Albuquerque or San Antonio?

Neither city is near the sea, and Albuquerque has almost nowhere to swim. The Rio Grande is not for bathing, so it is hotel pools or a drive to Cochiti Lake.

San Antonio does better, thanks to the spring-fed Comal and San Marcos rivers under an hour away, which are clear and cool enough to float on an inner tube through a summer afternoon, plus Hill Country swimming holes. For a real beach both mean a separate trip, though the Gulf is far closer to San Antonio.

Both are reasons to come hungry, and in both the best meals come from modest family kitchens rather than smart dining rooms, but the cooking is different. Albuquerque's is New Mexican, built on locally grown chile, red or green, in carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and sopaipillas with honey. Craft breweries in Nob Hill and downtown complete the picture.

San Antonio's is Tex-Mex: breakfast tacos, puffy tacos, enchiladas in chili gravy and Sunday barbacoa, with Central Texas brisket alongside and the Pearl's market and restaurants for something more ambitious. Both narrow quickly once you look beyond their regional speciality.

San Antonio has more history to see. The Alamo and four more 18th-century missions along the river form a World Heritage group, with San José's carved rose window and Espada's aqueduct. The cathedral, the King William mansions and two worthwhile art museums round it out.

Albuquerque's Old Town plaza is smaller, and its strengths lie elsewhere: the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center for Native cultures, the nuclear science museum, Route 66 neon and the petroglyphs on the western edge. It fills a rewarding couple of days rather than a full itinerary of landmarks.

Neither is a place for late nights, but San Antonio gives a little more choice of evening. Beyond the River Walk's margarita terraces there are icehouses, beer gardens and Tejano dance halls in Southtown, the Pearl and the St. Mary's Strip. Albuquerque's evenings are mostly taprooms and patios in Nob Hill, with a downtown strip of bars and clubs that gets rowdy at weekends and goes quiet midweek.

Here Albuquerque pulls well ahead. The Sandia Mountains form its eastern edge, with a tramway to a crest above 3,000m and the steep La Luz Trail for those who climb on foot. Down by the river there are cottonwood bosque paths, wintering cranes and lava escarpments.

San Antonio's setting is softer: limestone hills, cypress-lined rivers for kayaking, caverns to the north and bluebonnets in spring, with no mountains of any real scale. Its hiking season runs through the cooler half of the year, while Albuquerque's trails are at their best in spring and autumn.

Both have a solid list of trips and both need a car, but the trips are of different kinds. Albuquerque's include one outstanding day in Santa Fe, which can also be reached by train, and then ancient sites: Acoma's mesa-top Sky City, Bandelier's cliff dwellings and the ruined Salinas missions.

San Antonio's are more about small towns: German-rooted Fredericksburg with its wineries, Gruene's old dance hall and cowboy Bandera, with Austin for the Capitol and music. Albuquerque offers Native heritage and old settlements, and San Antonio offers wine country, small-town Texas and a second city.

San Antonio is the easier choice with children. Two large theme parks sit on its edges, Brackenridge Park holds the zoo and the Witte Museum, and Morgan's Wonderland is built for children with disabilities and their families.

Albuquerque has a good core in the BioPark, Explora and the tramway ride, and the October Balloon Fiesta, with hundreds of balloons rising at dawn, is something few children forget. Beyond those, though, it has fewer big days out. In both cities the distances mean driving, and the summer heat needs planning.

Both are car cities, but San Antonio is easier for part of a stay. Its compact downtown is linked by the shaded River Walk, and you can cycle the river path south to the missions.

In Albuquerque only Old Town is truly walkable, with a bus along Central Avenue to downtown and Nob Hill. The mountains, the petroglyphs and nearly every outing need a hire car, though the commuter train to Santa Fe is a useful exception.

Albuquerque's shopping is Native American craft and San Antonio's is Mexican and Western, and that difference matters more than how many shops each has. In Albuquerque, look for silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving around Old Town's plaza and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, ideally bought from the artists themselves. Nob Hill's short run of vintage shops is a sideline.

In San Antonio, El Mercado in Market Square sells embroidered dresses, pottery, papel picado and piñatas, and specialist shops sell boots and hats. It also has larger malls and the outlet centres at San Marcos and New Braunfels for practical buying, though there is no fashion street in either city.

San Antonio stretches a budget a little further. Its convention hotels keep rooms moderate away from the river, tacos and barbecue are cheap, and the missions are free, though theme parks add up quickly for a family.

Albuquerque is inexpensive by American standards, but a comfortable room costs about what it would in a European capital, and a hire car is almost unavoidable. Old Town and the foothills trails cost little, but if money matters, avoid Balloon Fiesta week.

San Antonio has the fuller programme: symphony, opera and ballet at the Tobin Center, Broadway at the 1929 Majestic and summer shows at the Arneson, where the audience sits across the river from the stage. Conjunto and Tejano dance halls give it a sound of its own.

Albuquerque's stages are fewer, chiefly Popejoy Hall and the KiMo, but it has two things you won't find in San Antonio: a deep flamenco tradition and weekend Pueblo dances at the cultural centre. Santa Fe's open-air summer opera is within an evening's drive.

Albuquerque's advantage is the hot springs of northern New Mexico. There are mineral pools at Jemez Springs, about an hour and a quarter away, and Japanese-style bathhouses around Santa Fe. Closer in, rest means a resort spa, several of them on Pueblo lands with views of the mountains, and the dry air and quiet evenings suit a slow stay.\n\nSan Antonio has nothing comparable to soak in, so a restful trip usually means booking one of the golf or Hill Country resorts on the north side. A slow morning on a quiet stretch of the River Walk or among the ponds of the Japanese Tea Garden is pleasant, but the summer heat makes long, idle days outdoors hard going.