Rome or Zadar?

Rome's sea is a suburban-train ride to Ostia's dark volcanic sand, mostly divided into paid lidos, or north to the easier-going Fregene. The water is warm in summer but rarely clear, and the prettier coves at Sperlonga and Sabaudia take a full day.

Zadar is much the better choice for swimming, because the sea is part of every summer day. People swim straight off the stone promenade, walk to Kolovare or the pine shade at Borik, or take a ferry to quieter coves on Ugljan and Pašman. The town beaches are pebble and concrete, so for sand you go to Nin's shallow bays or to Sakarun on Dugi Otok.

Rome is one of Europe's great eating cities, with a cooking style all its own. Carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and gricia, Jewish-style artichokes in the old Ghetto, Testaccio's offal dishes and pizza al taglio by weight reward anyone who walks away from the big sights into Monti, Trastevere or Testaccio.

Zadar eats well but narrowly: grilled fish and squid, black risotto, lamb or octopus under the peka bell, Pag cheese and a glass of Maraschino. The konobas on the peninsula repeat much the same menu, so a week of meals feels samey where Rome's would feel like a tour.

Rome is in a different league. The Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon and the Baths of Caracalla share the city with early Christian mosaics, Bernini's piazzas and the Vatican Museums, and even a week leaves whole layers unseen.

Zadar has its own Roman forum, but there it is an open square you cross on the way to the round Church of St Donatus and the cathedral bell tower. Add the Venetian walls, the Museum of Ancient Glass and the Sea Organ on the waterfront, and two unhurried days cover it, which makes it a pleasant setting rather than the reason for the trip.

Rome gives you more to do after dark, though it is a city of long dinners and outdoor drinking rather than dancing. Trastevere's lanes stay crowded with wine bars until late, Monti has smaller cocktail bars, and San Lorenzo and Pigneto add student and arty crowds, with modest clubbing around Testaccio and Ostiense.

Zadar's evening begins with sunset by the Sea Organ and drifts to café-bars on Kalelarga and terraces on the walls. It is relaxed and small, quiet from October to May, and anyone wanting clubs makes the hour-long trip to Zrće on Pag in high summer.

Zadar is the stronger base for the outdoors by a wide margin. The Velebit range rises right behind the coast, with Paklenica's limestone gorges for hiking and climbing under an hour away, and hundreds of islands lie offshore for sailing, kayaking and boat trips to the Kornati and Telašćica's cliffs and salt lake. Plitvice and the Vrana lake reserve add more.

Rome's outdoors is gentler and more historic. You can cycle the cobbled Appian Way past tombs and aqueducts, wander Villa Borghese or Villa Pamphili, and visit the crater lakes of the Alban Hills, while real mountains in the Apennines sit about ninety minutes out.

Rome has the richer menu of outings, and many are easy by train. Ostia Antica and Tivoli's Villa d'Este and Hadrian's Villa are close, the Etruscan tombs of Tarquinia and Cerveteri, Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio lie north, and high-speed trains make Florence or Naples a day trip.

Zadar's best days out are Šibenik's hillside old town and cathedral, the tiny royal town of Nin, and the longer run to Split and Trogir. Ferries to car-free Silba and other island villages are simple, but most other trips are far easier with a hire car or an organised excursion.

Neither city is built around children, and they suit families in different ways. Rome has more to point at: the Bioparco zoo and rowing boats in Villa Borghese, a children's museum, and gladiators and catacombs to spark interest, but its queues, cobbles and busy roads make sightseeing tiring.

Zadar has no zoo or theme park, yet its car-free, flat old town and broad promenade are easy with pushchairs, the Sea Organ and the lights of the Greeting to the Sun charm most children, and days are spent at the sea, with Nin's shallow sand best for the youngest.

Both are cities for walking, but at very different scales. Rome's centre is a series of short walks from the Colosseum to the Pantheon and across to Trastevere, with a metro that skirts the core and buses that get stuck in traffic.

Zadar's peninsula takes a quarter of an hour to cross, and ferries to the islands leave from its edge. Beyond the town, though, local buses are of little use, so the national parks and the wider coast need a car or a tour.

Rome is a real shopping destination. The great Italian fashion houses fill Via Condotti, Via Borgognona and Via Frattina, Monti has independent designers and vintage, and Via dei Coronari and Via Margutta keep antique dealers and artisan workshops, with handmade shoes and leather among the best buys.

Zadar offers a stroll along marble Kalelarga past jewellers and chains, and the best things to take home are edible or handmade: Maraschino, Pag cheese, olive oil and Pag lace from the market by the walls.

Rome is the more expensive stay, mainly because rooms in the historic centre are small, costly and scarce in spring and autumn, and the Vatican, the Colosseum and the Borghese all charge hefty entry fees. Standing espresso, pizza al taglio, free fountain water and open churches soften the daily spend.

Zadar is easier on the budget, though not a bargain. Private apartments give good value outside July and August, and ferries and buses are cheap, but national park tickets and boat excursions add up quickly.

Rome has a proper year-round programme. The Teatro dell'Opera stages opera and ballet in winter and moves to the ruins of the Baths of Caracalla in summer, the Santa Cecilia orchestra plays at Renzo Piano's Auditorium, and church organ concerts and jazz clubs fill the gaps.

Zadar's musical life is mostly a summer affair. Its highlight is the Musical Evenings in St Donatus, chamber and early music in a ninth-century church, alongside klapa singing in the squares, and outside July and August there is little to attend.

Rome has real hot springs within reach, while Zadar's strength is simply its slower pace. From Rome you can soak in the sulphurous pools of Bagni di Tivoli or drive to the free open-air hot springs around Viterbo. In town, the only calm is in the villa gardens and on the Aventine hill.

Zadar has no springs, only the hotel spas at Borik and the mineral mud of Nin's shallow lagoon, but the town itself is easier to unwind in. Long café mornings, an afternoon siesta and sunset over the islands from the Sea Organ steps set a pace that Rome's scooters and crowds rarely allow, especially in the quieter weeks before and after high summer.