Pula or San Marino?

Pula lives by the water. You swim from rock platforms, pebble coves and pine-shaded ledges around Verudela and Stoja, with the wild inlets of Cape Kamenjak a short ride south and the shallow, sheltered bays of Medulin for calmer swimming. The water is very clear, but there is no sand, so pack water shoes.

San Marino has no shore of its own. The nearest swimming is half an hour down the mountain on the sandy, organised beaches of Rimini and Riccione, with rows of umbrellas and gentle shallows. That makes a good day out, but not a stay built around the sea.

Istrian cooking gives Pula the edge, with truffle pasta, scampi buzara, Malvazija and Teran, and a market hall that shows what is in season. As in San Marino, though, the best meals are away from the tourist core, in village and harbour taverns rather than around the Arena.

San Marino serves the hearty food of Romagna and Montefeltro, from passatelli to piadina and the layered Tre Monti cake. The summit terraces sell the view more than the cooking, so plan your dinners in Borgo Maggiore or across the border.

Both places are compact, but Pula has more to see. The Arena, the intact Temple of Augustus, the Arch of the Sergii and the forts from its time as a Habsburg naval base layer Roman, Venetian and Austro-Hungarian history in one small city, and they fill a day or two.

San Marino's appeal is a single dramatic set piece: the walled town and three towers along the crest of Monte Titano. The Palazzo Pubblico is a reminder that this is one of the oldest surviving republics, and half a day covers the visit well.

Neither city is a party destination, but Pula at least has summer evenings with some life. Drinks on terraces around the Forum lead to cocktail and beach bars on Verudela and in Medulin, and a few small clubs fill up at weekends.

In San Marino the summit empties when the coaches leave, and an evening means dinner and a glass of wine above the lights of the coast. For a real night out you have to drive down to the Riviera.

Pula has more to do outdoors. Kamenjak's car-free headland is good for walking and cycling, and the sea adds kayaking among the islets, windsurfing in Premantura bay and dives on naval-era wrecks. The Učka range is further off for proper hiking.

Monte Titano gives San Marino cliffs, wooded paths between the towers and long views to the Adriatic and the Apennines, and the Marecchia valley has quiet roads for cycling. It is scenery for a morning, though, rather than a base for active days.

Both make good touring bases, and in both places a car makes most trips far easier. From Pula the outings are coastal and rural: Venetian Rovinj, the Byzantine mosaics of Poreč, the truffle hill towns of Motovun and Hum, and the boat to Brijuni.

San Marino looks towards Italian art cities and fortresses instead: the Renaissance court at Urbino, San Leo on its rock, the mosaics of Ravenna, and Bologna. Ravenna and Bologna are easy by train from Rimini, which Pula's weak rail links cannot match.

Pula is easier with children because the sea is close. There are shallow bays at Medulin and Premantura, an aquarium inside a fort on Verudela and underground passages to explore at the Arena, though the heat and rocky shores still take some managing.

In San Marino the towers and the cable car will thrill children for a morning. But steep steps make pushchairs hard work, and the family attractions, from Italia in Miniatura to the waterparks, are on the coast below, so most family days involve driving.

Pula's centre is flat, and the Arena, Forum and harbour are minutes apart on foot, with city buses out to the hotel areas and southern coves. San Marino is just as small, but nearly every street climbs, often by steps, though the cable car to Borgo Maggiore helps.

Beyond town, both places depend on a car. San Marino's one strong link is the bus down to Rimini and its trains, while Pula's regional buses and inland railway are of little use to visitors.

Neither is a place to go shopping, and they sell very different things. Pula's best buys are edible: olive oil, truffles, wine, honey and pršut from the market hall and from producers in the countryside.

San Marino makes the most of its lower taxes. Perfume, watches, leather and spirits line the main streets, an outlet centre sits in the valley, and collectors come for the republic's own stamps and coins.

Overall costs are similar, but they rise in different places. Pula is reasonable in spring and autumn but much dearer in July and August, and hiring a car and taking boat trips add up quickly.

San Marino stays closer to provincial Italian prices all year. The extra cost comes from staying on the summit and eating on view terraces rather than from the season, and lower taxes make fuel and spirits cheaper.

Pula has one great stage. In summer the Arena hosts concerts and film festival screenings under its Roman arches, and the Istrian National Theatre keeps a programme going through the year.

San Marino offers little beyond a small theatre, concerts in the squares and the costumed Medieval Days festival each summer. For opera or a concert season you would travel to Bologna or Pesaro.

Neither place has a spa tradition, so for treatments you rely on hotel spas, which in Pula means the resorts on Verudela and in Medulin. The city's calm comes from its slow pace outside high summer: pine-shaded coastal paths, long coffees on the Forum and quiet days in the countryside.

On San Marino's summit the quiet comes in the evening, once the day visitors have gone, with walks along the walls above the plain. During the day in summer the streets around the towers are crowded, and the thermal baths are a separate trip to the coast or the Apennines.