Verona or Zermatt?

Verona has the edge. It has no sea, but the southern shore of Lake Garda is about half an hour away, warm enough by midsummer for easy swimming, with lidos, lawns down to the water and Sirmione's limestone shelves.

Zermatt has nothing comparable. Its mountain tarns are glacier-fed and far too cold to swim in, so the only option is a hotel pool.

Verona offers more depth and more choice. Amarone risotto, bigoli with duck and bollito with 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 the evening glass at a counter is local in the truest sense.

Zermatt's best eating is up on the mountain. Long chalet lunches in Findeln or Furi come with raclette, air-dried beef and Valais wines, and the Matterhorn in view. The range is narrow, though, and many kitchens close between seasons.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two. Verona's UNESCO-listed centre holds a Roman amphitheatre and theatre, the Scaliger tombs, the Romanesque San Zeno and Scarpa's Castelvecchio museum, enough for two or three full days.

Zermatt's heritage is about climbing. The Matterhorn Museum tells the story of the 1865 first ascent, the mountaineers' cemetery holds the graves of climbers lost on the peaks, and the old larch barns stand in the Hinterdorf. Together they fill a morning.

Neither place is a destination for a big night out, but Verona offers more, and all year round. Aperitivo tables spill into Piazza delle Erbe, the student bars in Veronetta stay busy later, and on summer opera nights the centre fills again near midnight.

Zermatt's nightlife is seasonal and louder. Slope-side après-ski bars and a few clubs on the main street run late in winter. In summer, hikers turn in early, and between seasons the village goes quiet.

Zermatt is far ahead. The Matterhorn rises directly above the village, glaciers and dozens of four-thousand-metre peaks surround it, and lifts carry you to the high terrain in minutes. Skiing goes on into summer on the glacier, and the walks run from the Five Lakes trail to the Europaweg suspension bridge.

Verona's countryside is gentler and more cultivated. Vineyard walks and cycling in Valpolicella, the Lessinia plateau and the ridges of Monte Baldo above Garda make good days out, but they are foothills by comparison.

Verona is one of the best bases in northern Italy. Venice, Vicenza, Padua and Mantua are all an easy train ride away, and the Garda towns and the Soave and Valpolicella wine country are closer still.

From Zermatt, every outing starts with the long train ride down the valley. Sion's castle hills and Brig's Stockalper Palace are worth seeing, but most visitors would rather spend a spare day higher up the mountain.

Verona does more for children, though mostly just outside the city. Gardaland, the water parks on the southern Garda shore and the safari park at Parco Natura Viva are all about half an hour away, and the flat, pedestrian centre is easy with a pushchair.

Zermatt's strengths are calm and safety. With no traffic, nursery slopes at Sunnegga, marmots and cog railways, it works well for families who ski or hike together. Rainy days are harder to fill, though, and the highest viewpoints can be too cold and thin-aired for small children.

Zermatt makes it simpler. Once you arrive by train, everything is on foot or by electric taxi, and the Gornergrat railway, the Sunnegga funicular and the gondolas all leave within walking distance of the centre. The only real effort is a steep walk with luggage to the hotels on the slopes.

Verona's centre is just as easy to cover on foot, and the railway is excellent for Venice and Milan. Reaching the wine villages, the Lessinia and some Garda attractions is awkward without a car, though, and driving into the old town is restricted.

Verona has more to browse. Italian fashion labels line the marble paving of Via Mazzini, smaller boutiques fill Corso Porta Borsari, and the wine shops, Garda olive oil and pandoro make good things to take home.

Zermatt has a single main street of Swiss watch and jewellery boutiques and souvenir shops. Its genuine strength is ski and mountaineering gear, which is worth knowing if you need equipment.

Neither is a bargain, but Verona is much easier on the wallet. Rooms in the centre are dear, especially on opera nights. Still, simple meals in Veronetta, cheap local wine and a centre you can walk keep daily spending moderate, and staying near the station helps.

Zermatt is expensive on every count. Rooms, terrace lunches and lift tickets all cost well above the European norm, and only self-catering or sleeping down the valley in Täsch makes a real difference.

Verona has one of Europe's great summer stages. Grand Verdi and Puccini productions play to thousands in the Roman Arena, Shakespeare and jazz are staged in the Roman theatre, and the Teatro Filarmonico runs a season in the cooler months.

Zermatt has no theatre or concert hall. Its calendar depends on two festivals, Zermatt Unplugged in spring and a chamber music festival in the church in late summer. Outside those weeks, live music means a band in an après-ski bar.

The two are evenly matched but relax you in different ways. Verona draws on warm springs nearby: the thermal pools at Sirmione facing the lake, the spring-fed lake near Lazise and the old Roman springs at Caldiero. In town, the calm comes from long lunches and the Giardino Giusti.

Zermatt has no springs. What it has is an unusual number of fine hotel spas with mountain views, along with clear air and car-free quiet. The mood there is more about recovering after a day on the slopes than slowing down.