Albuquerque or Mammoth Lakes?

Both towns are far inland, so neither is a swimming destination. Mammoth Lakes at least has water of its own in July and August, with Horseshoe Lake and the slightly warmer Crowley Lake both cold but fine for a quick dip. Albuquerque's Rio Grande is not for swimming, so cooling off there means a hotel pool or a drive to Cochiti Lake.

Albuquerque has a regional cuisine worth travelling for. Order red or green chile with carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas or sopaipillas at long-running family places in the South and North Valleys. In late summer the whole city smells of roasting chile.

Mammoth Lakes eats like a ski town, with big breakfasts, burgers, pizza and steakhouses that fuel a day outdoors but give no reason to come. Some kitchens also scale back between seasons. Both brew their own beer, but only Albuquerque has food you would plan a day around.

Albuquerque has three centuries to show. There is the adobe plaza of Old Town around San Felipe de Neri, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Barelas, the nuclear science museum and thousands of petroglyphs carved into volcanic rock on the western edge. Together they make a couple of rewarding days.

Mammoth Lakes is a modern resort of lodges and condominiums with a small history museum in a log cabin. Its real heritage lies an hour or more away, at Bodie and Manzanar.

Albuquerque offers a modest night out, with downtown bars and a few dance clubs along Central Avenue at weekends, and calmer cocktail bars and taprooms in Nob Hill. Mammoth Lakes is all about après-ski. The Village fills in the late afternoon in winter, but most of the year the town is quiet before midnight and there are no clubs at all. Neither is a reason to stay up late, but Albuquerque at least gives a choice of scene.

Albuquerque's outdoors are genuinely good. A tramway runs to the Sandia crest above 3,000m and the steep La Luz Trail climbs the same mountain on foot. Along the Rio Grande, the cottonwood bosque has shaded paths and cranes in winter, and there are volcanic cones west of the river.

Mammoth Lakes is on another level, a town that exists for its surroundings. One of North America's largest ski areas rises right above it and the granite-ringed lakes of the Lakes Basin are minutes away. Devils Postpile, Mono Lake's tufa towers and, in summer, Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite are all within reach.

From Albuquerque the standout is Santa Fe, an hour away by car or reachable by commuter train, with its plaza, Canyon Road galleries and museums. With a car you can also reach Acoma's Sky City, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier and the old mining villages of the Turquoise Trail.

Mammoth Lakes has fewer and more distant outings along the highway below the Sierra: the ghost town of Bodie, the internment camp at Manzanar, Bishop and Mono Lake. Its best days out head into the mountains rather than to other towns, and the passes over the Sierra close in winter.

Both work well for families, in different ways. Albuquerque has plenty for a bad-weather day, including the BioPark's zoo and aquarium, the Explora science centre and the natural history museum's dinosaur halls. Each October brings the dawn spectacle of the Balloon Fiesta.

Mammoth Lakes is an outdoor playground instead, with a large ski school, a tubing hill, rowing boats and trout fishing in the Lakes Basin, and condominiums with kitchens. When the weather closes in there is nothing indoors for children, and the higher altitude can tire young ones for the first day or two.

Albuquerque is laid out for the car. Apart from the Central Avenue bus line linking Old Town, downtown and Nob Hill, almost everything needs one. Mammoth Lakes is easier on a ski vacation, since winter shuttles and the Village gondola reach the lifts without driving, and in summer a trolley and a shuttle serve the Lakes Basin and Reds Meadow. Both still need a car for anything further out, and Mammoth's winter roads can call for snow chains.

Albuquerque has something specific to buy. You can find Native American silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving around Old Town and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, as well as Nob Hill's vintage shops and chile ristras to take home. Mammoth Lakes sells gear rather than gifts, with strong ski, climbing and fly-fishing shops and a few galleries of landscape photography.

Neither is a bargain, but Albuquerque costs clearly less. Hotel rates are fair for most of the year and sights such as Old Town, the petroglyphs and the foothills trails cost little or nothing. The main extra is the rental car, and Balloon Fiesta week is the expensive exception.

Mammoth Lakes is priced like a major ski resort, so lift tickets, rentals and lodging are steep in winter. Summer and the shoulder seasons are gentler, and cooking in a condominium helps, though groceries still carry resort prices.

Albuquerque has far more on stage. Touring Broadway shows and the philharmonic play Popejoy Hall, the Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre hosts film, theatre and concerts, and the city has a strong flamenco tradition and weekend Pueblo dances. Santa Fe's open-air opera is an evening drive away in summer.

Mammoth Lakes has a community theatre on the college campus and, in summer, jazz, chamber music and outdoor concerts in meadows with mountain views. It is pleasant, but small.

Mammoth Lakes is the easier place to unwind. Simple hot springs sit out in the sagebrush near town with the Sierra across the valley, and the lodges have spas and hot tubs for tired legs.

Albuquerque has resort spas on Pueblo lands, but its best soaking is more than an hour away at Jemez Springs and around Santa Fe. Relaxing properly there means a drive.