Antigua Guatemala or Cusco?

Neither city is a beach destination. Both lie high in the mountains, so in town the only swimming is in a hotel pool. The difference is how far the sea is. From Antigua, the black volcanic sand of Monterrico on the Pacific is about two hours away by shuttle, though heavy surf and strong currents make it a place for an overnight stay more than a swim. From Cusco, reaching the coast means a flight.

Cusco offers more to eat, and more of it is ambitious. The San Pedro market and the picanterías cover everyday Andean cooking, from trout and alpaca to soups and chicha. In San Blas and the Sacred Valley, Novoandino tasting menus turn native potatoes, maize and quinoa into serious dining.

Antigua's strength is narrower: coffee from the volcano slopes, cacao, and stews such as pepián and jocón, with set lunches at the comedores in the central market. Fine dining is thin, and the choice runs out sooner. In both towns, the menus around the main square are aimed at visitors and best skipped.

Cusco has more layers. The Inca capital still stands in its mortarless walls, and the Spanish built directly on top, most strikingly at Qorikancha. Sacsayhuamán's zigzag ramparts are above town, and the cathedral is hung with Cusco School paintings.

Antigua tells one story, the colonial capital left in ruins after the earthquakes of 1773. Its pleasure is walking the cobbled grid past roofless convents such as Capuchinas and Santa Clara and under the Santa Catalina arch. It is beautiful and easy to take in, but two or three days cover it.

Cusco keeps going later. Its bars and clubs off the Plaza de Armas fill with trekkers and backpackers, some stay open into the early hours at weekends, and pub crawls set a rowdier tone, though the altitude and dawn tours slow many people down. Antigua's evenings are gentler and end earlier. Expect rooftop bars facing the volcanoes, mezcal bars behind colonial doorways and salsa with language students, with weekends livelier when visitors come up from the capital.

Both are places for serious walking, and Cusco has the bigger mountain country. Multi-day routes such as the Inca Trail, Salkantay and Ausangate go far beyond anything near Antigua. So do day hikes to Humantay lake and Rainbow Mountain above 5,000m, rafting on the Urubamba and condors over the puna.

Antigua's outdoors centres on its three volcanoes, and it has one experience Cusco cannot match. From the overnight camp on Acatenango you can watch Fuego throw out lava in the dark. Pacaya is a gentler half day over lava fields, and coffee-farm trails fill the hills around town.

Cusco has the stronger set of outings, and most are about an hour away in the Sacred Valley: the citadel at Pisac, Ollantaytambo's living Inca street grid, and the terraces of Moray beside the Maras salt pans. Machu Picchu crowns them, though it is a long day by road, train and bus. The themes do repeat.

Antigua's easy trips are short hops to valley villages such as San Antonio Aguas Calientes, plus the Maya ruins of Iximché. Lake Atitlán and the Chichicastenango market are long journeys each way, often better with a night away.

Antigua is far easier with children. It is calm and small, and school-age children can climb Pacaya, make chocolate or ride horses, although the broken pavements are tough with a pushchair. Cusco at 3,400m carries a real risk of altitude sickness for young children, who cannot always say how they feel. Its days of ruins and early trains suit older, history-minded children best, and families often base themselves lower down in the Sacred Valley.

Antigua is the simpler town to move around. Its flat grid puts almost everything within a 15-minute walk, the volcanoes keep you oriented, and tuk-tuks and chicken buses handle the rest. Cusco's centre is also walkable, but the climbs to San Blas and Sacsayhuamán are hard work in thin air, so cheap taxis earn their keep. Machu Picchu needs a train from outside the city. Both towns have uneven cobbles that call for sturdy shoes.

Cusco has a little more worth carrying home. Alpaca knitwear, ponchos and naturally dyed weaving from cooperatives in Chinchero are the prize, and San Blas workshops add ceramics and silverwork, though plenty of so-called alpaca around the square is not the real thing.

Antigua's craft is the handwoven huipil, alongside jade, ceramics and bags of local coffee and chocolate. The market by the bus terminal rewards a close look and some bargaining. Neither town has fashion or luxury shopping.

Both are cheap from day to day, and Cusco stretches money a little further. Its market lunches, taxis and simple guesthouses cost little, and a combined ticket covers many sites. Its expense comes in a few unavoidable lumps, though: the Machu Picchu train and entry, and guided treks priced for foreigners.

Antigua is Guatemala's most expensive town, but its extras, from volcano hikes to shuttles, are fair for what they include. In both towns, the boutique hotels in colonial mansions charge close to Western rates.

Neither town has a theatre or concert season, but Cusco offers more to watch. Folkloric dance shows run most evenings, and the festivals are spectacular: Inti Raymi at Sacsayhuamán around the June solstice, and Qoyllur Rit'i in the mountains. In Antigua, marimba plays in the central park and the occasional concert fills a ruined cloister. Its great spectacle is Holy Week, with brass bands and sawdust carpets laid across the streets.

Antigua is the more restful base. Its hotels are built around quiet courtyards with fountains and volcano views, yoga and massage are easy to find, some spas use local coffee and cacao, and temazcal sweat baths turn up here and there. The worst interruption is saints'-day fireworks at dawn.

Cusco has cheap massage and hotels that pump oxygen into rooms, but the altitude, cold nights and early tours make the city itself tiring. Visitors in search of calm head down to the riverside lodges of the Sacred Valley.