Anaheim or Las Vegas?

Anaheim is inland, but it has real coastline close by: Huntington Beach's long surf strand and pier, the harbour and Balboa Peninsula at Newport, and the coves at Laguna. The Pacific is cool for much of the year, so most people treat the coast as a half-day break from the parks, and you need a car to get there.

Las Vegas has nothing comparable. The nearest natural swimming is Boulder Beach on Lake Mead, a gravel shore in a bare desert basin with no shade. Most visitors settle for the wave pools and lazy rivers at the Strip resorts.

Las Vegas eats better overall. The Strip resorts bring together famous chefs' outposts, steakhouses, French dining rooms and the classic buffets, and Spring Mountain Road adds kilometres of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Thai cooking, much of it open late.

Anaheim's resort district runs on park counters and chains, so good meals mean driving out. Little Arabia's bakeries and grills on Brookhurst Street and the pho and banh mi of Little Saigon nearby are more rooted in their communities than anything on the Strip, but you have to go looking for them.

Neither city is a culture destination, and both sell spectacle more than heritage. Anaheim's real landmark is Disneyland itself, the first Disney park and a genuine piece of American history, with little left of the citrus town apart from the packing houses and the Mother Colony House.

Las Vegas has more to offer on foot. The Neon Museum and the Mob Museum, both downtown, tell the city's own story well, and the themed resorts and Fremont Street's light canopy fill an evening. Anaheim's best museums, the Bowers and the Nixon Library, are in neighbouring towns and need a car.

This is where the two cities differ most for adults. Las Vegas runs around the clock, with casino bars that never close, DJ residencies at the big resort clubs, pool-party dayclubs, and a cheaper, looser bar scene around Fremont Street and the arts district.

Anaheim is a quiet place after dark. There are bars on the resort promenade, a few brewpubs in the centre and crowds near the stadiums on game nights, but a real night out means driving to Long Beach or Los Angeles.

The desert around Las Vegas is the more dramatic landscape. Red Rock Canyon's sandstone cliffs are half an hour away, Valley of Fire has flame-coloured rock and petroglyphs, and Mount Charleston's pine forests offer cooler trails. The catch is that summer heat rules out most daytime hiking.

Anaheim's outdoors are gentler but usable all year: chaparral trails in the Santa Ana Mountains, tide pools at Crystal Cove, and whale-watching boats from Newport and Dana Point. Both need a car.

Anaheim sits in the middle of Southern California, which gives it a far wider choice of outings. Hollywood and the Getty in Los Angeles, the Queen Mary at Long Beach, the ferry to Catalina, Mission San Juan Capistrano and the Temecula wineries are all reachable in a day, and so is San Diego.

Las Vegas has one classic half day, Hoover Dam with Boulder City. Beyond that, the Grand Canyon, Zion and Death Valley mean long drives to see scenery rather than towns.

For children, Anaheim is in a different league. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure stand side by side, Knott's Berry Farm is ten minutes away, and many families fill a week without leaving that small area. The mild, dry weather means few days are lost.

Las Vegas can fill a day or two with its indoor amusement park, the shark aquarium and the Discovery Children's Museum. But children cannot linger on casino floors, the Strip's adult atmosphere is hard to avoid, and most families only pass through on the way to the national parks.

Las Vegas is somewhat easier without a car. The monorail and round-the-clock buses cover the Strip and reach downtown, and taxis and ride-hailing fill the gaps, although the huge resorts make short-looking walks long and summer heat makes them punishing.

Anaheim's resort district is walkable and linked by shuttles, but beyond it Orange County is built for driving and its buses are slow. Trains from the stadium station to Los Angeles and San Diego help, but beaches and restaurants need a hire car.

Las Vegas makes shopping easier to fit into a stay. The Forum arcade at Caesars Palace, the Venetian's canal-side shops, the central luxury mall and the Fashion Show mall are all on the Strip and open late, with outlet centres at each end.

Anaheim's own offer is mostly Disney merchandise. Its major luxury mall is a drive away in Costa Mesa. Neither city has markets, crafts or many independent shops.

Neither is a cheap trip, but Las Vegas gives you more ways to spend less. Midweek rooms on the Strip can be good value, downtown is cheaper again, and Chinatown meals cost far less than resort dining, although weekends, resort fees and nights out push the bill up.

In Anaheim the multi-day park tickets are hard to avoid and usually the biggest cost, hotels near the gates charge for their location, and car hire and parking come on top. Staying in a motel further out and eating in the suburbs helps.

Las Vegas is built around live shows. Permanent theatres stage acrobatic and water spectacles, magicians and comedians every night, and major pop and country stars hold long residencies there. The Smith Center adds Broadway tours and the Philharmonic.

In Anaheim, most evening entertainment is the Disney parades and night-time shows. The Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa is the place for a serious concert or ballet, and the city's arena hosts touring bands.

Las Vegas has more to offer here, thanks to its huge resort spas, with thermal circuits, salt and ice rooms and day passes for non-guests. They feel most restful on a weekday morning, away from the noise of the casinos.

Anaheim's long park days rarely leave room to rest. A hotel pool or a Korean-style day spa in the suburbs is the usual break, and the calmer clifftop spas at Laguna Beach and Dana Point are a drive away.