Positano or Verona?

Positano's beaches are the point of a visit. Spiaggia Grande and Fornillo sit right below the town, and boats run to smaller coves. The open sea is clear and deep, but the dark sand and pebbles are coarse and slope steeply, so water shoes help.

Verona has no shore of its own. Swimming means half an hour out to Lake Garda's southern edge, where the water is calm with no surf, and the setting is lidos, lawns and Sirmione's flat limestone shelves. That is pleasant for a day, but it doesn't compare with stepping down to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Verona offers more to eat and drink. Its osterie around Piazza delle Erbe and in Veronetta serve Amarone risotto, bigoli with duck and bollito with pearà. Valpolicella, Soave and Bardolino are made within a short drive, so the wine is as much of a draw as the food.

Positano does one thing beautifully: seafood pasta, grilled fish and lemon desserts on a terrace above the water. Menus repeat themselves, though, there is little everyday or market eating, and many kitchens close in winter.

These two are far apart for sightseeing. Verona's UNESCO-listed centre layers a Roman arena and theatre, medieval squares, the Scaliger tombs, San Zeno's bronze doors and Scarpa's Castelvecchio museum. That's enough for two or three full days.

In Positano the town itself is the sight. It has the majolica dome of Santa Maria Assunta and the painted rooms of a Roman villa buried by Vesuvius under it, and then you're done. Visitors who want more head to Naples or along the coast.

Neither town is built for late nights, but Verona has more going on. Aperitivo spills into Piazza delle Erbe, Veronetta's student wine bars and pubs stay busy later, and opera crowds fill the streets near midnight in summer.

Positano's evenings are about a sunset drink and a long dinner. A few summer bars and a dressy cave club at the end of the main beach are about all there is, and even that fades out of season.

Positano has the more dramatic landscape. The Lattari mountains drop straight into the sea, the Path of the Gods runs high above terraced lemon groves, and kayaks follow the cliffs out to grottoes and the Li Galli islets.

Verona's countryside is gentler and more varied. You can walk and cycle in the Valpolicella vineyards, sail and windsurf on Garda, walk the ridges of Monte Baldo or hike the Lessinia plateau, but most of that is a short journey away rather than right outside your door.

Both make excellent bases, but the outings differ. From Positano, ferries reach Amalfi, Ravello, Capri and Sorrento, and Pompeii, Herculaneum and Paestum add the ancient world. Most boats run only in season, though, and the coast road is slow.

Verona works by rail, all year round. Venice, Vicenza, Padua and Mantua are all within about an hour, Milan and Bologna make longer days, and the Garda towns and Valpolicella cellars are close by.

Verona is the easier choice with children. The centre is flat and largely free of traffic, the Arena tends to fire young imaginations, and Gardaland, water parks and a drive-through safari zoo are about half an hour away, though most need a car or transfer.

Positano is hard work with small children. Stairs rule out pushchairs, there are no attractions aimed at children, and the beaches drop off quickly. Older children who love boats and swimming do best.

Getting around Verona is simple. The Arena, the piazzas, the churches and Castelvecchio are a short, level walk apart within the river loop, and trains to Venice, Milan and Lake Garda leave from Porta Nuova.

Positano is small but almost entirely vertical, so every errand means hundreds of steps. A single bus loops the upper town, coast buses crawl in summer and parking is scarce. Boats are the practical link to the next town, and mostly only in season.

Verona edges ahead for shopping, with Italian fashion labels along marble-paved Via Mazzini, jewellers and shoe shops on the side streets, and Amarone, Garda olive oil and pandoro to take home.

Positano has the more distinctive look. Its lanes are full of white linen and printed resort wear, sandals are made to measure while you wait, and painted ceramics fill the rest, though it is all one style.

Positano costs far more, and the gap starts with the room. A summer sea-view room there is a serious expense, while in Verona the main cost is a hotel inside the historic centre, and it is easy to save by staying a little way out. Getting about follows the same pattern: Positano's boats and transfers add up quickly, while Verona's walkable centre costs next to nothing.

Meals tell the same story. In Positano the terrace view is charged on every bill and on the loungers below. In Verona you pay for the view only on Piazza Bra, while Veronetta's osterie and the wine counters, where a snack comes with the glass, keep everyday eating fair. The local wines are good value too.

Verona is in a different league here. Summer opera in the Roman Arena, with Verdi and Puccini played to thousands on the stone tiers, is a reason to plan a whole trip. Shakespeare and jazz play in the Roman theatre, and the Teatro Filarmonico runs a season through the cooler months.

Positano has only the odd summer concert. Its best evening of music is a trip along the coast to Ravello's festival.

The two are broadly level for rest, but in different ways. Positano's comes from cliffside hotel spas and pools and from long afternoons looking down at the sea, though July and August crowds and the stairs wear on you.

Verona leans on warm springs nearby: the spa at Sirmione facing Lake Garda, a thermal park near Lazise and the old springs at Caldiero. In town, the riverside passeggiata and the terraces of the Giardino Giusti set a gentle pace.