San Marino or Saint-Tropez?

Saint-Tropez is a beach destination in its own right. Pampelonne has about 5km of pale sand on the Ramatuelle side of the peninsula, and the wilder coves at Escalet, Cap Taillat and Gigaro lie further south, reached by car or along the coast path.

San Marino sits on a mountain, and its nearest beaches are at Rimini and Riccione, half an hour below. That shore is wide and regimented, with rows of numbered umbrellas and shallow water that suits small children, but it has no wild coast. In summer the Adriatic is as warm as the gulf, so the real differences are the setting and the trip down.

Neither town is worth planning a trip around for the food, but Saint-Tropez gives you more to enjoy at the table. It has Provençal fish, bouillabaisse and aïoli, Côtes de Provence rosé, the Place des Lices market, the tarte tropézienne and some genuinely good top-end dining. Cheap, simple meals are hard to find there.

San Marino offers the plainer Romagna cooking of piadina, passatelli, strozzapreti and grilled meat, with the republic's own Sangiovese to drink. It is best eaten in the family trattorias of Borgo Maggiore rather than on the view terraces at the summit. It is better value, but rarely memorable.

San Marino has more history to see. The walled town along Monte Titano, the Guaita and Cesta towers you can climb and the Palazzo Pubblico tell the story of one of the world's oldest surviving republics, although half a day covers most of it.

Saint-Tropez has less to offer. Its highlight is the Musée de l'Annonciade, with pointillist and Fauvist paintings from the years when Signac painted the harbour. There is also a maritime museum in the citadel and the lanes of La Ponche to wander. Most people come for the setting rather than the heritage.

This is the widest gap between the two. San Marino's summit goes quiet once the day visitors leave, and the best the evening offers is a glass of wine above the lights of the coast. Anyone who wants more has to drive down to the Rimini clubs.

In July and August, Saint-Tropez moves from beach-club afternoons at Pampelonne to champagne on the harbour and then to famous clubs that stay open until dawn. It is glamorous and expensive, with table service and dress codes. Out of season it gets almost as quiet as the mountain.

Saint-Tropez has much more for outdoor lovers. The Sentier du Littoral runs past pine-backed coves to the capes of Camarat and Taillat. Inland, the cork-oak forests of the Massif des Maures are good for hiking and mountain biking. The gulf is good for sailing and snorkelling, and the national-park islands of Port-Cros and Porquerolles are within reach. Summer heat and the risk of forest fires close some trails.

San Marino's limestone ridge has cliff-edge views and short woodland paths down to Borgo Maggiore, and the Montefeltro hills beyond have quiet cycling roads. It is good for a morning walk, not for a week of activity.

San Marino is the better base for major day trips. Urbino's Renaissance court, Ravenna's Byzantine mosaics, the fortress at San Leo and Rimini's Roman arch are all within easy reach, and Bologna is a train ride from the coast. You will need a car for the hill towns.

Saint-Tropez's outings are pretty but less significant. They include Ramatuelle, Gassin and Grimaud, the canals of Port Grimaud reached by boat, tastings at the wine estates and a day on Porquerolles. In summer, traffic on the gulf road can eat up half the day.

San Marino has a slight edge for children. They tend to love the towers, the battlements and the cable car up from Borgo Maggiore, and on the coast below there are Italia in Miniatura, Fiabilandia and the waterparks of Riccione. The steep streets and steps make pushchairs hard work, though.

Saint-Tropez has gently shelving sand at Pampelonne and Gigaro and little else for children, and both the scene and the prices are aimed at adults. Many families stay across the gulf in Sainte-Maxime and come over by boat.

Both centres are small enough to walk. San Marino's streets climb and drop by steps, while in Saint-Tropez the port, old town and citadel are a few minutes apart. The real difference is getting there and out again. San Marino has a cable car and a direct bus from Rimini station, so arriving by train works, although the hill towns need a car.

Saint-Tropez has no railway and only slow buses, its main beaches are several kilometres out of town, and the single road along the gulf jams for hours in summer. The passenger boats from Sainte-Maxime and Port Grimaud are the way to avoid it.

Saint-Tropez is the better town for shopping. The big fashion houses open summer shops behind the port, alongside resort-wear and jewellery shops. There are also hand-stitched Tropézienne sandals from the old-town workshops, and linen and baskets at the Place des Lices market.

San Marino's draw is its lower taxes rather than its style. Perfume, watches, spirits and leather fill the main streets, there is an outlet centre in the valley, and collectors come for the stamps and coins sold among the souvenir crossbows.

The two are far apart on cost. San Marino's prices are those of provincial central Italy: hotels are moderate outside August, the trattorias below the summit are fairly priced and the sights are cheap. Lower taxes also bring down the cost of fuel and spirits.

In summer, Saint-Tropez is one of the most expensive places on the Mediterranean, from rooms and beach loungers to a coffee on the port, and you often pay for taxis or parking on top. Even in late spring and autumn it is never cheap, so many budget visitors stay inland and come in for the day.

Neither town has a real arts season. For opera or theatre you go elsewhere: from San Marino to Bologna or Pesaro, from Saint-Tropez to Toulon or Nice. Saint-Tropez has a little more on in summer, with classical and jazz concerts in gardens and on the citadel. Each has its own signature event: San Marino's Medieval Days fill the summit with crossbow contests and flag-throwers, while Saint-Tropez's Bravade in May is a centuries-old musket procession for the town's patron saint.

For a restful stay, Saint-Tropez is the better choice of the two, though San Marino has its own kind of quiet. On the mountain it comes in the evening, once the coaches have gone and you have the walls and the long views over the plain almost to yourself. Beyond that, wellness means a few hotel spas. Summer days around the towers are crowded, and the thermal spas on the coast and in the Apennine valleys are a separate outing.

Saint-Tropez gives you more ways to unwind. Its luxury hotel and villa spas are polished, though they are aimed at guests. In May, June and September the town slows down to long lunches, morning walks up to the citadel and pétanque under the plane trees. In July and August the crowds and loud evenings take away much of that calm.