Anaheim or Salt Lake City?

Anaheim is inland but has a real coast within reach. Huntington's wide surf beach, the Balboa Peninsula at Newport and the coves of Laguna make a good half day between park days, as long as you have a car.

Salt Lake City has no sea at all. Floating in the Great Salt Lake is a one-off curiosity on a muddy shore with brine flies. Proper swimming means driving up to reservoirs such as Jordanelle or Pineview on a hot summer day.

Anaheim eats better, but only once you leave the resort's counters and chains. Little Arabia's bakeries and grills along Brookhurst Street and the pho and banh mi of Little Saigon next door give it real depth, and the packing district food hall gives the centre a place to eat.

Salt Lake City's food is likeable rather than a reason to come. Think fry sauce, pastrami burgers and scones with honey butter, with the best meals in the Mexican, Pacific Islander and Peruvian kitchens along State Street. Utah's drinking rules also make wine and cocktails thinner on the ground.

Salt Lake City has more to see in town. Temple Square, with the granite temple, the domed Tabernacle and its organ, is a genuine set piece. The Capitol, the painted Cathedral of the Madeleine and the dinosaur halls of the Natural History Museum fill a second day.

Anaheim's one landmark of real weight is Disneyland itself, the park Walt Disney saw completed. Apart from the Mother Colony House and the old packing houses, its culture is a drive away, at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana or the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda.

Neither city is for a big night out, and the difference is in where the quiet evening happens. In Anaheim it is the bars of the resort promenade after the fireworks, or the sports bars on game nights. Anything livelier means driving to Long Beach or Los Angeles.

Salt Lake City has a small downtown scene of its own, with breweries and a few dance clubs around Main Street and the Granary District and a long-established gay bar scene. Liquor laws and early nights keep it modest.

This is where Salt Lake City pulls far ahead. Peaks over 3,000m stand right behind the city, and the Cottonwood Canyons lead to Alta, Snowbird, Brighton and Solitude in winter and to wildflower meadows and alpine lakes in summer. Westward lie the bison of Antelope Island and the white Bonneville Salt Flats.

Anaheim's outdoors are gentler and further away. You can take chaparral trails in the Santa Ana Mountains, tide pools at Crystal Cove, or a whale-watching boat out of Dana Point. It is pleasant country, best for easy days in any season.

Anaheim is the better base for outings. Los Angeles, with Hollywood, the Getty and Griffith Observatory, is about an hour away. Long Beach's Queen Mary, the ferry to Catalina and the mission at San Juan Capistrano are closer, and San Diego and the Temecula wineries are also within a day.

From Salt Lake City, the old mining town of Park City and Ogden's 25th Street are the main outings, with the Golden Spike site further north. After that the list stops. Arches, Zion and Bryce need overnight stays.

Both are good with children, but Anaheim is in a class of its own. Two Disney parks side by side, Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park and family hotels on the doorstep mean many families never need the car at all.

Salt Lake City's strength is that the whole city expects children. The zoo, the aquarium, the planetarium and the dinosaur halls are all here, along with Lagoon's roller coasters to the north and ski schools in winter. It is spread across the valley, though, and has no single big draw like Disneyland.

Salt Lake City is easier without a car. TRAX light rail runs from the airport to downtown and the university, FrontRunner trains reach Ogden and Provo, and Temple Square and the Capitol are within the walkable core, though the very wide blocks make walks feel long.

Anaheim works on foot only inside the resort district, where hotels are near the gates and shuttles cover the rest. Beyond it, Orange County is built for freeways, and the trains from the stadium station are useful mainly for Los Angeles and San Diego.

Anaheim has more to offer, though nearly all of it is in malls. There is Disney merchandise at the parks, outlets and open-air centres in Orange, and in Costa Mesa one of the country's largest luxury malls, with most of the big fashion houses.

Salt Lake City's shopping is practical. City Creek Center and the old streetcar barns of Trolley Square cover the familiar brands, while 9th and 9th has some independents. Its real speciality is excellent local ski, climbing and camping gear.

Salt Lake City is easier on the wallet. Downtown hotels are reasonable, light rail is cheap and everything on Temple Square is free. A summer hiking trip stays modest, while a ski week, with lift passes and canyon lodging, costs much more.

In Anaheim the parks set the price. Multi-day tickets, hotels within walking distance of the gates and food inside the parks all add up fast. Staying in a motel a short drive out and eating in Little Saigon brings the bill down, but car hire takes some of the saving back.

Salt Lake City has a richer stage life for its size. You can hear the Tabernacle Choir rehearse under the great organ, and there are daily recitals too. The Utah Symphony, Utah Opera, Ballet West and Pioneer Theatre all perform in town.

Anaheim's evenings mostly mean polished theme-park parades and water shows. For a formal night out you drive about twenty minutes to the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, home of the Pacific Symphony, and opera means going to Los Angeles.

Salt Lake City offers more ways to unwind, mostly thanks to its geothermal water. You can soak inside the limestone dome of Homestead Crater at Midway or try smaller hot springs in the canyons, and the city's calm, unhurried pace helps.

A park-centred stay in Anaheim, with early starts and big crowds, is rarely restful. Rest there means a hotel pool day, a Korean-style day spa in the suburbs, or the clifftop resort spas at Laguna Beach and Dana Point.