Albuquerque or Deer Valley?

Neither is a swimming destination, and in both places a cool-off means a pool or a reservoir. The Rio Grande in Albuquerque is not for swimming, so locals use pools or drive out to Cochiti Lake. Below Deer Valley, the state park at Jordanelle has a real sandy shoreline a short drive away, but the water is only pleasant in July and August.

Albuquerque has a cuisine of its own, and that settles it. Carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and sopaipillas come red, green or Christmas in long-running family places in the valleys and along Route 66. In late summer the city smells of roasting chile, and there is a good craft brewery scene alongside.

Deer Valley eats well but without local character. On the mountain there is lodge cooking and the famous turkey chili, and down the hill Park City's Main Street has steakhouses, sushi and bistros. The food is upscale and reliable, but there are no local dishes, markets or street food.

Albuquerque has far more to see, with Pueblo, Spanish colonial and atomic-age history all in one city. There is the old adobe church on Old Town's plaza, the Pueblo-run cultural centre, the Hispanic arts campus in Barelas, the nuclear science museum and the neon signs of Route 66. Together they make a rewarding couple of days.

Deer Valley is a purpose-built resort, so its history comes from Park City next door. That means a restored silver-mining Main Street, mine headframes on the slopes, the town museum in the old city hall and the park built for the Winter Olympics, which together fill an afternoon.

Neither is a place for big nights out, but Albuquerque gives you more choice. Downtown has bars and a few dance clubs at weekends, Nob Hill has calmer cocktail bars and taprooms, and patio evenings run long in the dry, warm months.

Deer Valley itself goes quiet after the lifts close, apart from fireside lounges. The fun is a few minutes away on Park City's Main Street, where saloons and après-ski bars fill up in ski season but close early, and most guests are in bed in time for first chair.

Both have mountains on the doorstep, but Deer Valley's are a destination in themselves. Its groomed runs, Park City Mountain next door and the Cottonwood Canyons resorts an hour away make it a world-class winter base. In summer it adds hundreds of kilometres of linked biking and hiking trails, fly-fishing on the Provo River and the high lakes of the Uintas.

Albuquerque's outdoors are drier and more open. You can take the tramway to the Sandia crest, climb La Luz Trail, walk the cottonwood bosque where cranes spend the winter, or explore the volcanic cones west of the river. It is excellent hiking country in spring and autumn, but it lacks the scale and the winter sports that define Deer Valley.

Albuquerque has the stronger set of outings, led by Santa Fe an hour north, which you can even reach by train, with its plaza, the Canyon Road galleries and serious museums. With a car you can add Acoma's mesa-top Sky City, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, Chimayo and the Turquoise Trail villages.

From Deer Valley, Salt Lake City's Temple Square and Capitol are about forty minutes away. The Heber Valley has Midway, a steam railway and Sundance. These are pleasant breaks from the slopes rather than trips worth planning around.

Both work well for families, in different ways. Albuquerque's attractions are spread across the city: the BioPark's zoo, aquarium and garden, Explora and the natural history museum, the Sandia tramway, and the dawn mass launches of the October Balloon Fiesta. You need a car to reach them.

Deer Valley is built around children who ski. It has good ski schools, gentle groomed runs with no snowboarders, ski-to-the-door lodging, and tubing and a coaster at the Olympic park. Away from the snow there is little nearby for children, and lessons and lift access make it a costly family trip.

Albuquerque is built for the car. Old Town is walkable, and the Central Avenue bus links it with downtown, the university and Nob Hill. But the mountains, the petroglyphs and nearly every day trip need a rental car, which most visitors pick up at the nearby airport.

Deer Valley is easier to manage without a car once you arrive. Fare-free buses link the base areas with Main Street, Park City Mountain and Kimball Junction, and much of the lodging is on the slopes. Trips beyond the town still mean driving.

Albuquerque is the stronger of the two for shopping, because it has things worth carrying home. Silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery, Navajo weaving and kachina carvings are best bought around Old Town's plaza or at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and Nob Hill adds a short run of boutiques and vintage shops.

Deer Valley's shopping is Park City's Main Street, with galleries, western boots and hats, and ski and outdoor shops, plus an outlet centre at Kimball Junction. It is good for mountain kit, but for much else people drive to Salt Lake City.

On cost the two are far apart. Albuquerque is moderately priced for an American city, with fair hotel rates, generous plates and sights that cost little. The main costs are the rental car, sales tax and tips, and Balloon Fiesta week in October, when room rates climb sharply.

Deer Valley sits at the very top of the ski market, with luxury slopeside lodging, top-tier lift tickets and expensive meals and lessons. Summer is a little easier on the budget, and the usual way to save is to stay in the Heber Valley or Salt Lake City and drive in.

Albuquerque has more on stage. Popejoy Hall brings touring Broadway shows and hosts the philharmonic, and the KiMo Theatre has its Pueblo Deco interior. The city has a surprising depth in flamenco, and Native dances are performed at weekends at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. In summer, the open-air opera above Santa Fe is an evening drive away.

Deer Valley's highlight is seasonal: the Utah Symphony's outdoor summer festival at the Snow Park amphitheatre, where people picnic on the grass. The rest of the year, the 1920s Egyptian Theatre on Main Street stages plays, comedy and small concerts.

Deer Valley is the better place to unwind, because rest is part of how the resort works. It has quiet slopeside lodges, hot tubs on snowy terraces and polished spas with massages for tired legs. The warm spring inside the Homestead Crater at Midway is about half an hour away.

In Albuquerque, relaxing mostly means a resort spa on Pueblo land outside town. The real soaking is an hour or more away, at Jemez Springs and the bathhouses around Santa Fe. The slow pace and big skies help, but people do not come here to rest.