Albuquerque or Taos?

Neither is a place to swim. Both sit on a high plateau far inland, and the Rio Grande is no good for bathing in either town. In Albuquerque the summer escape is a hotel or public pool, or an afternoon at a reservoir such as Cochiti Lake. In Taos the river is for rafting, the mountain lakes stay cold, and a hot spring is the closest you will get to a dip outdoors.

Both cook the same chile-driven New Mexican food, red, green or Christmas, but Albuquerque offers far more of it. Long-running family places in the South and North Valleys and along Route 66 serve carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and stuffed sopaipillas. Late summer brings the smell of roasting chile, and a real brewery scene fills Nob Hill and downtown.

Taos serves the northern version with just as much conviction around the plaza and the Ranchos road. It adds horno bread from Taos Pueblo and a few restaurants cooking local lamb. Still, it is a town of a few thousand people, and a week covers most of what it has.

Taos has the stronger sights for a visitor. Taos Pueblo is a UNESCO-listed adobe village that has been lived in for around a thousand years. The buttressed church at Ranchos de Taos is one of the most painted and photographed buildings in the West, and the art-colony museums and historic homes fill two or three slow days.

Albuquerque covers more ground but with less intensity. It has the small adobe Old Town around its 1793 church, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center as an introduction to all nineteen Pueblos, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, nuclear history and the petroglyphs on its western edge. It explains the region well, but nothing in it matches the Pueblo.

Albuquerque at least has a weekend. Downtown's bars and a few dance clubs fill on Friday and Saturday, and Nob Hill offers calmer cocktail bars and taprooms, though midweek is quiet. In Taos a night out means a margarita in an old adobe hotel bar, a band in a saloon or après-ski up the valley in winter. There are no clubs, and the town is mostly dark soon after dinner.

Albuquerque has the Sandia Mountains right behind it. The tramway climbs to a crest of over 3,000m, the foothill trails start at the edge of suburbia, and the cottonwood bosque along the river is good for birdwatching and cycling. That is excellent for a city, but the best country lies some way out.

Taos sits in the middle of that country. Steep skiing and the trails up Wheeler Peak are half an hour away, the Rio Grande gorge offers whitewater in the Taos Box and rim walks, the Enchanted Circle loops through high forest, and the aspens turn gold in autumn. This is where to stay if the outdoors is the main reason for the trip.

The two are about level, and they share some of the same outings, such as Santa Fe, Chimayó and Bandelier. From Albuquerque, Santa Fe is the easiest trip, an hour by car or reachable on the commuter train. Acoma's Sky City, the Turquoise Trail villages and the Salinas mission ruins open up the south and west, and Taos itself is best done as an overnight stay.

From Taos the drive to Santa Fe is longer, but it can follow the High Road through Truchas and Las Trampas. O'Keeffe country at Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch is closer from here, while Bandelier becomes a long day. Both need a car for nearly everything.

Albuquerque has far more built for children. The BioPark combines a zoo, an aquarium and a botanic garden, Explora sits beside the dinosaur halls, the tramway is an outing in its own right, and the October Balloon Fiesta at dawn is a highlight for a child.

Taos is welcoming but suits outdoor families best. Its ski school, gentle river floats, horse riding and the recreation centre's pool fill the days, but there is no zoo or aquarium, and the 2,100m altitude can wear out small children at first.

Both are car towns, and a hire car comes with either trip. Albuquerque at least has a bus along Central Avenue linking Old Town, downtown, the university and Nob Hill, plus the train to Santa Fe and an airport close to the centre. Taos has a compact plaza area you can walk and a basic bus. Most visitors drive about two and a half hours from Albuquerque's airport to get there.

Both are about Native and Southwestern craft rather than fashion, but the focus differs. Albuquerque's shopping centres on Old Town's plaza and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, with jewellery, pottery, Navajo weaving and chile ristras, and Nob Hill adds a few vintage shops and boutiques. Taos leans towards art. It has galleries of landscape and contemporary painting around the plaza and Kit Carson Road, micaceous pottery and carved santos, and the chance to buy straight from makers at the Pueblo.

Neither is cheap, and the hire car is a large cost in both. The difference lies in when prices rise. Albuquerque is fairly priced most of the year, but rooms become scarce and costly in Balloon Fiesta week. Taos charges resort rates at its historic inns and ski-valley lodges through winter and summer, so spring and late autumn are the times to go if you are watching the budget.

Albuquerque has the fuller calendar. Touring musicals and the philharmonic play at Popejoy Hall, the Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre hosts concerts and theatre, the city has a strong flamenco tradition, and Pueblo dancers perform every weekend at the cultural center. Taos has fewer events but deeper ones: feast-day dances at Taos Pueblo, watched under strict rules, and a summer chamber music festival. Between those there is little to attend.

Taos is the better place to unwind. The historic mineral pools at Ojo Caliente are under an hour away, rough hot springs sit beside the river at the bottom of the gorge, and the town has yoga studios and retreat centres.

Albuquerque has no bathing culture of its own. Relaxing there means a resort spa on nearby Pueblo land, or a drive of over an hour to the springs at Jemez.