Sorrento or Turin?

Sorrento is a real swimming destination, even without much sand. The lidos at Marina Piccola and Marina Grande stand on wooden piers over clear, deep water, the rocky inlet of the Bagni della Regina Giovanna is a short walk away, and boats reach pebble coves on Capri and the Amalfi side. Expect paid sunbeds and tight space in high summer.

Turin offers nothing comparable. The nearest sea is the Ligurian Riviera, close to two hours away, and locals settle for small lakes such as Avigliana. If swimming matters at all, Sorrento is the one to book.

Both are proud regional kitchens, but Turin is the better place to eat. Its Piedmontese cooking runs from agnolotti del plin and vitello tonnato to white truffles from the Langhe in autumn, with Barolo and Barbaresco on every list, and it is the home of vermouth, the aperitivo, gianduja and bicerin in the arcaded cafés. Porta Palazzo market adds cheap, everyday eating.

Sorrento's strength is simpler Campanian food: gnocchi alla sorrentina, fish cooked all'acqua pazza at Marina Grande, local mozzarella and lemons in everything. The catch is the tourist-menu belt around Piazza Tasso, so the good meals take some seeking out in back-lane trattorias and the hill villages.

Turin is a capital-scale city of sights, Sorrento a pretty town with a handful. In Turin the Museo Egizio alone justifies the journey, and around it stand the Royal Palace, Palazzo Madama, the cathedral of the Shroud, the Mole with its cinema museum and the vast Reggia di Venaria, plus contemporary art at Rivoli.

Sorrento's old grid of Roman lanes, the cloister of San Francesco, the Museo Correale and the ravine of the Vallone dei Mulini make a gentle day or two. Its famous history, Pompeii and Herculaneum, lies outside town, so the culture comes from excursions rather than the streets you sleep in.

Turin has the livelier evenings. After the aperitivo, people move on to wine and cocktail bars in the Quadrilatero Romano, crowded pavements in student San Salvario and the riverside Murazzi in summer, with a few clubs in old industrial buildings.

Sorrento's evening is a passeggiata along Corso Italia and a drink on a terrace over the bay, with piano bars and Neapolitan songs for an older crowd. It winds down early, and since the last trains and ferries leave in the evening, a late night in Naples or on Capri means staying over.

The scenery is equally strong in both, but it is sea against mountains. From Sorrento you walk terraced paths to Punta Campanella and the protected bay of Ieranto, tackle the Path of the Gods or the rim of Vesuvius, and take a boat or kayak into the coastal grottoes.

Turin looks to the Alps: Gran Paradiso's ibex and high trails, hut-to-hut hiking, climbing and skiing at Sestriere. The difference is access. The city sits on a flat plain and the wild country needs a car or train, while Sorrento's coastal walks begin almost from the town.

Both are excellent bases, but Sorrento has the edge in how much world-famous ground lies within a short ride. Pompeii is about half an hour by train, with Herculaneum and Vesuvius nearby, Capri is a short ferry crossing, and boats run to Positano and Amalfi, while Naples and its archaeological museum are about an hour away.

Turin's outings are more rural and gastronomic: the Langhe wine villages of Barolo and Alba, Bra and the Monferrato hills, the Sacra di San Michele on its rock, with Milan an hour by fast train and Genoa or Aosta further off. They make rewarding days out, though a car helps for the vineyards.

Turin is the easier city with children. Its flat grid and long arcades keep pushchairs out of rain and sun, crowds are light, and the glass lift up the Mole, the car museum, the Egyptian mummies and Valentino park keep children busy, with a zoo park at Cumiana for a bigger day.

Sorrento is welcoming but has little made for children. Swimming is into deep water off piers and rocks, many hotels sit on steep lanes without pavements and coast buses are long, so it suits older children who will enjoy a boat to Capri or a walk around Pompeii.

Both centres are flat and easy on foot, but Turin works better once you leave them. Its grid of arcaded streets links the main sights, a driverless metro line covers one axis, and fast trains connect the main stations to the rest of Italy.

In Sorrento the trouble starts beyond the small centre. The Circumvesuviana is direct but old and crowded, coast buses crawl round the hairpins in summer, and ferries are often the most comfortable option. A car is more trouble than help in either place, except for Turin's wine hills and mountains.

Turin has the broader shopping. Via Roma carries big fashion labels under its arcades, Via Garibaldi has the high-street chains, and antique dealers, chocolate makers, truffle delicatessens and the Balon flea market give it local character, though designer choice is limited.

Sorrento's lanes around Via San Cesareo are mostly lemon souvenirs and ceramics. The worthwhile buys are the local crafts: inlaid wood, sandals made to measure, linen and cameos.

Turin is the cheaper stay for most of the year. In summer Sorrento charges resort rates for sea-view rooms, lido sunbeds and boat trips, while a central Turin hotel costs what a city hotel costs. In Turin an evening built around the aperitivo spread can stand in for a restaurant meal, and everyday eating at trattorias, bakeries and Porta Palazzo market is easier on the budget than Sorrento's terraces over the bay.

The gap narrows at both ends. Sorrento's hotel rates drop sharply in spring and late autumn, and its trains, buses and back-lane pizzerias are cheap all year. Turin gets dearer when a big trade fair fills its hotels, and the savings shrink on white truffle dinners in autumn and on tickets for the major museums.

Turin has a full cultural calendar, Sorrento barely one. The Teatro Regio stages opera and ballet, the RAI National Symphony Orchestra has its own hall, concerts fill the Renzo Piano auditorium at Lingotto, and jazz clubs and festivals fill out the year.

Sorrento offers shows of Neapolitan song and tarantella put on for visitors, summer chamber music in the San Francesco cloister and hotel pianists. Anyone wanting opera has to make the trip to the San Carlo in Naples.

Neither city has its own bathing tradition, but Sorrento makes the more restful stay. Cliff-top hotels have spas and pools over the bay, the villa gardens and lemon groves set a slow pace, and Ischia's thermal gardens are an hour away by ferry, though spring and autumn are calmer than the crowded summer.

Turin's calm is urban: long café breaks, evening strolls under the arcades and along the Po, and afternoons in Valentino park. Its spas are mainly in hotels, and the nearest thermal baths at Acqui Terme or in the Aosta valley are close to two hours off.