Albuquerque or Los Angeles?

Albuquerque has no beach to speak of. The Rio Grande is too shallow and silty for swimming, so a hot afternoon means a hotel pool or a drive to Cochiti Lake.

Los Angeles has more than 100km of shoreline, from the Malibu coves to Venice, Hermosa and Long Beach, with volleyball, surfing and a bike path along the sand. The Pacific is cool, so many people wade or wear a wetsuit, but as a place to spend time by the sea it is far ahead.

Albuquerque is worth eating in for one thing done well. New Mexican cooking means red or green chile on carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and sopaipillas, best in old family places in the valleys and along Route 66. Beyond that, the choice is thin.

Los Angeles offers a far wider table. Koreatown, Thai Town, Little Ethiopia and the San Gabriel Valley each cook at full strength, taco stands line the Eastside, and a serious chef-led scene sits on top. You will drive between them, but you could eat for weeks without repeating yourself.

Albuquerque has the older roots: an adobe plaza around an 18th-century church, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center and the carvings of Petroglyph National Monument. It fills a rewarding couple of days, not more.

Los Angeles has far more depth. The Getty Center and Villa, LACMA, the Broad and the Huntington make a major art and library circuit, with Griffith Observatory, Hollywood's movie palaces and Disney Concert Hall adding landmarks. It lacks a historic core, but it has much more to see.

Albuquerque's evenings mostly happen in brewery taprooms and on patios. Downtown's Central Avenue livens up at weekends and Nob Hill has calmer cocktail bars, but midweek the city goes quiet.

Los Angeles has real choice: velvet-rope clubs in Hollywood, the gay strip in West Hollywood, rooftop bars downtown and dive bars in Silver Lake and Echo Park. Bars close at 2am and districts are far apart, so plan a night around one neighbourhood.

Both cities have mountains above 3,000m at their edge. Albuquerque's Sandia tramway and the La Luz Trail give a big desert panorama, and the cottonwood bosque along the Rio Grande draws wintering cranes.

Los Angeles has the wider range. Griffith Park and the Santa Monica Mountains bring trails into the city, the San Gabriels add pine forest and winter snow, and the coast adds surfing, kayaking, whale watching and boats to the Channel Islands. Traffic is the cost.

These are equally strong but very different in character. From Albuquerque, the outings are about history and Native heritage: Santa Fe's plaza and Canyon Road, Acoma's Sky City on its mesa, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier and the Turquoise Trail villages. Santa Fe can be reached by train, but the rest need a car.

From Los Angeles the pull is coast and wine. Santa Barbara's mission and red-tile streets lead the list, with the ferry to Catalina, Laguna Beach galleries, Ojai and Temecula behind. Here traffic, not distance, decides how far you get.

Albuquerque keeps children happy for a few days with the BioPark's zoo and aquarium, Explora, the dinosaur halls and the Sandia tramway. In October the Balloon Fiesta's dawn launches are a spectacle any child will remember.

Los Angeles is in another league. Disneyland, Universal Studios, Knott's and Magic Mountain are within reach, along with the space shuttle at the California Science Center, the La Brea Tar Pits, the Long Beach aquarium and the Santa Monica Pier. Expect to spend a lot of time in the car between them.

Both are car cities, and in both most visitors hire one. Albuquerque is the easier drive, with an airport close to the centre, simple parking, a bus along Central Avenue and a train to Santa Fe.

Los Angeles has more rail, with Metro lines to Hollywood, Pasadena, Long Beach and Santa Monica, but its distances are far greater and its freeways jam. Santa Monica, Venice and Old Pasadena are good on foot, but getting between them takes planning.

Albuquerque has one strong offer: Native American and Southwestern craft, from silver and turquoise jewellery to Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving, bought around Old Town or the Pueblo Cultural Center. Otherwise it is malls and a short boutique stretch in Nob Hill.

Los Angeles is a serious shopping city. There is luxury on Rodeo Drive, streetwear and vintage on Melrose, independent shops on Abbot Kinney and record shops in Silver Lake, and the Rose Bowl flea market is the place for vintage hunting.

Albuquerque is the cheaper of the two, though it is still not a cheap trip. A comfortable mid-range room costs about what it would in a European capital, and sales tax and a tip go on every restaurant bill. For most visitors the largest single cost is the hire car and its fuel. Parking, at least, only costs something now and then.

Los Angeles adds the same tax and tip to higher bills, and getting around costs more: a car with fuel and parking at almost every stop, or frequent rides across long distances. The savings are in what you eat and where you stay. Market stalls and Koreatown and San Gabriel Valley kitchens feed you well for little, and a base away from the coast costs far less than one in Santa Monica or West Hollywood.

Albuquerque has a small but distinctive stage life. Popejoy Hall hosts touring musicals and the philharmonic, the KiMo Theatre has its Pueblo Deco interior, there is a deep flamenco tradition and Pueblo dances are performed at weekends.

Los Angeles is one of the world's great music cities. The Philharmonic plays at Disney Concert Hall and, in summer, the Hollywood Bowl, with LA Opera at the Music Center. Below that sit Sunset Strip rock rooms, top comedy and improv, and jazz in Leimert Park.

Albuquerque offers quiet more than treatments. Beyond resort spas on nearby Pueblo lands, the real soaking is out of town at the mineral pools of Jemez Springs and the bathhouses around Santa Fe.

Los Angeles has Koreatown's bathhouses right in the city, many open late or around the clock, with hot and cold pools, scrubs and heated floors. Yoga studios and Beverly Hills spas add to that, though the traffic sends people to Ojai or Palm Springs for real calm.