Pisa or Genoa?

Neither city is a beach destination, and both give you a summer swim in the same warm sea. Genoa's swimming starts inside the city, at the little pebble cove of Boccadasse, the bathing platforms along Corso Italia and the rocks below Nervi's promenade. The water is clear, and the Riviera towns are a train ride away, but nearly all the shore is pebble or coarse sand.

Pisa's coast is about 12km out, and it is sand: long, wide beaches at Tirrenia and Calambrone backed by pine woods, with shallow water that children can paddle in. The trade-off is that the water near the Arno mouth is rarely clear.

Genoa eats better and more distinctively. Ligurian cooking is its own thing: trofie with pesto, pansoti in walnut sauce, focaccia dipped in cappuccino, and fried fish and panissa from the old friggitorie in the caruggi. The Mercato Orientale and the harbour trattorias add plenty of choice.

Pisa's cooking is honest Tuscan food: ribollita, game and salt cod, best eaten in the student trattorias around Piazza delle Vettovaglie. Its cecina is a close cousin of Genoa's farinata, but the range is narrower, and the menus near the tower are best avoided.

Pisa has the single more famous sight: the cathedral, baptistery, Leaning Tower and Camposanto standing together on one lawn. Beyond it, Piazza dei Cavalieri, Santa Maria della Spina and the San Matteo museum round out a city you can cover properly in two days.

Genoa has more to get through. One of Europe's largest medieval quarters, the Rolli palaces along Via Garibaldi with their Van Dycks and Rubens, the striped cathedral, the Palazzo Ducale and the marble sculpture of Staglieno cemetery give a culture-minded visitor far longer to explore.

Evenings are much the same in both: aperitivo and a late glass of wine in a medieval square rather than clubs. What differs is the setting. Genoa adds waterfront bars at the Porto Antico and Foce, plus beach clubs along Corso Italia in summer. Pisa's evenings rise and fall with the university term, and the tower district is empty after dark.

Genoa is the better place for walkers. Its hills rise straight from the port: a funicular to Righi leads onto the fortress trail, the Portofino promontory's protected cliff paths run down to San Fruttuoso, and boats head out to the Pelagos Sanctuary for whales and dolphins. The rocky coast also suits kayaking and diving.

Pisa's outdoors is flatter and gentler. The San Rossore park of pinewoods, wetland and dunes, where fallow deer are a common sight, is best explored by bike or on horseback. The olive terraces of Monte Pisano give easy walks, and serious hiking means travelling out to the Apuan Alps.

Both are excellent bases, but Pisa has the edge because Tuscany's great towns are on its doorstep. Florence is about an hour by train and walled Lucca under half an hour, with Siena, San Gimignano and Volterra within a day's drive. It is even slightly closer to the Cinque Terre than Genoa is.

Genoa's trips run along one superb coastline. Camogli, Santa Margherita and Portofino are under an hour away by train, with quieter Finale Ligure Borgo and Noli to the west, and Milan or Turin can be done in a day for museums.

Genoa offers more for children, mostly in one place. At the Porto Antico you find the huge aquarium, a science centre, the Galata museum's walk-through submarine and a panoramic lift, and the funiculars feel like rides in themselves. Away from the harbour, though, the steep lanes and stairs are hard work with a pushchair.

Pisa is easier on the feet but has less to do. The flat centre and the tower lawn work well for small children, though under-age children cannot climb the tower. The real family days are on the shallow sandy beaches or cycling in San Rossore.

Pisa is much simpler to get around. The centre is small and flat, about half an hour on foot from the station to the cathedral square, a shuttle train runs from the airport, and the station puts western Tuscany within easy reach.

Genoa takes more effort. The old town is a maze, the city climbs steeply from the water, and buses crawl through narrow streets. Its funiculars, public lifts and coastal railway do the work, and the coastal line makes the Riviera easy to reach without a car.

Genoa offers a little more for shoppers, mainly through its old-town crafts: silver filigree, coral, ceramics, candied fruit and olive oil, alongside the arcades of Via XX Settembre and the Galleria Mazzini.

Pisa's shopping is everyday Italian, with chains on Corso Italia and smarter shops under the arcades of Borgo Stretto. The monthly antiques market along the river is its most characterful outing, and serious shoppers head to Florence.

Both are mid-range by Italian standards, and the costs fall in different places. In Genoa, focaccia and farinata make cheap meals, but the smart Riviera resorts and lounger hire push summer beach days up. In Pisa, student trattorias and a walkable centre keep everyday spending low. The tower climb and the cafés beside the cathedral square are the main expenses.

Genoa has the fuller calendar. The Teatro Carlo Felice on Piazza De Ferrari stages opera, ballet and symphonic concerts, the Teatro Nazionale is a major drama company, and Paganini concerts and small singer-songwriter clubs add to it.

Pisa has the Teatro Verdi, a pleasant horseshoe-shaped house for an easy night of opera, plus chamber music from the university. For anything bigger, you go to Florence.

Pisa is the more restful choice. San Giuliano Terme, with thermal waters used since Roman times and a spa in its 18th-century bath palace, is just beyond the city, and Casciana Terme's large thermal pool is under an hour inland. Away from the tower, the town is quiet.

Genoa's nearest thermal waters are at Acqui Terme, more than an hour away in Piedmont. Calm in the city comes down to Nervi's gardens and seafront promenade.