Padua or Syracuse, Sicily?

The gap here is wide. Padua is inland, and a beach day means an hour's journey to Sottomarina or the Venice Lido. There you'll find shallow, calm water and long rows of umbrellas rather than scenery.

In Syracuse, swimming is part of everyday life. People swim off the platforms below Ortigia's sea walls, families head for the sandy bays at Arenella and Fontane Bianche, and the Vendicari reserve has pale sand with nothing built behind it. All of this comes with clear Ionian water from June into early October.

Both cities cook regional food rather than international, but Syracuse has the edge, mainly because of its seafood. The Ortigia market supplies swordfish, tuna, sea urchin and capers for pasta and rolled fish dishes, and summer mornings start with granita and brioche.

Padua's food is Venetian home cooking: bigoli with duck, baccalà, and risotto with peas, bought fresh at the twin markets under the Palazzo della Ragione. Here the drinking culture counts for as much as the plate, with the evening spritz and Euganean wines, while Syracuse pours Nero d'Avola and sweet Moscato.

The two are close in depth but very different in what they offer. Padua is a city of painting and learning. Giotto's Scrovegni Chapel and the UNESCO-listed fresco cycles are its centrepiece, along with Donatello's work at Saint Anthony's, the oldest permanent anatomical theatre and the 1545 botanical garden. All of it fits into a compact centre you can cover in a day or two.

Syracuse goes back to the ancient Greek world. It has a cathedral built around a temple to Athena, the rock-cut theatre and Ear of Dionysius in the Neapolis park, and the Paolo Orsi museum, all set among Ortigia's baroque lanes. It needs two or three full days.

Neither city is for clubbing, but Padua has a little more going on and keeps it up through more of the year. During term, students fill Piazza delle Erbe and Piazza dei Signori with spritz glasses on weekday evenings, and there are wine bars and small pubs around the Bo and the old ghetto.

In Syracuse, evenings follow the seasons. On summer weekends Ortigia's lanes and sea walls stay busy past midnight, and the southern beach clubs add some dancing in July and August. In winter most nights end early. The two cities peak at opposite times, since Padua goes quiet in high summer, just when Syracuse is at its liveliest.

Syracuse has more varied outdoors close at hand. Inland, there are limestone gorges with green pools at Cavagrande and the Anapo valley. Along the coast, flamingos stop at the Vendicari lagoons, and the Plemmirio marine reserve offers snorkelling and diving. Etna is close enough for a day on the volcano.

Around Padua the land is flat, so outdoor days start a little way out of town. Options include vineyard and chestnut trails in the Euganean Hills, level bike rides along the Brenta towpaths and, about one and a half hours away, real mountain walking on Monte Grappa and the Asiago plateau.

Both are excellent bases, but Padua has the advantage because its day trips run by train. Venice is under half an hour away and Vicenza even closer, with Verona, Treviso, Bologna and Ferrara all around an hour away. Nearer still are the Brenta villas and the walled towns below the Euganean Hills.

The day trips from Syracuse are just as rewarding. They include the baroque towns of Noto, Modica, Ragusa Ibla and Scicli, Taormina's theatre above the sea and the mosaics at Piazza Armerina. Most of them are much easier with a hire car.

Syracuse works better for children, mainly because of its gently sloping sandy beaches. They also tend to enjoy the echo in the Ear of Dionysius, the papyrus boat trips on the Ciane and the puppet shows, and granita makes a good reward along the way.

Padua is safe, flat and largely pedestrianised, and Prato della Valle gives children space to run. Beyond that, the sights are mostly frescoes and churches. Families staying here usually plan outings to Gardaland and Lake Garda, or to the Adriatic.

Padua is much easier to get around. The flat centre is sheltered by arcades and is walkable from end to end in about 20 minutes, with a tram linking the station to Prato della Valle. Fast main-line trains make a whole region reachable without a car.

In Syracuse, Ortigia itself is easy to cross on foot, and the archaeological park is a short taxi ride away. Beyond that, buses are infrequent and trains slow, and Vendicari or the gorges are realistically reachable only by car. Most visitors hire one for part of their stay.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but Padua gives you more to browse. Its arcades are lined with everyday Italian fashion, shoes and books, a range Ortigia's small lanes can't match. Syracuse makes up for it with crafts Padua doesn't have: hand-painted ceramics, linen, coral jewellery and papyrus paintings tied to the Ciane river.

You can buy food to take home in both, though each sends you home with something different. Under the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua, it's cheeses, cured meats and Euganean wine. Ortigia's market sells the flavours of the far south, such as capers, almonds and pistachio. Padua also has a large antiques market in Prato della Valle once a month, and Syracuse has nothing like it.

Overall costs are similar, but money goes on different things. Padua's main saving is the bed. Its rooms make a fairly priced base for visiting Venice and the region, the city is walkable and trains are cheap to use. Prices rise around trade fairs and graduations.

In Syracuse, food is the bargain, with arancini, market sandwiches and trattoria meals costing less than in the north. Accommodation on Ortigia in high summer and the near-essential hire car push the total back up. Shoulder seasons and mainland rooms help keep it down.

There isn't much in either city, and what there is differs in kind. Padua has a modest programme all year: prose theatre and some opera at the horseshoe-shaped Teatro Verdi, and chamber concerts in the Sala dei Giganti and the Basilica. The Fenice in Venice and the Arena in Verona are within easy reach.

Syracuse has one unforgettable season. Every late spring and early summer, Greek tragedies and comedies are staged in the ancient theatre, a tradition running since 1914. At other times of year there is little beyond the Sicilian puppet theatres of Ortigia.

This is one of Padua's strongest cards. Abano Terme and Montegrotto Terme, about 12km away, form a major thermal district with hot mineral pools and mud treatments that go back to Roman times. Many spa hotels welcome day visitors, so a soak fits easily after a morning of sightseeing.

Syracuse has no thermal tradition and only a few hotel spas. What it offers instead is a slow pace: unhurried lunches and evening walks on the sea walls, best outside the heat and crowds of August.