Positano or Salerno?

Positano has the better swimming. The water below Spiaggia Grande and Fornillo is clear and deep, and boats or long stairways reach Arienzo, Laurito and the coves towards Capri. The catch is a coarse, steep shore of dark sand and pebble, and in high summer every spot is taken by mid-morning.

Salerno's city beaches are grey sand and fine for a quick dip, but the water near the port is less clear. Its strength is the long, wide sandy shore towards Paestum, with pine woods and lidos behind it. That is the better place to spend a whole day with space to spread out.

Salerno eats better and more widely. In the old town there are trattorias, friggitorie for fried food and pastry shops selling sfogliatelle, along with wood-fired pizza at everyday prices. Buffalo mozzarella comes fresh from the plain each day, and colatura, an anchovy sauce, comes from Cetara next door.

Positano serves the same coastal cooking in a far grander setting, with spaghetti with clams and grilled fish on a terrace above the sea. But the menus repeat each other, there is little street food or market life, and many kitchens close through the winter.

Neither is a major cultural destination, but Salerno has much more to see. Its Norman cathedral has a crypt holding the relics of Saint Matthew. The Giardino della Minerva is linked to Europe's earliest medical school, and the Arechi Castle overlooks the gulf. Together they fill a day or two.

Positano is a view rather than a list of sights. The majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta and the painted Roman villa beneath it take a couple of hours. After that, the museums are in Naples or further along the coast.

Salerno offers a real night out, if a modest one. On weekends and summer evenings, young locals fill the lanes around Largo Campo and Via dei Mercanti, drinking outside the wine bars and pubs until late.

Positano's evenings mean aperitivo with a view, a long dinner and one cave club at the end of Spiaggia Grande, and the scene fades once the season ends. Couples after a quiet evening will be content in either town, but only Salerno has a crowd to join.

The two share the same mountains and sea, so the difference is where you start from. In Positano the landscape begins at your door. Trails climb from the town to Nocelle and Montepertuso and up to ridges over 1,000m, and kayaks follow the cliffs to grottoes and the Li Galli islets.

From Salerno, everything needs a short trip. The reward is more variety: the Valle delle Ferriere above Amalfi, and to the south the wooded hills, river gorges and wild headlands of the Cilento national park, which Positano can't easily reach.

Both are excellent bases, but they work in different ways. Positano's day trips are by boat: Capri in about half an hour, then Amalfi and Ravello along the coast. The ancient sites take around an hour and a half, and most ferries stop out of season.

Salerno's trips run by rail and all year. Paestum and Pompeii are each about half an hour away, Naples is a short fast-train ride, and Caserta, Herculaneum and the Certosa di Padula are all possible. In season, ferries still cross to Amalfi and Positano.

Salerno is much kinder to children. Families stay out late on summer evenings, and the Luci d'Artista Christmas lights make a winter visit worthwhile. Even so, there is no zoo or theme park, and the old town is all steep lanes.

Positano offers older children swimming and boat trips and little else. The constant steps wear out small legs, and there is nothing in town built with children in mind.

Getting around is far simpler in Salerno. The station, the shopping street, the seafront and the old town lie along one walkable strip. A short metro line and buses cover the rest, and direct trains go to Naples, Pompeii and Paestum.

In Positano, almost every walk means hundreds of steps. One local bus loops along the only road, and the coastal buses crawl in summer traffic. Ferries are the easiest way out, but mainly in season, and a car is more trouble than it is worth.

They are about level, but you shop for different things. Positano has a single look of its own: the loose white linen and bright resort wear known as moda Positano, sandals made to fit while you wait, and hand-painted ceramics.

Salerno has Corso Vittorio Emanuele, a pedestrian street of Italian chains that is busiest at evening passeggiata time. Its best buys come from nearby: majolica from Vietri and colatura from Cetara. Neither town has luxury shopping or department stores.

This is where the two differ most. Positano is one of the most expensive places to stay in Italy. Sea-view rooms, loungers, boat transfers and terrace tables all cost a lot, and even May and October only ease the bill.

Salerno is a working city with local prices in its pizzerias, bakeries and coffee bars, and its trains and buses are cheap. Summer ferries, beach lidos and entry to the archaeological sites still add up. Even so, staying here and visiting Positano for a day saves a great deal.

Salerno has a proper stage. The Teatro Verdi is a gilded nineteenth-century opera house modelled on the San Carlo in Naples, and it runs a season of opera, concerts and ballet. In summer the concerts move outdoors.

Positano has little beyond the occasional concert in a church or square. Both towns can reach the Ravello Festival, with its concerts on terraces above the sea, for a special evening.

Positano is the more restful choice, as long as you avoid midsummer. Its upscale hotels have spas and pools built into the cliff, and a slow afternoon on a terrace above the sea does the rest. May, June and late September are the calmest times, while July and August are crowded and noisy.

Salerno's spa options are hotel spas and the sulphur pools of Contursi Terme, about an hour inland. Its calm comes from sunset walks along the palm-lined promenade, though traffic noise from the port and main roads keeps it from feeling like a retreat.