Portofino or Salzburg?

Portofino comes out ahead because it has the Mediterranean on its doorstep, even without a proper beach. You swim from rock ladders towards the lighthouse in clear, deep water, or head to the small sandy bay at Paraggi and the pebble cove at San Fruttuoso. All of these spots are small and get crowded in summer.

From Salzburg you have to go out to the Salzkammergut lakes, such as Fuschlsee and Wolfgangsee. There you step from lawns and jetties into cooler water, and the season is short. It makes a nice afternoon out, not a seaside trip.

Salzburg is the better place to eat, though neither will carry a trip built around food. Its coffee houses and the Augustiner brewery garden in Mülln, where you bring your own food to go with the beer, give it a real eating culture. The inns in the outer districts and on the hills cook well beyond the tourist menus of the old town.

Portofino's Ligurian dishes, such as trofie with pesto, fritto misto and Recco's cheese focaccia, are excellent in principle, but the harbour terraces charge more for the yachts than for the cooking. Keen eaters staying there head to Camogli or the trattorie in the hills.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Salzburg's UNESCO-listed old town packs the cathedral, the Residenz, Mozart's birthplace and the St Peter catacombs into a few minutes' walk. Hohensalzburg stands above and Mirabell lies across the river, which is enough for two or three full days.

Portofino's sights are the harbour itself, San Giorgio, Castello Brown and the abbey at San Fruttuoso. That makes a lovely day of atmosphere, but there are no museums to speak of, and serious sightseeing from there means going to Genoa.

Neither is a place for a big night out, but Salzburg has more going on after dinner. Its beer halls with long wooden tables fill with locals, and the student bars on Rudolfskai stay open later at weekends during term.

Portofino's evening is a dressed-up aperitivo facing the yachts, and then the village goes quiet, especially outside July and August. In both places clubbing means a journey: to Munich from Salzburg, or along the coast to Rapallo and Genoa from Portofino.

Both are fine bases for the outdoors, and Salzburg has the edge for range. The Untersberg cable car, paragliding on the Gaisberg, the Königssee and the Salzkammergut lakes give you mountains, water and cycling within an hour, with ski areas in winter.

Portofino's protected headland is smaller but special. Cliff paths, some with chains, cross Monte di Portofino to San Fruttuoso, and the marine reserve offers diving along red coral walls and down to the Christ of the Abyss, which Salzburg cannot match.

Both have excellent outings, and the difference is in the type. From Portofino the trips follow the coast and often go by boat: Camogli and Santa Margherita, the Cinque Terre and Portovenere by summer ferry, and Genoa's palaces by train in under an hour.

Salzburg's excursions mix lake villages, salt mines and a second country. Hallstatt, St Wolfgang, the Hallein mines, Werfen's fortress, Berchtesgaden and Munich all fit into a day, though a car helps for the lakes, just as the ferry season matters at Portofino.

Salzburg is much the better choice with children. The zoo beside Hellbrunn, the funicular up to the fortress and the Marionette Theatre's Mozart operas add to the main draws, and the summer lakes and alpine pastures make easy outings.

Portofino is safe, and children enjoy the boats and swimming off the rocks, but nothing there is aimed at them and the steps defeat a pushchair. Families usually stay in Rapallo or Santa Margherita and visit for the day.

Salzburg is far simpler. Its main sights are all within about fifteen minutes' walk across a largely pedestrianised centre. Trolleybuses reach Hellbrunn and the Untersberg, the flat riverside paths suit a bike, and trains run direct to Munich and Vienna.

Portofino is tiny on foot but awkward to reach. A single narrow coastal road runs from Santa Margherita, parking is scarce and the summer buses are crowded. The ferries are the pleasant way in, but they run only from spring to autumn.

Salzburg offers more to buy, especially things you won't find elsewhere. You can have dirndls and loden jackets made to measure in the Tracht workshops, shop for regional cheese at the farmers' market by the Andräkirche, and visit the Christmas market on Domplatz in Advent.

Portofino's few lanes hold big-name fashion and jewellery boutiques, resort wear for yacht guests and a little lace and pesto, all seen in under an hour. Luxury labels are the one thing it has that Salzburg largely lacks.

Neither is cheap, but Portofino is in another league. It has only a handful of hotels, mostly luxury ones charging big-city prices, plus expensive tables on the piazzetta and paid loungers at Paraggi. Many visitors sleep in Santa Margherita or Camogli and come over for the day.

Salzburg is pricey for its size, especially during the festival and in Advent. Even so, the beer halls in the outer districts, a city card covering transport and museums, and rooms across the river keep a stay within reach.

On live performance the two could hardly be further apart. Salzburg has its summer Festival in the Felsenreitschule and the Festspielhaus, Jedermann in front of the cathedral, Mozart Week and the Easter Festival. With the Mozarteum and the Landestheater running the rest of the year, classical music alone is reason enough to go.

Portofino has the occasional summer concert in the piazzetta or at the castle, and no regular venue. For opera you would spend an evening at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa.

Salzburg offers more ways to unwind. The Paracelsus Bad in the city park has saunas and a pool, the Mönchsberg is good for quiet walks, and the brine spas of Bad Reichenhall and the thermal springs of the Gastein valley put a real bathing culture within reach.

Portofino's calm comes from the sea and the slow pace, and the only treatments are in the hotel spas. It is restful early in the day, in the evening and outside summer. At midday in high summer the crowds from the tour boats break the spell.