Agra or Leh?

Neither city has a beach or anywhere to swim outdoors. Agra's Yamuna is a river for views of the Taj, while Leh's Indus and the high lakes are fed by snowmelt and far too cold.

The real difference is the hotel pool. In Agra's heat, a hotel pool is a genuine afternoon refuge. In Leh, the water is for rafting rather than swimming.

Agra gives the more rewarding table. Its Mughlai cooking of kormas, biryani and tandoor breads is richer, and the old bazaars have their own rituals, with bedai and jalebi at breakfast around Kinari Bazaar and chaat in Sadar Bazaar in the evening. Still, a day or two covers most of it.

Leh eats more simply: momos, thukpa and skyu, salty butter tea and the famous apricots. Its rooftop cafés in Changspa and around the Main Bazaar serve trekkers well, but they are filling rather than memorable, and many close out of season.

Agra is far ahead here. The Taj Mahal alone would justify a visit, and Agra Fort, the fine inlay of Itimad-ud-Daulah and the deer park around Sikandra make it a whole Mughal landscape rather than a single sight.

Leh's heritage is smaller but has real character: the hulking nine-storey palace, the Namgyal Tsemo ridge, the mud-brick lanes of the old town and the working monastery at Sankar. Its greatest art lies out of town, along the Indus valley, rather than in the town itself.

Both towns go quiet after dinner, and neither has clubs or a bar district. In Agra the evening might end with a drink in a hotel bar under a view of the dome. In Leh it is more likely a beer on a rooftop before the cold, the altitude and an early start for the passes send everyone to bed.

Agra's outdoor appeal is wildlife rather than scenery. The plain around it is flat, with no hills or trails, and its best nature needs a drive out of town: Keoladeo's winter birds at Bharatpur, or gharials and river dolphins on the Chambal.

In Leh the landscape is the main reason to come. Mountains rise straight from the valley floor, multi-day treks and river gorges begin close by, and the high lakes and dunes of the outer valleys reward a longer journey. Even winter has its draw, with snow leopards in Hemis and the frozen Chadar trek.

Both make excellent bases, but the outings are of different kinds. From Agra the variety is wider. There is the abandoned sandstone capital of Fatehpur Sikri, the pilgrim towns of Mathura and Vrindavan, Gwalior's hilltop fort and Deeg's water palaces, plus birdwatching at Bharatpur.

Leh's day trips run almost entirely to monasteries and palaces, but at a very high standard. Thiksey and Hemis lie to the east, and the thousand-year-old painted temples at Alchi make a full day to the west.

Neither city is easy with children, but Agra is the more manageable. The visit can be kept short, older children usually enjoy the Taj and the fort ramparts, and the bear rescue centre near Mathura is a treat. A hotel pool takes care of the hot afternoons.

Leh adds a risk Agra does not have. Flying straight to about 3,500m can cause altitude sickness, and the outings are long mountain drives. It really works only with robust teenagers who want to trek or raft.

Agra is slightly the easier of the two to get around, mainly because of arrival. Agra Cantt station links it by fast train to Delhi, and app taxis, auto-rickshaws and a day's car and driver cover the scattered sights, although walking between them is out of the question.

Leh's small centre can be walked, slowly, on its steep slopes. Everything beyond it depends on taxi-union cars, hired motorbikes or shared jeeps along long mountain roads, and some passes close in winter.

Agra has the stronger crafts. Local artisan families still practise pietra dura, the inlay of semi-precious stone seen on the Taj, and the city also sells leather, carpets and petha sweets. Kinari and Sadar bazaars are good for browsing, as long as you resist the drivers who steer visitors to commission showrooms.

Leh's Main Bazaar has less range, and the same goods turn up from stall to stall: pashmina, thangkas, turquoise jewellery and singing bowls. Its useful extras are trekking gear and the dried apricots that Ladakhi women sell on the street.

Both are inexpensive places to stay, and Agra stretches a budget further. Its costs are concentrated in the high monument entry fees for foreigners, while rickshaws and a car for the day stay cheap.

In Leh, guesthouses and noodle soups cost little, but getting about does not. Fixed taxi-union fares, multi-day car hire and permits for Nubra or Pangong add up quickly, and comfortable rooms cost more in the short summer season.

Agra's performances are put on for visitors, while Leh's belong to the monasteries. In Agra that means musicals about Shah Jahan, dance evenings in the larger hotels and the spring Taj Mahotsav at Shilpgram, with its folk dance and crafts.

In Leh, masked cham dances fill monastery courtyards at festivals such as Hemis in summer and around Losar. They are worth timing a trip around, but on other days, as in Agra, there is no theatre or regular live music.

Leh offers more genuine calm, though not luxury. There are slow mornings on guesthouse roofs, meditation courses at Buddhist centres and consultations with amchi healers, set against the drawbacks of thin air and poor sleep in the first days.

In Agra, relaxation means staying inside the hotel: Ayurvedic massage, a lawn and a pool after a dawn start. Outside, the quiet corners are the walled gardens at Itimad-ud-Daulah and Sikandra late in the day.