Acapulco or Guanajuato?

Here the two could hardly be further apart. Acapulco is a beach city first and foremost, with sand along Condesa and Icacos, the gentle coves of Caleta and Caletilla, and sheltered water at Puerto Marqués and around Roqueta Island. The open-ocean beaches at Revolcadero and Pie de la Cuesta are better for sunsets than swimming because of the surf.

Guanajuato is in the mountains of central Mexico, many hours from either coast. Swimming there means a hotel pool or a trip out to one of the warm balnearios in the countryside.

Acapulco eats better, mostly because of the sea. Whole fish grilled over wood at the palapas of Barra Vieja, tomato-based ceviche and the Thursday ritual of green pozole give it a clear coastal identity, even if the Costera itself is mostly chains and tourist seafood.

Guanajuato's cooking is plainer and inland: enchiladas mineras from the mining past, gorditas from street stalls, and cajeta and candied fruit in Mercado Hidalgo. The better meals are in small family places off the main plazas, and the range runs out sooner than on the coast.

Guanajuato is the stronger choice by a long way. The whole ravine town of coloured houses, colonial plazas and steep alleys is a sight in itself, and it adds the Alhóndiga de Granaditas with its independence history and murals, the Templo de la Valenciana, the Teatro Juárez, the Quixote museum and the Museum of the Mummies. Two or three days pass easily.

Acapulco offers the star-shaped Fuerte de San Diego, which tells the story of the Manila galleons, Rivera's mosaics on the Casa de los Vientos and the divers at La Quebrada. Its real heritage is mid-century resort glamour, seen in villas and old hotels, and a day covers it.

Acapulco is the place to go out. Beach bars, open-air terraces and big clubs on the hillside above the bay line the Costera and fill late, and on long weekends and in Easter and Christmas weeks the whole strip becomes one long party. The music is loud and mainstream, with few small cocktail bars, and midweek in the quieter months it thins out.

Guanajuato's nights are smaller and driven by students: terraces around the Jardín de la Unión and Plaza San Fernando, then mezcal bars and a handful of clubs in the old stone lanes, mostly Thursday to Saturday. It is friendly and everything is within walking distance, but it is not a reason to come on its own.

The two are fairly even, and the outdoors is water-based in one and hill-based in the other. Acapulco's horseshoe bay offers boat trips, snorkelling at Roqueta, deep-sea fishing for marlin, mangrove rides on Coyuca Lagoon and turtle releases at Barra Vieja, but the heat makes hiking hard.

Guanajuato is for walkers. You can climb to the Pípila or up La Bufa above the rooftops, stroll to the Presa de la Olla, or head out to the oak forests and bike trails of the Sierra de Santa Rosa and the views from Cerro del Cubilete.

Guanajuato is the far better base. San Miguel de Allende is about an hour and a half away, Dolores Hidalgo with its Talavera workshops about an hour, and León, Querétaro's aqueduct, the half-empty mining town of Mineral de Pozos and the wineries of the Bajío all make good days out.

From Acapulco the realistic outings are half days to Pie de la Cuesta and Barra Vieja on the city's edge. Taxco, the obvious cultural trip, is around three hours away and better as an overnight stay.

Acapulco is easier with children, especially young ones. The shallow coves of Caleta and Caletilla, boats to Roqueta Island, the CICI water park and resort pools with kids' clubs keep days simple, though the heat, the traffic and the surf on the open beaches mean most families stay inside their resort.

Guanajuato suits older children who like to walk: the funicular, the tunnels under the town and the singing callejoneadas go down well. Long stairways defeat pushchairs, and the mummy museum is too much for many small children.

Guanajuato is much easier to explore. Almost everything is a short walk from the Jardín de la Unión, with traffic sent underground through tunnels, and buses, cheap taxis and a funicular cover the rest. The catch is the steep lanes at around 2000m altitude, which make walking slow.

Acapulco is a long strip along the Costera, too spread out to cover on foot between the old town and Diamante. Buses and taxis do the work, and taxis are the norm after dark.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but they sell different things. Acapulco's large artisan market gathers crafts from all over Guerrero, such as Taxco silver, Olinalá lacquerware, masks and hammocks, and the Diamante malls cover the chains.

Guanajuato's offer is smaller and more local: sweets and leather in Mercado Hidalgo, majolica-style ceramics, wooden toys and Cervantes keepsakes. For serious leather and shoes, León is close by.

Both are inexpensive, with Guanajuato a little easier on the budget. Its market meals, street food, buses and museum entries cost little, and only the boutique hotels and the terraces on the main plazas charge more. Rooms become scarce during the Cervantino in October.

Acapulco is good value too, because it is priced for Mexican visitors, with cheap older hotels on the Costera and fairly priced all-inclusives. Costs climb in Diamante and Las Brisas and over Easter, Christmas and long weekends.

Guanajuato has much more on stage. The Festival Internacional Cervantino brings theatre, dance and orchestras from around the world to the Teatro Juárez, the plazas and university courtyards each October, and students in minstrel costume lead singing callejoneadas through the alleys most evenings. Outside the festival the programme is modest.

Acapulco's performance is informal music: mariachis and trios in seafood restaurants and on the zócalo, folk shows in hotels and touring pop stars in Diamante, with only occasional philharmonic concerts.

The two are about level, and neither has its own bathing tradition. In Acapulco relaxation means resort spas in Diamante and Las Brisas, beach massages and quiet clifftop hotels, or a slower stay at Pie de la Cuesta away from the noisy Costera.

Guanajuato offers spas in converted mansions and a half day at thermal balnearios such as Comanjilla near León, though students and street music keep the centre lively late into the night.