Alta, Utah or San Jose?

Alta has no beach at all. At 2,600m in the mountains, swimming means a lodge pool or hot tub, and the Great Salt Lake in the valley below is too shallow and salty to swim in.

San Jose is inland too, but Santa Cruz, Capitola and the sheltered coves of Monterey Bay are about 45 minutes away over the mountains. The water stays cold, so a day there is for the sand, paddling and surfing in a wetsuit rather than for swimming.

Alta's food is fuel for skiers: half-board dinners at long lodge tables and lunch in slopeside cafeterias. There is no restaurant street, market or café to explore, so guests who want variety drive down the canyon.

San Jose offers far more choice, as long as you drive to it. The Vietnamese cooking of Little Saigon and the east side is the highlight, with taquerias, Indian and Korean restaurants and Japantown's family places alongside it. For a slower day there are winery lunches in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Alta has almost nothing to visit apart from a few traces of its silver-mining past on the slopes. San Jose is no great cultural city either, but it has enough for a couple of days: the strange Winchester Mystery House, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, Mission Santa Clara, and the Computer History Museum with its account of Silicon Valley.

In Alta the evening is a drink in the lodge bar and bed before the lifts open, and that quiet is exactly what its regulars come for. San Jose has a real night out, if a modest one: pubs and the covered food-and-drink market at San Pedro Square, then cocktail bars, dive bars and a few weekend clubs in SoFA along South First Street. It still winds down well before the small hours, and anyone wanting a bigger night takes the train to San Francisco.

Both cities are at their best outdoors, but Alta is the purer mountain destination. Its deep powder at the head of Little Cottonwood Canyon, its steep terrain and its backcountry touring in avalanche country give it a winter San Jose cannot match. In summer it has the Albion Basin wildflower meadows, the walk to Cecret Lake and moose on the trails.

San Jose's strength is range rather than depth. It has redwood groves at Big Basin and Henry Cowell, foothill hikes at Alum Rock, sea otters and whales in Monterey Bay, and Pinnacles within reach. Nearly all of it needs a car, whereas Alta's mountains start at the lodge door.

San Jose is much the better base for days out. San Francisco is about an hour away by Caltrain, and Stanford, the Santa Cruz boardwalk, Monterey and Carmel all make easy outings. Napa and Sonoma are in reach for a longer wine-country day.

From Alta there are two main options, both about an hour away: Salt Lake City with Temple Square and the State Capitol, and the old Main Street of Park City. After that the choices run out, and in winter every trip depends on the canyon road staying open.

Alta works for families who ski, with children's lessons and gentle runs near the base, but offers little else. There are no attractions for children, the winters are cold and the altitude can tire young ones.

San Jose suits families with mixed interests far better. Great America, Happy Hollow and the downtown discovery museum are close by, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Santa Cruz boardwalk are further out. The catch is the long hours in the car.

Both are hard work without a car, for different reasons. Within Alta everything is close: the lodges sit at the lifts and a shuttle links the village. The trouble is the single canyon road up from Salt Lake City, which clogs on powder mornings and closes for avalanche control.

In San Jose the problem is distance. Downtown is walkable, and Caltrain and the light rail serve their own lines well. But the sights, parks and coast are scattered across a valley of freeways, so most visitors hire a car and plan around rush hour.

Alta's shops sell ski rental, outdoor gear and souvenirs, and that is all. San Jose is a good city for malls, with a huge regional mall and an open-air street of boutiques on the west side that between them cover the big international brands. There are also pleasant independent shops in Los Gatos, Willow Glen and Japantown, and Asian supermarkets worth browsing.

Neither is a cheap trip. In Alta the cost comes from scarcity: a handful of lodges charge high rates in season, usually with dinner included. Lift tickets are moderate, though, and skiers on a budget can sleep in the Salt Lake valley and come up each day.

In San Jose the expense is spread across everything, from hotels priced for business travel to parking, drinks and the car you will need. You can save with cheaper weekend hotel rates, Vietnamese and Mexican eateries in the suburban plazas, and free parks and trails.

Alta has no stage of any kind, and evenings are spent in the lodges. San Jose has a respectable small programme. Opera San José plays in the restored California Theatre, the symphony and touring Broadway shows share the Center for the Performing Arts, and big concerts fill the arena. Every summer a jazz festival puts stages in the downtown streets.

Alta's calm is the snowbound kind. After a hard day on the slopes there are outdoor hot tubs steaming in the snow, saunas and massage in the small lodge spas, and then a village so quiet that nothing keeps you from sleep. The facilities are modest, and there is no thermal water.

San Jose has more places to go and less peace. Day spas in the wealthier suburbs and Korean-style bathhouses with soaking pools in the valley towns provide the pampering. For an hour of quiet away from the sprawl, there are the Japanese gardens at Hakone and Kelley Park and the leafy streets of Los Gatos and Saratoga.