Verona or Zadar?

Zadar is the place for swimming. The sea starts at the edge of the old town, where people step in off the stone promenade, and Kolovare and the pine-shaded shore at Borik are a short walk or bus ride away. Those city beaches are pebble and concrete, but Nin's long sandy shallows and the pale sand at Sakarun on Dugi Otok are within easy reach.

Verona has no coast of its own, and swimming means a half-hour trip to Lake Garda. There the water is calm and tideless, with lidos, lawns and Sirmione's flat limestone shelves. It makes a pleasant afternoon, but it is a different kind of outing from a seaside stay, and the narrow lake beaches fill up on summer weekends.

Verona eats more richly and drinks far better. Risotto with Amarone, bigoli with duck and bollito misto with peppery pearà are served in wood-panelled osterie around Piazza delle Erbe and in Veronetta. Valpolicella, Soave and Bardolino are made within a short drive, so an evening glass at a counter is a meal in itself.

Zadar's Dalmatian table is good but narrow: grilled fish, black risotto, octopus under the peka bell, and Pag cheese with pršut. Menus repeat themselves across the peninsula's konobas. The market by the walls and a glass of local Maraschino are the parts worth seeking out.

Verona's whole centre inside the loop of the Adige is UNESCO-listed, and its Roman remains are on a grander scale. The Arena still fills with crowds, and the Roman theatre climbs the hill below Castel San Pietro. San Zeno is among Italy's finest Romanesque churches, and Castelvecchio's museum, in its Carlo Scarpa setting, gives the city a proper art collection to go with the piazzas of the della Scala lords.

Zadar packs its history into a smaller peninsula: the open Roman forum, the round ninth-century St Donatus and the Venetian walls with the Land Gate, which carry the town's UNESCO listing. Its museums of ancient glass and archaeology are small but rewarding. The Sea Organ and the Greeting to the Sun add a modern touch that Verona has nothing to match, though the whole place takes less time to see.

Neither city is a place for big nights out, and the two are close here. They differ in rhythm. Verona's evenings revolve around wine and aperitivo in Piazza delle Erbe, the student bars of Veronetta keep going later in term time, and on summer opera nights the Arena crowd fills the centre near midnight.

Zadar's evening begins with the sunset at the Sea Organ and moves on to café-bars along Kalelarga and terraces on the walls. Anyone who wants proper clubbing goes to the party beach at Zrće on Pag, about an hour away, which only runs in high summer. Out of season Zadar goes quieter than Verona does.

Zadar's surroundings are wilder and more varied. Paklenica's limestone gorges offer serious hiking and some of Croatia's best rock climbing. Out at sea, the stark Kornati islands and Telašćica's cliffs and salt lake are reached by boat, and the waterfalls at Krka and Plitvice are within a day.

Verona's outdoors is gentler and more pastoral: vineyard walks and cycling in the Valpolicella hills, the long Adige cycle route north, and beech woods in the Lessinia. Its strongest card is Lake Garda, with ridge walks and paragliding on Monte Baldo and reliable wind for windsurfing at the northern end.

Verona is one of the best bases in Italy for days out, mainly because the trains do the work. Venice, Padua's Scrovegni Chapel, Palladio's Vicenza and Mantua are all close enough for a relaxed day. On top of that come the Garda towns and the Soave and Valpolicella wine country.

Zadar has good outings too: Šibenik's cathedral and fortresses, Nin's tiny royal church and salt pans, and Split and Trogir if you don't mind a longer drive. Ferries out to Ugljan or car-free Silba add an island flavour. Most of the mainland trips need a car or an organised excursion, though.

Verona has the bigger draws for children, though all of them lie outside town. Gardaland and the water parks around southern Garda are about half an hour away, as is Parco Natura Viva with its drive-through safari. The flat, traffic-free centre and the Arena make the city itself easy going for families.

Zadar has no zoo or theme park, so family days are mostly spent by the sea. Nin's shallow sand is ideal for small children, and the lit-up tiles of the Greeting to the Sun and short ferry hops make simple adventures. It suits families who are happy with beach days more than those who want organised attractions.

Both centres are flat and largely free of cars, so you walk everywhere in either. Verona has the advantage once you leave the centre. Its rail links to Venice, Milan and Peschiera on the lake are excellent, so you can manage many trips without a car.

Zadar's peninsula takes a quarter of an hour to cross, and the island ferries leave right from its edge. Getting to the national parks and the wider coast is harder: the regional buses are of limited use, a hire car is the practical answer and parking near the old town is tight in summer.

Verona is a provincial city, but it has proper shops. Via Mazzini's marble street is lined with Italian fashion labels, and Corso Porta Borsari has boutiques and shoemakers. You can take home Amarone, Garda olive oil and the star-shaped pandoro, and Milan is near enough for serious shopping.

Zadar's shopping is mostly souvenirs and jewellers along Kalelarga. The best buys are local: Maraschino, Pag cheese and figs, and the fine lace of Pag. The market by the walls is the most enjoyable place to browse.

The two cost about the same overall, but the money goes in different places. In Verona most of it goes on the room. Central hotels charge more than you would expect in a provincial city, and when the Arena opera is on or a big trade fair is in town, beds are hard to find and rates go up sharply. Day-to-day spending is light by comparison: you walk everywhere, a glass of Valpolicella at a counter usually comes with something to eat, and lunch in a Veronetta student osteria stays modest. Sleeping across the river or near the station makes the biggest difference.

Zadar comes out slightly easier, mostly because visitors rent private apartments instead of hotel rooms, and outside the peak these are fair value. In July and August that advantage shrinks, as rooms on or near the peninsula get much dearer. Konobas and bakeries are reasonable, and ferries and buses cost little. Where Verona's extra spending goes on the bed, Zadar's goes on the outings: national park tickets and boat trips to the Kornati or Telašćica mount up quickly.

Verona is in a different league here. Summer opera in the Roman Arena, with grand Verdi and Puccini productions and candles lit on the stone tiers, is a reason to plan a whole trip. The Roman theatre's Shakespeare, dance and jazz festival and the Teatro Filarmonico's winter season give the city a programme beyond the summer.

Zadar's highlight is far more intimate: early and chamber music in the ninth-century St Donatus, with klapa singing in the squares in high summer. It is lovely if your dates match, but outside July and August there is little on.

Verona has real thermal water nearby. Sirmione's spa pools face Lake Garda, a spring-fed lake near Lazise sits in an old villa garden, and the springs at Caldiero have been used since Roman times. In town, the calm of the Giardino Giusti terraces does the rest.

Zadar has no spa tradition beyond hotel spas at Borik and the mineral mud of Nin's lagoon. What it offers instead is the pace of the place: slow café mornings, a siesta and the sunset from the steps by the Sea Organ.