Anchorage or Banff?

Swimming is not the point of either trip. Anchorage's shore is a silty tidal inlet with dangerous mudflats, so locals cool off at city lakes such as Goose Lake and Jewel Lake, which have small sandy swim areas.

Banff's equivalent is Johnson Lake, a shallow, grassy-shored lake that warms up on August afternoons. The rest of its glacier-fed lakes are for paddling. Its real warm water comes from the hot springs.

Anchorage eats better, because the seafood is the draw: wild salmon, halibut, king crab and spot prawns in summer, reindeer sausage from carts, and a stronger craft beer scene around midtown and Spenard. There is some good Asian and Pacific Islander cooking too.

Banff feeds you heartily but narrowly, with Alberta beef, bison, elk and fondue along Banff Avenue, plus a few more ambitious hotel dining rooms. Expect to refuel there rather than to seek out meals.

Anchorage has more depth. The Anchorage Museum and the Alaska Native Heritage Center are serious introductions to Alaskan art, Arctic science and Indigenous life, and the floatplanes at Lake Hood and Earthquake Park round out two or three days.

Banff's sights are charming but brief: the Cave and Basin, where Canada's national parks began, the Banff Springs Hotel and a handful of small museums. All of it fits into a single day.

The two go out in different ways. Anchorage's pubs, taprooms and dive bars are scattered between downtown and Spenard Road, kept lively by the midnight sun in summer and much quieter in the winter dark.

Banff packs its pubs and a couple of dance bars into a few walkable streets, filled with young seasonal workers and, in winter, the après-ski crowd. It feels livelier but repetitive.

Both are outstanding, and the difference lies in the kind of wilderness. Anchorage pairs a city with the wild: the Chugach trails start behind the suburbs, moose walk through neighbourhoods, and the Seward Highway brings beluga whales, the tidal bore and the Portage glaciers. Salmon fishing and glacier cruises from Whittier are also within reach, and Alyeska in Girdwood is its one major ski resort.

Banff sits inside a national park, with turquoise Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, Johnston Canyon and the Icefields Parkway close by. In winter it has three big ski resorts within easy reach, Sunshine Village, Lake Louise and Mt Norquay, and in autumn the larches turn gold.

Anchorage has the more varied list of outings to actual places. Eklutna's spirit houses, the 1930s colony barns at Palmer, the Independence Mine camp and the tunnel-reached oddity of Whittier each tell a different part of Alaska's story.

Banff's choices among towns are few: Canmore down the valley, a big-city day in Calgary, or small stops at Field and Golden over the Divide. Its outings are mostly into the mountains themselves.

Both work well for outdoor-minded families. Anchorage has attractions built for children, such as the Alaska Zoo with its bears and musk oxen, a hands-on science gallery and the wildlife centre near Portage.

Banff has none of those but is easier to handle as a town, with the gondola, the Johnston Canyon boardwalk, canoeing and hot springs all close by. It also has ski schools in winter. In Anchorage, the endless summer light makes bedtimes hard.

Banff is far easier without a car. The flat town can be crossed on foot, Roam Transit buses reach the gondola, Lake Minnewanka, Canmore and Lake Louise, and summer shuttles serve the busiest lakes.

Anchorage has a walkable downtown grid, but the city sprawls beyond it and the buses are not built for visitors. The scenic Alaska Railroad helps in summer, but a rental car is close to essential.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the best buys in both are Indigenous art. Anchorage adds distinctly Alaskan things such as ulu knives and qiviut scarves, with a big summer weekend market downtown.

Banff offers a single tidy strip of outfitters, Canadian labels and fudge shops along Banff Avenue, along with galleries of Rocky Mountain landscape painting.

Both are costly, but Anchorage is the gentler of the two. Shipped-in food and pricey glacier cruises and flightseeing push the bill up, yet the trails are free and winter is noticeably cheaper.

Banff is dearer still, because building limits inside the park keep rooms scarce, and lift passes, the gondola and the park pass all add up. Many budget travellers sleep in Canmore or at campgrounds.

The two are much alike, but their focus differs. Anchorage has a conventional city programme at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, with symphony, opera and touring Broadway shows, though it runs mostly in winter, when visitors are fewest.

Banff's life revolves around the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, which is busiest in summer, and the autumn Mountain Film and Book Festival.

Banff is the more restorative choice, because it was born as a hot-springs resort. The Upper Hot Springs pool on Sulphur Mountain is especially fine with snow falling, and the grand hotels have large spas with mineral pools.

Anchorage has no bathing tradition of its own. The best soak is the Nordic-style spa in Girdwood, about forty minutes south, so its calm comes mainly from quiet trails and space.