Albuquerque or Santa Barbara?

This is where the two part company most. Albuquerque is high desert, the Rio Grande is too silty and fast for swimming, and cooling off means a hotel pool or a drive to a reservoir such as Cochiti Lake.

Santa Barbara has a real shoreline in town, with East and West Beach either side of Stearns Wharf, Arroyo Burro and Leadbetter just west, and the shallow state beach at Carpinteria for young children. The water is cold enough that many locals wear wetsuits, but the beaches are a natural part of every day.

The two eat about equally well, in very different ways. Albuquerque's draw is a distinct regional cuisine: red or green chile on everything, carne adovada, posole and sopaipillas in long-running family places in the South and North Valleys, with the smell of roasting chile through the city in late summer.

Santa Barbara cooks from the sea and the valleys instead, with sea urchin and spot prawns off the harbour boats, outstanding farmers' markets and Santa Ynez wine poured in the Funk Zone's tasting rooms. Albuquerque is better for hearty, casual and distinctive plates; Santa Barbara for polished farm-to-table dinners and a glass of pinot noir. Neither offers much international range.

Santa Barbara has a slight edge, mostly because the town itself is the sight: rebuilt in Spanish Colonial Revival style after the 1925 earthquake, with the County Courthouse and its clock tower, the Old Mission and the restored Presidio all within reach of the centre.

Albuquerque's adobe Old Town is smaller, but its stories are more varied. The Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, run by the state's nineteen Pueblos, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the nuclear science museum and the carvings at Petroglyph National Monument give a broader picture of Native, Hispanic and atomic-age history. Both fill a couple of days rather than a week.

Neither is a place to plan a trip around going out, and the difference is in tone. Albuquerque splits between downtown Central Avenue, where bars and a handful of dance clubs fill and can get rowdy at weekends, and calmer Nob Hill with cocktail bars and taprooms on warm patios.

Santa Barbara's evenings revolve around wine, with the Funk Zone's tasting rooms busiest early on, student bars on lower State Street, and most places shutting early. Choose Albuquerque for a late dance floor, Santa Barbara for a long dinner and a nightcap.

Santa Barbara comes out ahead because it pairs mountains with the sea. Trails up Rattlesnake Canyon or to Inspiration Point start at the ends of town streets and finish with views to the Channel Islands, and the water adds whale watching, kayaking, paddleboarding and the famous surf at Rincon.

Albuquerque's outdoors are on a grander, drier scale. The tramway lifts you over 3,000m to the Sandia crest, the cottonwood bosque along the Rio Grande draws wintering cranes, and volcanic cones lie west of the river. Summer heat and the need for a car make it harder going than Santa Barbara's doorstep trails.

Albuquerque has a little more to choose from. Santa Fe alone, with its plaza, Canyon Road galleries and museums, fills a full day and can be reached by train, and beyond it lie Acoma's mesa-top Sky City, the cliff dwellings of Bandelier and the old mining villages of the Turquoise Trail, all needing a car.

Santa Barbara's outings lean towards wine and small towns: the Santa Ynez Valley and Danish-founded Solvang over the mountains, La Purisima mission, and arty Ojai. Los Angeles is too far for comfort, so the list runs short faster than Albuquerque's.

Both work well with children, in different settings. Albuquerque offers the ABQ BioPark's zoo, aquarium and gardens, Explora and the dinosaur halls, the tramway ride, and in October the dawn launch of hundreds of balloons at the Balloon Fiesta, a spectacle Santa Barbara cannot match.

Santa Barbara is smaller and easier day to day: touch tanks at the Sea Center, MOXI, a hillside zoo, calm beaches and a flat waterfront bike path, all close together. Albuquerque means more driving and fierce summer sun; Santa Barbara has no big rides without heading to Los Angeles.

Santa Barbara is much easier without a car. Its flat downtown runs straight down State Street to the waterfront, a shoreline path links the wharf, harbour and East Beach, and the coastal train stops near the sand, though the wine country and outlying beaches still mean driving.

Albuquerque is spread low across a wide valley and built for the car. The Central Avenue bus links Old Town, downtown and Nob Hill, but the mountains, the petroglyphs and almost every day out need a rental, which is at least simple to drive and park.

Neither is a shopping city, but what you bring home differs completely. Albuquerque has a genuine craft tradition: silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery, Navajo weaving and kachina carvings around Old Town's plaza and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, ideally bought straight from the artists.

Santa Barbara is about browsing rather than collecting, with galleries in the fountain courtyards of the paseos off State Street, upmarket boutiques in Montecito and design shops in the Funk Zone. Its best souvenirs are a case of local wine and farmers' market produce.

Albuquerque is far easier on the wallet. Rooms are plentiful and fairly priced outside Balloon Fiesta week, meals are generous, and many of the main sights are free; the real cost is the rental car almost every visitor needs.

Santa Barbara is one of the dearest stops on the California coast, with beach and Montecito rooms, restaurants and wine tastings all priced for a wealthy crowd. Taquerias on Milpas Street, free hikes and beaches, staying in Goleta or Ventura and visiting midweek soften it, but only so far.

Santa Barbara has the fuller stage life for its size. The restored Granada hosts the symphony, opera and ballet, the historic Lobero has chamber music and jazz, the Santa Barbara Bowl draws major bands to its canyon setting, and the Music Academy of the West fills summer with concerts.

Albuquerque's offer is narrower but distinctive: a serious flamenco tradition with its own institute and festival, traditional Pueblo dances on weekends, touring Broadway shows at Popejoy Hall and the Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre. The Santa Fe Opera is an evening drive away in summer.

Santa Barbara is the more restful choice. The mild sun and slow mornings do much of the work, the resort hotels of Montecito have polished spas, there are yoga studios all over town, and the Ojai Valley's long-standing spa resorts are an hour away.

Albuquerque has hotel spas, some on Pueblo lands with mountain views, but its best relaxation means driving to the mineral pools of Jemez Springs or the bathhouses near Santa Fe. The dry air and big skies are calming, though most visitors come here to explore rather than to unwind.