Naples or Florence?

Florence sits inland in the Arno valley, so in practice a stay means no swimming. The sandy, lounger-lined beaches of the Versilia are about an hour and a half away by train, and most visitors cool off in a pool.

Naples has the sea at its feet. Locals sunbathe on the rocks below the Lungomare and at small lidos in Posillipo, though the water near the port is not always clean. The real reward is the clear water on the islands and the Sorrento peninsula, where a ferry turns a city stay into a beach day.

Both are cities of bold regional cooking rather than variety. Florence gives you bistecca, bread soups and lampredotto from carts, with Chianti poured by the glass and a fine-dining tier for a special night.

Naples has the edge for anyone who eats on the move. This is the home of pizza, and the fried street snacks, sfogliatelle and standing espresso make every walk through the historic centre a meal. Buffalo mozzarella and San Marzano tomatoes at the Pignasecca show where it all starts, though international cooking is scarce.

Florence is the stronger city for art. Brunelleschi's dome, Botticelli at the Uffizi, the David and the Bargello sculpture make up the densest run of Renaissance masterpieces anywhere, all within a compact centre.

Naples is different in kind. Its strengths are antiquity and street life: the Archaeological Museum's Pompeii frescoes, the Veiled Christ, the tunnels and catacombs beneath, and a Greek street grid crowded with Baroque churches that is itself the main sight.

Naples is the better pick for a late night. Crowds gather on the steps of Piazza Bellini and in the alleys of Chiaia until well past midnight, and the evenings feel loud and sociable.

Florence winds down earlier, built around aperitivo, wine bars and the outdoor drinking around Piazza Santo Spirito. Neither city has much of a club scene, so in both the night happens outdoors rather than on a dance floor.

Naples has the more dramatic landscape. You can walk to the crater rim of Vesuvius, through the oak woods of the extinct Astroni crater, snorkel at Gaiola, and hike the Path of the Gods above the Amalfi Coast.

Around Florence the countryside is gentle and farmed: olive terraces up to Fiesole, cypress-lined lanes through Chianti for cycling, and the beech forests of the Casentino further out. It is lovely walking, but tamer than the volcanic bay.

Both are superb bases, and the difference is in what you go out to see. From Florence it is medieval towns and wine: Siena, Lucca, San Gimignano and the Val d'Orcia, with Bologna a quick high-speed hop and a car useful for the hill villages.

From Naples the outings are Roman ruins and islands: Pompeii and Herculaneum on the Circumvesuviana, Caserta's palace, ferries to Capri and Procida, the Amalfi Coast and the temples of Paestum.

Neither city is easy with small children, though both welcome them warmly. In Florence the way in is climbing the dome, the secret passages of Palazzo Vecchio and running in the Boboli Gardens, with Collodi's Pinocchio park as an outing.

Naples has more set attractions, including a zoo, the Edenlandia amusement park and a science museum, and older children love the tunnels, funiculars and ferries. Scooters and broken pavements make it tiring, so many families stay in Sorrento instead.

Florence is far simpler. The main sights lie within about twenty minutes' walk of one another, so most visitors hardly need the trams or buses, and the station is right in the centre for day trips.

Naples has more transport but it works less well. Metro Line 1, with its art-filled stations, and the funiculars up to Vomero are good, but buses crawl through traffic, the Circumvesuviana is crowded and late, and crossing the road takes nerve.

Florence offers more to browse. Leather workshops, marbled paper, the goldsmiths of the Ponte Vecchio and the gilders and restorers of the Oltrarno sit alongside the fashion houses on Via de' Tornabuoni and the antique dealers of Via Maggio.

Naples is more specialised. Chiaia's tailors make suits, shirts and ties by hand, Via San Gregorio Armeno sells nativity figures all year, and coral and cameos come from Torre del Greco, but beyond Via Toledo the range runs thin.

Naples is noticeably cheaper day to day. Pizza, street food and trattoria meals cost less than in the north, transport is cheap and modest B&Bs fill the historic centre. Costs only climb once you head to Capri or the Amalfi Coast.

Florence is expensive for its size, with high hotel prices in the centre and admission fees that pile up. Street stalls, house wine, staying across the river and a winter visit all help.

Naples has the richer musical evening. The Teatro di San Carlo is the oldest working opera house in Europe and one of the most beautiful, and Neapolitan song still turns up in theatres and from musicians going between tables in the trattorias.

Florence, where opera was born around 1600, has the Maggio Musicale festival and a serious season at its opera house. Day to day, though, most visitors find tourist chamber concerts in churches.

Florence sends you out of town for a soak. Montecatini Terme, with its grand old drinking halls, is under an hour by train, and the open-air sulphur pools of Bagno Vignoni and Saturnia lie further south. Within the city, calm comes from the Boboli and Bardini gardens early in the day, or from a few nights on a farm in the Tuscan hills.

Naples has a real spa island on its doorstep. Ischia is about an hour away by hydrofoil, with dozens of thermal parks whose pools are terraced above the sea, and the Roman-era springs at Agnano are on the edge of the city. The city itself is loud, so the quiet moments are the cloisters of Santa Chiara and an evening walk along the Lungomare.