about wine and mountains: Alba, Barolo and La Morra in the Langhe, the Sacra di San Michele on its rock above the Susa valley, and Milan about an hour away by fast train.

Monaco keeps its children's outings within a few streets above the sea, while Turin spreads them across museums and parks on a flat grid. In Monaco the sharks and turtles in the Oceanographic aquarium, a swim in Larvotto's sheltered water and the guards at the palace make a good day, and the public lifts save small legs on the climbs. After that the formal dining rooms and steep lanes don't offer children much.

Turin works better for a longer stay, as long as the children are old enough for museums. The arcades keep pushchairs out of the rain, the glass lift rises through the Mole, and the mummies and the car museum hold their attention. The rack railway up to Superga is an outing in itself. There is no aquarium or zoo in town, though, and the zoo park at Cumiana needs a car.

Monaco is easier to get around simply because it is tiny, about 3km end to end. Free public lifts and escalators take care of the steep climbs, and the station opens up the whole coast by train.

Turin's centre is flat and easy to walk along its grid of arcades. Beyond it, though, you depend on a single metro line and on trams and buses that take some learning.

Turin has the broader mix. There are big labels on Via Roma, mainstream shops on Via Garibaldi, antique dealers on Via Maria Vittoria and the Balon flea market. Best of all are the chocolate makers and delicatessens selling truffles and wine.

Monaco does one thing: the fashion houses, jewellers and watchmakers of the Carré d'Or around the Casino. For high luxury it is the more concentrated choice, but beyond that the selection is thin.

You notice the difference first in the hotel bill. Rooms in Monaco are priced for the very wealthy and cost even more on event weekends. In central Turin they are fairly priced for most of the year and only get dearer when big trade fairs fill the city. The gap is just as wide at the table: in Monaco even a café coffee is steep and cheap casual food hardly exists, while Turin's bakeries and neighbourhood restaurants let you eat well without thinking about it.

Getting around is where the two come closest. Monaco's lifts are free, its buses cost little, and the Rock and the harbour cost nothing to walk. Turin's trams and metro are cheap too. In Turin the bills come from fine dining, the white truffle season and the big museum tickets. In Monaco nearly everything costs a lot.

Monaco's stage is a winter and spring season, while Turin's runs all year. In Monaco the opera fills the gilded Salle Garnier, built into the Casino in 1879, and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and the Philharmonic have names that travel. Most of it falls between winter and the Printemps des Arts in spring. Summer brings big open-air shows by the sea, but on an ordinary evening there is little to drop into.

Turin offers less glamour and more choice. The Teatro Regio has a full opera and ballet season, the RAI orchestra plays in its own hall, and there are concerts in Renzo Piano's auditorium at the Lingotto. Jazz clubs and small venues in the centre mean live music on most nights. The one catch is the Teatro Stabile, whose plays at the Carignano are almost all in Italian.

Monaco is the better place for a treatment day. Its seawater thalassotherapy centre beside the Casino and the large hotel spas offer more than Turin's few hotel and day spas, and the Japanese Garden makes for a quiet morning.

Turin's calm comes from its pace rather than its facilities: long breaks in its historic cafés and walks along the Po. The nearest real thermal baths, at Acqui Terme or in the Aosta valley, are close to two hours away.