Portofino or San Marino?

Portofino puts you right by the sea, even without a proper beach. You swim off rock platforms in very clear, deep water, walk to the small sandy bay at Paraggi or take a boat to the pebble cove at San Fruttuoso. The spots are small, and much of the sand is given over to paid clubs.

San Marino is on a mountain, so a beach day means going down to Rimini or Riccione, about half an hour away. Once there you get long sandy shores and shallow water for children, but the beach is an outing rather than part of daily life.

Neither is a place to travel for food, and both charge for the view more than the cooking. The difference is the style: Portofino serves Ligurian seafood, pesto and focaccia on harbour terraces, while San Marino serves hearty Romagna pasta, grilled meats and piadina. In both, the better meals are found away from the main sights, in Santa Margherita or Camogli on the coast, or in Borgo Maggiore and the trattorias of the Romagna hills.

San Marino has the more substantial sightseeing. The walled town along Monte Titano, its climbable Guaita and Cesta towers, the Palazzo Pubblico and the State Museum tell the story of a republic that has governed itself for centuries, which is reason enough for a half-day of real interest.

Portofino's appeal is mostly the scene itself: coloured houses around the harbour, the church of San Giorgio, Castello Brown and the medieval abbey at San Fruttuoso. It is lovely, but it is mostly about setting, with no museums of any size.

Both are quiet after dark, but Portofino at least has an evening scene. In summer people dress up for a long aperitivo at the harbour bars facing the yachts. San Marino's summit empties when the coaches leave, leaving dinner and a glass of wine with the coast lights below. For a real night out you go elsewhere either way: from Portofino to Santa Margherita or Genoa, from San Marino down to the Rimini clubs.

Portofino is far ahead here. The headland is both a regional park and a marine reserve, with trails through holm oak and pine to the Semaforo Nuovo, some exposed sections with chains, and cliffs dropping into the sea. Offshore there are red coral walls, seagrass meadows and the bronze Christ of the Abyss for divers.

San Marino's limestone ridge has fine views over the Romagna plain and pleasant short paths through woods and old railway tunnels. Beyond that it means gentle Montefeltro farmland for cycling or a drive, with no long trails and nothing like Portofino's sea.

Both make good bases, and the difference lies in how you get about. From Portofino much of the outing is by boat: ferries to the Cinque Terre and Portovenere in summer, buses to Camogli and Rapallo, and Genoa within an hour.

San Marino looks inland and down the coast instead, to the fortress of San Leo, Renaissance Urbino, the mosaics of Ravenna and Rimini's Roman arch. Most of these need a car, because only the Rimini bus runs regularly.

San Marino works better with children. The towers and battlements appeal to them, the cable car from Borgo Maggiore is a ride in itself, and the coast below has Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia, waterparks and shallow beaches.

Portofino is calm and safe, and children enjoy the boats and swimming off the rocks, but there is nothing aimed at them and the steep steps defeat pushchairs. Families usually stay in Santa Margherita or Rapallo and go to Genoa for the aquarium.

Portofino is a little easier to manage without a car. A bus runs from Santa Margherita station, and from spring to autumn ferries link the harbour with towns all along the coast, though the single narrow road jams in summer.

San Marino has a car-free core and a cable car, but beyond the bus from Rimini its public transport is thin, and the hill towns around it are realistically reachable only by car.

Neither rewards a shopping trip, and they disappoint in different ways. Portofino's few lanes hold luxury fashion and jewellery boutiques and resort wear for yacht owners, all seen in under an hour. San Marino trades on lower taxes, with perfume, watches and spirits, souvenir crossbows, collectors' stamps and coins, and an outlet centre in the valley. For a proper browse, both point you to Genoa or Bologna.

This is the widest gap between the two. Portofino has few hotels, mostly luxury properties priced like the top addresses of major cities, and the harbour terraces, loungers and boat hire are all expensive. Many visitors sleep in Camogli or Rapallo to make it work.

San Marino costs what provincial central Italy costs. Hotels are moderate outside August, the sights are cheap, and only the summit terraces carry a premium.

Both are thin on stage culture, but San Marino has a little more going on. Its summer Medieval Days festival brings costumed musicians, crossbow contests and flag-throwers, and there is a small theatre. Portofino has occasional summer concerts at the castle or in the piazzetta. For opera, Portofino points you to the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, and San Marino to Bologna or Rossini's Pesaro.

Portofino is the more restful choice. Its hillside luxury hotels have proper spas and pools, and quiet mornings, long lunches by the water and shaded paths with only the sea for company make it restorative off-season.

San Marino has a few hotel spas and calm evenings on the walls once the day visitors leave, but thermal baths mean a separate trip down to the coast or into the Apennines.