Albuquerque or Steamboat Springs?

Neither place is for swimming, and both lie far from any coast. What differs is how you cool off. In Albuquerque that means a hotel or public pool, or a drive out to Cochiti Lake on a hot afternoon. Steamboat's reservoirs stay cold even in July, so the classic summer outing there is floating through town on the Yampa in a tube.

Albuquerque has a cuisine worth travelling for. New Mexican cooking means red or green chile, carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and sopaipillas, served best in family places in the South and North Valleys and along Route 66. In late summer the whole city smells of roasting chile, and craft breweries in Nob Hill and downtown round it out.

Steamboat feeds you well enough after a day outdoors, with steakhouses, Colorado lamb and beef and casual Mexican food on Lincoln Avenue and at the ski base. But it has no regional dish to seek out and little variety, so meals there are fuel rather than part of the plan.

Albuquerque has far more to see. There is Old Town's adobe plaza with its 18th-century church, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center and the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Barelas. Add the nuclear science museum and the carved rock images of Petroglyph National Monument, and you have two rewarding days, with Route 66 neon along Central Avenue in between.

Steamboat's history of ranching and skiing fits into a morning: the western storefronts on Lincoln Avenue, the Tread of Pioneers Museum and the old ski area at Howelsen Hill.

Neither is a nightlife destination, but Albuquerque gives you more evenings out. Downtown's strip of bars and its few dance clubs fill at weekends, Nob Hill has cocktail bars and taprooms, and brewery patios are busy on warm, dry nights.

In Steamboat, going out mostly means après-ski. It starts in the bars at the gondola base as the lifts close and moves on to the saloons and brewpubs of Lincoln Avenue. There are no clubs, and outside the peak weeks the town is quiet well before midnight.

Both have mountains on the doorstep, but Steamboat lives for them. It has the ski mountain, backcountry on Rabbit Ears Pass, summer biking and hiking trails, Fish Creek Falls, the alpine lakes of the Mount Zirkel Wilderness and fly fishing on the Yampa, with elk and moose about. That fills a full outdoor programme in every season.

Albuquerque's outdoors are impressive for a desert city. The tramway rises to the Sandia crest above 3,000m, and there is the steep La Luz Trail, the cottonwood bosque along the Rio Grande with its wintering cranes, and volcanic cones to the west. It suits a mix of hiking and sightseeing, though summer heat in the valley pushes long walks into spring and autumn.

Albuquerque is by far the better base for day trips. Santa Fe is an hour away by car or commuter train. With a car you can also reach Acoma's mesa-top Sky City, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, the pilgrimage church at Chimayo and the old mining villages of the Turquoise Trail.

Steamboat is remote. The nearby ranching towns are worth no more than a coffee stop, and Vail or Denver mean two to three hours of mountain driving. Days out there lead into the hills, not to other towns.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Albuquerque fills the days with attractions: the ABQ BioPark's zoo, aquarium and gardens, Explora and the dinosaur halls, the tramway and the dawn balloons of the October Fiesta. The summer sun and long drives can tire everyone, though.

Steamboat suits families who want to be active together. It has a strong ski school, gentle first slopes at Howelsen Hill, pools and slides at Old Town Hot Springs, and tubing in summer. There is no zoo or science museum, and the altitude can wear out small children for the first day or two.

Steamboat is the easier of the two to manage without driving all day. Downtown is flat and walkable, the town bus links it with the ski base, and slopeside lodgings put the gondola within walking distance. You still need a car for Strawberry Park, the lakes and the passes, and those roads call for confidence in winter.

Albuquerque is a spread-out city built for driving. Old Town is walkable and the Central Avenue bus reaches downtown and Nob Hill. But the mountains, the petroglyphs and nearly every day trip need a car, although driving and parking are simple.

Albuquerque has the better shopping, and it has a clear focus. You can buy silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving around Old Town's plaza and at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Chile ristras make easy gifts, and Nob Hill adds a few boutiques and vintage shops.

In Steamboat, shopping is a stroll along Lincoln Avenue for western boots and hats from a long-established family outfitter, plus some galleries and ski shops. An hour covers it.

Albuquerque is the cheaper trip, though neither is a budget one. Hotels are fairly priced for most of the year, New Mexican plates are generous, and Old Town, the petroglyphs and the foothill trails cost little. The car rental is the main expense, and Balloon Fiesta week is far more expensive.

Steamboat charges resort rates, above all in ski season, when lodging, lift access, equipment hire and meals add up quickly. Christmas and the spring school breaks cost the most. Summer and the quieter seasons ease the bill, and self-catering condos help.

Albuquerque has the fuller programme across the year. Popejoy Hall hosts touring Broadway shows and the philharmonic, and the Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre stages film and concerts. The city also has a long-established flamenco tradition, and Pueblo dances are performed on weekends at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. In summer, the open-air opera above Santa Fe is an evening's drive away.

Steamboat's music belongs to summer, when the Strings Music Festival, free outdoor concerts and student theatre and dance at Perry-Mansfield fill the warm months. In winter there is little beyond bands in the bars.

Steamboat is built on hot water and is much the better place to unwind. The spring-fed pools of Old Town Hot Springs are right in town. The rock-lined pools at Strawberry Park, 11km up a mountain road, are at their best on a snowy evening.

Albuquerque has resort spas on nearby Pueblo lands and an unhurried pace, but no bathing culture of its own. For a proper soak you drive more than an hour to Jemez Springs or towards Santa Fe.