Aspen or Las Vegas?

Neither city has a beach worth travelling for, since both lie far inland. Aspen has cold alpine lakes, reservoirs and rafting on the Roaring Fork. Las Vegas has warmer water at Lake Mead's gravel Boulder Beach and big resort pools with wave pools and lazy rivers, which are better suited to lazing about in the heat.

Aspen eats well for a town its size. It has chef-led dining rooms, sushi and Italian places on the downtown grid, and an après-ski ritual on the terraces at the base of Aspen Mountain. But there is little cheap eating, and many kitchens close in spring and autumn.

Las Vegas has a far wider table. Celebrity-chef restaurants, steakhouses and tasting menus fill the Strip resorts. The Chinatown strip on Spring Mountain Road runs for kilometres of Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese cooking, much of it open late. Neither city has a cuisine of its own.

Aspen's past is a silver rush you can still walk through. The 1880s boom left red-brick Victorian blocks downtown, the Wheeler Opera House and painted miners' cottages in the West End. Herbert Bayer's modernist Aspen Institute campus and the Ashcroft ghost town up the valley round out a quiet afternoon.

Las Vegas is built for spectacle rather than heritage. The themed resorts, the dancing fountains and the light canopy over Fremont Street fill an evening. Its real history sits in two good museums downtown: the Neon Museum's yard of retired casino signs and the Mob Museum in the old federal courthouse.

Aspen's nightlife belongs to ski season. Après-ski starts on the slopeside decks and moves into a few streets of bars and lounges, and it gets glossier around Christmas, New Year and the X Games. Summer evenings mean drinks on patios, and in spring and autumn much of it closes.

Las Vegas is in another league. Casino bars never close, the resort clubs host DJ residencies and pool dayclubs fill the afternoons, and at weekends the Strip is as busy at three in the morning as at nine in the evening. If you want something cheaper and less glossy, there are dive bars and cocktail lounges around Fremont Street and the arts district.

The outdoors is the whole point of Aspen. It has four ski mountains linked by free shuttles, backcountry huts, trails from the edge of town, the Maroon Bells and summits above 4,000m. That gives it depth in winter and summer alike, and most of it can be reached without a car.

Las Vegas has striking desert landscapes close by: the sandstone cliffs and rock climbing of Red Rock Canyon, the flame-coloured rock and petroglyphs of Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, and the forested slopes of Mount Charleston. But the summer heat rules out desert hiking for months at a time, and every outing needs a car.

Both towns are isolated, so neither offers much variety. From Aspen the outings are to small mountain towns: Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Redstone and Marble in the Crystal River valley, and in summer only, Leadville's Victorian main street over Independence Pass.

Las Vegas has one strong half day, Hoover Dam with Boulder City. Beyond that come the long tours to the Grand Canyon, Zion or Death Valley, which are journeys to landscapes rather than to towns.

Aspen is much the easier choice with children. Buttermilk and Snowmass have gentle terrain, ski schools and kids' areas. In summer there are alpine coasters and ropes courses at the top of the lifts, and the town is small and safe, though the altitude can tire young children for the first day or two.

Las Vegas has an indoor amusement park, a shark aquarium and the Discovery Children's Museum. Still, casino floors stand between you and most things, the adult atmosphere is hard to avoid, and summer heat makes walking with small children hard going.

Aspen is far simpler on the ground. The flat downtown grid takes minutes to cross, the gondola leaves from its edge, free buses run to the other ski mountains and a summer shuttle goes to the Maroon Bells. You only need a car to leave the valley, and winter storms can close the roads.

In Las Vegas the Strip looks walkable but is not. The resorts are huge, and footbridges and casino interiors turn short hops into long walks, with summer heat on top. Most visitors rely on taxis and ride-hailing, and the desert sights need a hire car or a tour.

Both lean towards luxury rather than local finds. Aspen packs international boutiques, high-end ski wear, jewellers and art galleries into a few pedestrian blocks, which makes for pleasant window-shopping on an evening out, but the range is narrow.

Las Vegas has much more to offer: the Roman-themed arcade at Caesars Palace, the Venetian's canal-side shops, the Fashion Show mall with its department stores and two large outlet centres, all open late. Apart from Aspen's summer farmers' market, neither has markets or crafts worth seeking out.

Aspen is in a class of its own for expense. Hotel rooms, lift tickets, ski school, meals and drinks are all priced for a very wealthy clientele. Staying down the valley in Glenwood Springs or Carbondale softens the cost without making the trip cheap.

Las Vegas can be reasonable if you plan around it. Midweek rooms on and near the Strip are good value for their comfort, downtown is cheaper still, and eating in Chinatown or the suburbs keeps meals modest. Weekends, resort fees, shows and clubs push the bill up quickly.

Aspen's strength is classical music in summer. For about eight weeks the Aspen Music Festival puts on orchestral, chamber and opera performances in the Benedict Music Tent, where you can listen free from the lawn. The Wheeler Opera House hosts concerts, comedy and film all year, but outside summer the choice is slim.

Las Vegas offers far more, every night of the year. Dozens of permanent productions run in purpose-built theatres, from water-based acrobatic shows to magicians and comedians, and pop, rock and country stars take long residencies. The Smith Center covers touring Broadway musicals and the Las Vegas Philharmonic.

Aspen is the more restful of the two, at least outside peak ski season. It has clear air, riverside paths, yoga in the parks and resort spas. The mineral pools and vapour caves of Glenwood Springs are about an hour away, and Conundrum Hot Springs waits at the end of a long hike.

Las Vegas has some of the biggest hotel spas in the country, with thermal circuits, salt rooms and saunas, but the casinos around them are built to keep visitors stimulated. Morning spa time at a non-gaming hotel on a weekday is the way to make it work.