San Marino or Sarajevo?

San Marino has no shore of its own, but it can make the Adriatic part of the trip. The long sandy beaches of Rimini and Riccione are about half an hour down the mountain, with rows of umbrellas, beach clubs and warm, shallow water in high summer. It works well as a day out from the summit.

Sarajevo lies in an inland valley about three hours from the coast, so a day at the beach isn't realistic. Swimming there means cold mountain rivers, Jablanica lake or a pool. If the sea matters to you, add a few days on the Croatian or Montenegrin coast.

Sarajevo is the better place to eat. Its Ottoman-Balkan cooking is narrow but done with real care, from ćevapi in somun bread on the grills of Baščaršija to burek sold by weight and lamb cooked slowly under a metal lid. Bosnian coffee, served in a copper džezva with rahat lokum, is an experience in itself.

San Marino serves the honest pasta, piadina and grilled meat of the surrounding Romagna hills. The summit terraces, though, often rely on the view more than the cooking. The better meals are in the family trattorias of Borgo Maggiore and the villages below.

San Marino's sight is the republic itself. It has three towers on the crest of Monte Titano, a cliffside path linking Guaita and Cesta, and the Palazzo Pubblico, which tells the story of one of the world's oldest republics. It is striking, but most visitors finish it in half a day.

Sarajevo has more depth and more layers. You can walk from the mosques and covered markets of Baščaršija into Austro-Hungarian streets with Orthodox and Catholic cathedrals and the Old Synagogue, then on to the Latin Bridge of 1914. The Tunnel of Hope and the War Childhood Museum bring the 1990s siege close, and this is a city that fills several days.

After the day coaches leave, San Marino goes quiet, with a few wine bars and the lights of the coast below. For a real night out you have to drive down to the Riviera clubs in Rimini and Riccione.

Sarajevo has a proper evening life, though it is sociable rather than wild. The café-bars around Ferhadija fill from the afternoon, and students keep the cellar bars and small clubs open past midnight at weekends. Drinks are cheap, and evenings tend to end over rakija.

Sarajevo is surrounded by mountains. A cable car from the Old Town climbs Trebević past the old Olympic bobsleigh track. The ski slopes of Jahorina and Bjelašnica are under an hour away, and summer ridge walks lead to Lukomir above the Rakitnica canyon, with rafting on the Neretva further south.

San Marino's limestone ridge, at about 740m, has good short walks between the towers and down through the woods to Borgo Maggiore, with views to the sea. Beyond the border, the Marecchia valley is lovely for a drive or a quiet bike ride, but there are no long trails or adventure sports.

San Marino has more good outings close by. The rock fortress of San Leo is about half an hour away, Renaissance Urbino about an hour, and Ravenna's mosaics a little further. Gradara, Santarcangelo and Rimini's Roman arch are nearer still. Most of these need a car, but the density is hard to beat.

Sarajevo's star trip is Mostar, reached by a scenic train through the Neretva gorge, with Konjic, Blagaj and Počitelj along the same route. Travnik and the bridge at Višegrad add more Ottoman heritage. The roads are slow and winding, though, so each outing takes a full day.

San Marino has the edge for children. They usually love the towers, battlements and the cable car ride. With a car, a morning on the mountain combines easily with Italia in Miniatura, waterparks or a shallow beach in the afternoon, although the steep streets are hard work with a pushchair.

Sarajevo welcomes children warmly, and its flat Old Town is easy to walk with them. The Trebević cable car, the streams at Vrelo Bosne and the small zoo make good outings. Its main sights are about history and war, however, and winter smog is hard on small lungs.

Sarajevo is easier to get around. The Old Town and the Austro-Hungarian centre are flat and compact, a historic tram line runs along the valley floor to Ilidža, and taxis are plentiful and cheap. Away from that corridor the buses are harder to follow, and the hillside districts are steep.

San Marino's car-free centre can be walked in under half an hour, but nearly every street climbs or drops by steps. Without a car, the link to the outside world is the bus from Rimini, and the surrounding hill towns are realistically reached only by driving.

Sarajevo has more character for shoppers. You can hear coppersmiths hammering coffee sets on Kazandžiluk, and the Bezistan and nearby lanes sell kilims, slippers and filigree jewellery, though it pays to look past the souvenir stock.

San Marino's appeal is mostly about tax. Perfume, watches, leather and spirits line the main streets, and there is an outlet centre on the valley floor. The rest is souvenir crossbows, ceramics and collectors' stamps and coins, with little local craft of any depth.

Sarajevo is one of the cheapest capitals in Europe for a visitor. Grilled food, pastries, coffee, trams and museum tickets all cost very little, and central guesthouses are well below Western European rates.

San Marino is middling, with prices similar to provincial central Italy. Hotels and trattorias in the lower villages are fair, but the summit terraces and the most convenient hotels charge more for their views.

Sarajevo has a real, if modest, stage season. The Austro-Hungarian National Theatre puts on drama, opera and ballet, and the Philharmonic gives regular concerts. The MESS theatre festival and the November jazz festival are worth timing a visit around, and sevdah love songs can be heard in traditional restaurants.

San Marino has little beyond a small theatre and open-air music in summer. The exception is the costumed Medieval Days festival, with its crossbow contests and flag-throwers. For opera, people go to Bologna or Pesaro.

Sarajevo has an actual place to unwind. The thermal springs at Ilidža, used since Roman times, are at the end of the tram line, and the shaded avenue at Vrelo Bosne is close by. The local habit of lingering for an hour over one coffee also slows the pace, though winter smog can take the edge off.

San Marino's relaxation is simply quiet. Evening walks along the walls are calm once the crowds have gone. Spa options are limited to a few hotels, and thermal baths mean a separate trip down to the coast or into the Apennines.