Anaheim or Carmel-by-the-Sea?

Anaheim is inland, but it's the better base for actual beach days. Huntington's wide surf beach, the Balboa Peninsula at Newport and Laguna's coves are about half an hour away, and from July to September the water is warm enough to swim without a wetsuit.

Carmel Beach is much closer and arguably lovelier, white sand under cypress trees with a view across to Pebble Beach. But the water stays cold all year and the surf is strong, while Monastery Beach and Carmel River State Beach have dangerous shore breaks. It's a beach for sunset walks, not swimming.

Anaheim has more variety, but you have to drive away from the resort to find it. The bakeries and grills of Little Arabia on Brookhurst Street, the pho and banh mi of nearby Little Saigon, and taquerias across the county are far better than the chains and park counters near Disney.

Carmel offers the opposite: refined, expensive and European in style. It has candlelit French and Italian rooms, Dungeness crab and sand dabs from the bay, and Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. For an anniversary dinner it's lovely, but there's little that is cheap, casual or from beyond Europe and California.

Neither town is a museum destination, but Carmel has more character of its own. The Carmel Mission, where Junípero Serra is buried, is among the finest in California's mission chain. Add the 1920s storybook cottages, the artists' colony houses and Robinson Jeffers's hand-built Tor House, and you have a pleasant morning or two.

Anaheim's cultural landmark is Disneyland itself, the only park Walt Disney saw completed. Beyond that, little of the German and citrus past survives apart from the packing houses. For the Bowers Museum or the Nixon Library you have to drive.

Anaheim has more going on after dark, though not much. Bars along the promenade between the parks stay open late, central Anaheim has brewpubs and cocktail bars, and hockey and baseball nights fill the bars near the stadiums.

Carmel has almost no nightlife: a wine bar before closing, a long dinner, a nightcap in a hotel lounge, and quiet streets by ten. From either town, a proper night out means a drive, to Los Angeles from Anaheim or to Monterey's modest Alvarado Street from Carmel.

This is where Carmel stands out. Point Lobos, with its granite headlands, harbour seals and sea otters, is five minutes away. The Big Sur coast, Bixby Bridge and the Pfeiffer redwoods follow within an hour, and Garland Ranch and the 17-Mile Drive add oak hills and cypress points.

Anaheim's countryside is gentler and needs a longer drive: chaparral trails in the Santa Ana Mountains, tide pools at Crystal Cove and bike rides along the Santa Ana River. Whale-watching boats leave from both coasts, but only Carmel has world-class scenery on its doorstep.

Anaheim's central spot in Southern California gives it more options. Hollywood and the Getty are about an hour away, Long Beach offers the Queen Mary and boats to Catalina, and San Juan Capistrano, Temecula's wineries and San Diego are all within a day's drive. Traffic is the cost.

Carmel's outings are smaller in scale: Cannery Row and old adobe Monterey next door, the Victorian houses of Pacific Grove, Steinbeck country in Salinas and the boardwalk at Santa Cruz. San Francisco is far enough away to make a long day.

For children, Anaheim is in a different league. Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Knott's Berry Farm can fill a week, with family hotels within walking distance, and the Discovery Cube and Aquarium of the Pacific cover the days off. The main drawbacks are queues at busy times.

Carmel works best for school-age children who like wildlife more than rides. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is excellent and the tide pools at Point Lobos are a real treat. But the cold, rough sea rules out paddling for little ones, and the restaurants are built for quiet adults.

Both towns are easy on foot at their centre and hard without a car beyond it. Anaheim's walkable area is the resort district, where hotels are a stroll or shuttle ride from the Disney gates and trains run from the transit centre to Los Angeles and San Diego. The rest of Orange County means freeways.

Carmel's centre is a small village grid, walkable but hilly, with dark, rural lanes at night. Point Lobos, Big Sur and the wineries all need a car, and parking in town gets tight at weekends.

Anaheim offers more serious shopping, though it's all done at malls. Costa Mesa's luxury mall, about 20km away, has most major fashion houses, outlet centres cover the mid-range, and the Disney shops are a big draw for children.

Carmel is the more charming place to browse but much smaller. Galleries of plein-air painting and photography, cashmere and jewellery boutiques hidden in courtyards, and two small open-air centres can be covered in an afternoon.

Neither is cheap, but Anaheim is easier on the wallet. Park tickets and hotels by the gates are the big costs, but motels a short drive away and the restaurants of Little Arabia and Little Saigon bring prices back to normal.

Carmel is priced as a luxury escape all year round, from cottage inns to wine tasting to dinner, with little cheap food. The beach and the coastal walks are free, and staying in Monterey or Seaside is the usual way to save.

Anaheim has a little more on offer year-round. Disney's water shows and stage musicals fill most evenings, the arena hosts major pop and rock tours, and the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa has the Pacific Symphony, ballet and touring Broadway productions.

Carmel's arts calendar is smaller but has more personality, and it's mostly seasonal. The Bach Festival has filled the summer since 1935, plays are staged under the pines at the outdoor Forest Theater, and the Monterey Jazz Festival comes each September. Outside those months there's little on.

Carmel is the more restful of the two, though Anaheim has one thing it lacks. The Korean-style day spas in the surrounding suburbs, with saunas and body scrubs, are the closest either town comes to a bathing culture, and they make a good half-day off between park visits. If Anaheim visitors want real peace and quiet, though, they usually drive to the coast, to the clifftop resorts around Laguna Beach and Dana Point.

In Carmel you don't have to go anywhere to find calm. Misty mornings and dark, still lanes at night set the pace. Several village inns will bring a massage to your room, and an early walk at Point Lobos does much of the rest. There are no baths or springs to plan a stay around, so it suits a couple's slow weekend better than a structured retreat.