Albuquerque or Vail?

Neither city has a beach, and both are a long way inland, so swimming means a pool. Summer days in Albuquerque are warmer for a reservoir afternoon at a place like Cochiti Lake. Vail's mountain lakes stay cold even in July.

Albuquerque has a regional cuisine worth travelling for. New Mexican cooking is built on local chile, with carne adovada, blue corn enchiladas and posole in long-running family places in the South Valley and along Route 66. In late summer the city smells of roasting chile.

Vail serves polished resort food instead: steak, elk and Colorado lamb, fondue and long wine lists in Vail Village and Lionshead. It is well done but has no local character and no cheap end, and in the quiet spring and autumn weeks many kitchens close.

Albuquerque has real history to explore. There is the adobe Old Town plaza around a church from 1793, the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center run by the state's nineteen Pueblos, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Barelas. Thousands of rock carvings at Petroglyph National Monument complete a rewarding couple of days.

Vail was built for skiing in the 1960s, and its chalets imitate a Tyrolean village. The Colorado Snowsports Museum, with the story of the wartime Tenth Mountain Division, and the Alpine gardens in summer are about all there is.

Both are modest places to go out, but the rhythm differs. Albuquerque's evenings centre on brewery taprooms and patios, with a downtown strip of bars and clubs that gets loud at weekends. In Vail, nights follow the ski calendar: busy après-ski terraces in winter, and a near-empty town after dinner in the off-seasons.

Vail is in a different league for the mountains. It has a vast ski area with the open Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin, dry powder through a long winter, and in summer the Gore Range and Holy Cross wilderness with lakes below peaks above 4,000m. Fly fishing on Gore Creek and autumn's gold aspens add to it.

Albuquerque still has fine outdoor country. The tramway climbs the Sandia Mountains to the crest, the bosque along the Rio Grande has shaded paths and wintering cranes, and volcanic cones rise west of the river. However, summers are hot down in the valley and a car is needed to reach most of it.

Albuquerque has the stronger range of outings, led by Santa Fe, an hour north, with its plaza, Canyon Road galleries and museums. Acoma's Sky City on its mesa, the cliff dwellings at Bandelier and the old mining villages on the Turquoise Trail give a mix of Native, Spanish and frontier history.

From Vail, most outings lead to other mountain towns: polished Beaver Creek, Victorian Breckenridge and the silver town of Leadville. Glenwood Springs, down the canyon, is the best day out. Both places need a car for nearly all of these.

Both work well for children, in different ways. Albuquerque has the BioPark's zoo and aquarium, the hands-on science at Explora and the dinosaur halls in the natural history museum next door. The October Balloon Fiesta, with hundreds of balloons rising at dawn, is a sight children remember.

Vail is built around ski schools, gentle learning slopes and a safe car-free village, with ropes courses and a mountain coaster at the top of the gondola in summer. There is little beyond that, though, and the cold and altitude are demanding with toddlers.

Once you arrive, Vail is far simpler. The village and Lionshead are pedestrian, the lifts start in town and a free bus runs the length of the valley, so many visitors manage a week without a car. The harder part is getting there, with airport shuttles and a mountain pass that can close in heavy snow.

Albuquerque is a spread-out, low-rise city laid out for driving. A bus along Central Avenue links Old Town, downtown and Nob Hill, but the mountains, the petroglyphs and the day trips all need a rental car. Driving and parking are easy, though.

Albuquerque has something you cannot easily buy elsewhere: silver and turquoise jewellery, Pueblo pottery and Navajo weaving, best bought from Native artists or reputable dealers around Old Town. Nob Hill adds a few vintage shops.

Vail's lanes sell upmarket ski clothing, Western boots, jewellery and mountain landscape paintings. That suits buying gear or a luxury souvenir, but there is little variety and almost nothing inexpensive.

Albuquerque is moderately priced for the United States. Mid-range rooms are fair, and Old Town and the trails cost little or nothing. The car rental is the main expense, and Balloon Fiesta week is the exception, when rates jump.

Vail is among the most expensive vacations in North America. Lodging, lift tickets, ski school, equipment hire and meals all cost far more than usual. Summer rates and staying down the valley help a little, but only a little.

The two are level overall, but they differ in timing. Albuquerque has something on all year: touring musicals and the philharmonic at Popejoy Hall, shows at the Pueblo Deco KiMo Theatre, a strong flamenco tradition, and weekend Pueblo dances at the cultural center.

Vail packs everything into summer, at a higher level. Major orchestras play the Bravo! Vail festival at the open-air Ford Amphitheater, and there are dance and jazz festivals too, but there is almost nothing in winter.

Vail is the better place to unwind. Its big hotels have polished spas, massage after a day on the slopes and outdoor hot tubs under the peaks. Glenwood Springs, an hour down the canyon, has mineral pools and vapour caves.

Albuquerque's options are resort spas on Pueblo lands just outside town, plus the hot springs at Jemez Springs, a longer drive into the mountains. The pace is slow and the skies are big, but you would come for the landscape rather than to rest.