Albuquerque or Telluride?

Neither city offers a swim worth travelling for, since both lie far from any coast. What differs is how people cool off. In Albuquerque it means a hotel or public pool, or a drive to Cochiti Lake on a hot afternoon. In Telluride the nearest swimming is the reservoir near Ridgway, an hour away and cold even in midsummer, so summer time on the water usually means rafting, paddling or fishing instead.

Albuquerque has something Telluride lacks entirely: a cuisine of its own. Red and green chile, carne adovada, posole and sopaipillas are served at long-running family places in the South and North Valleys and along Route 66, and in late summer the whole city smells of roasting chile.

Telluride eats well for a town its size, with a few ambitious kitchens on Colorado Avenue and in Mountain Village cooking elk, lamb and trout. But the choice is small, and over a week you end up returning to the same places. In Telluride you pay for polish, while in Albuquerque you get regional flavour at a casual table.

Albuquerque fills a couple of full days. There is adobe Old Town around San Felipe de Neri, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the nuclear science museum and the carved rock of Petroglyph National Monument. Telluride's historic district is handsome and survives almost intact, but the mining museum, the Sheridan Opera House and the mill ruins above town fill a morning rather than a whole trip.

Neither place is a destination for going out, but Albuquerque at least gives you a choice. You can head for the downtown strip of bars and dance clubs at weekends, or for the calmer cocktail bars and taprooms of Nob Hill. Telluride's evenings mean après-ski and old saloons on Colorado Avenue. These are busy in peak weeks and on festival weekends, but there are no clubs, and in the quiet seasons the town goes to bed early.

Telluride is one of the few towns where wild country begins at the end of the main street. Bridal Veil Falls, the trails to Bear Creek Falls and Blue Lake, the via ferrata and, in winter, the ski area all lie within walking distance or a gondola ride. The old mining roads over Imogene and Ophir passes and the trailheads further out still need a car, ideally four-wheel drive.

Albuquerque has serious outdoors too, with the tramway to the Sandia crest, the La Luz Trail and the bosque with its wintering cranes. But much of it needs a drive, and the low desert is hot in summer. Albuquerque makes a good base for nature, while in Telluride the mountains are the whole point of the trip.

Albuquerque is the far better base for days out. Santa Fe is about an hour north by car or commuter train, and Acoma's Sky City, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, Chimayo and the Turquoise Trail each fit comfortably into a day.

From Telluride the choice is mostly the old mining and ranching towns of Ridgway, Ouray and Silverton along mountain roads. Mesa Verde is the one major site, at the very limit of a day's driving, and winter conditions on the passes can close the way.

Albuquerque has the attractions children ask for: the BioPark's zoo and aquarium, Explora and the dinosaur halls, the rockets outside the nuclear museum, and the Balloon Fiesta every October.

Telluride suits active families who ski or hike, with a respected ski school, the free gondola and easy waterfall walks. But there is little to do indoors on a wet day, the altitude can disturb young children's sleep, and the costs add up quickly.

Telluride is the easier place to be once you arrive. The historic grid takes a quarter of an hour to cross on foot, and with the free gondola and town buses many visitors never drive at all. The catch is getting there, either through a small airport often affected by weather or on a long road transfer.

Albuquerque is the reverse. The airport is close to the centre, but beyond Old Town and the Central Avenue bus line you need a rental car for the mountains, the petroglyphs and almost every day out.

Albuquerque gives you a real reason to shop. Silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving are sold around the Old Town plaza and at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and Nob Hill adds independent and vintage shops. Telluride's few blocks of galleries, Western boutiques and outdoor gear shops are pleasant to browse, but they are expensive and have no craft tradition behind them.

The gap here is wide, and it comes from different sources. Albuquerque is not a bargain. A mid-range room costs about what it would in a European capital, and tax, tips and fuel add up, but the biggest extra is the rental car that almost every visit needs. The one week to avoid on cost is the October Balloon Fiesta, when rooms become scarce and rates climb sharply.

In Telluride the cost lies in the place itself. Rooms are few and priced for wealthy second-home owners, and lift tickets, ski hire, guides and dinners all sit at the top of the market. Prices climb further over Christmas and New Year and on summer festival weekends. The cheapest way to see it is to sleep in Ridgway and drive in each day.

The two are close here, but they run on different calendars. Albuquerque has a steady offer all year: touring musicals and the philharmonic at Popejoy Hall, the KiMo Theatre, weekend Pueblo dances and an unusual depth in flamenco.

Telluride is quiet for much of the year and then comes alive in summer, with the Bluegrass Festival in Town Park, jazz, blues and chamber music, and the film festival over Labor Day weekend. Choose Telluride if you are going for a particular festival, and Albuquerque if you want shows whenever you visit.

Telluride is the better place to unwind. The Mountain Village hotels have full spas, the shoulder seasons are very quiet, and the hot springs pool in Ouray and the springs near Ridgway are about an hour's drive away. The thin air can make the first nights restless.

Albuquerque has resort spas on Pueblo lands and the mineral pools of Jemez Springs a little over an hour away. Still, it is a city for exploring rather than resting.