Bariloche or Mendoza?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Bariloche at least has a shore to sit on. Playa Bonita, Villa Tacul and the edges of Lago Gutiérrez and Lago Moreno are pleasant for a picnic in January and February. The glacial water, though, allows only a quick, cold dip.

Mendoza has nothing comparable. The Pacific is on the far side of the Andes, so cooling off means a hotel pool or a drive to the Potrerillos reservoir, which is better for its views than for swimming.

Bariloche eats like a mountain town with a Patagonian accent: lamb roasted on the iron cross, lake trout, venison, fondue and the chocolate of Calle Mitre. Its best drinking is craft beer in brewery gardens along the road to Cerro Catedral, and beyond that the choice soon runs out.

Mendoza is the stronger place to eat and drink. A slow multi-course lunch at a winery, each course paired with the estate's wines and the Andes in view, is the high point of many trips. Back in town there are wood-fired parrillas, olive-and-egg empanadas and late terrace dinners in the Fifth Section.

Both are thin on sights, and each takes a morning or a day to cover. What there is differs in character. Bariloche's interest is alpine-style architecture: Bustillo's stone-and-timber Centro Cívico, the Museo de la Patagonia with its Mapuche and settler history, and the Llao Llao hotel and chapel.

Mendoza's is urban planning. After the 1861 earthquake it was rebuilt as a grid of wide, tree-shaded streets around Plaza Independencia and Plaza España. The founding ruins and the Cerro de la Gloria monument to San Martín's crossing of the Andes add some history.

Mendoza has a slightly better night out for adults. Arístides Villanueva fills with students and young locals at pavement tables past midnight, Chacras de Coria has a quieter wine-bar evening, and on weekends a few clubs on the city's edge stay open until dawn.

Bariloche's big clubs are mainly taken over by school-leavers on graduation trips, so grown-up evenings come down to brewpubs, a few bars near Calle Mitre and long dinners.

Both have the Andes on the doorstep, but Bariloche lies right inside them. Nahuel Huapi National Park surrounds the town with lakes, coihue and lenga forest, refuge trails to Frey and Jakob, cable cars up Cerro Otto and Campanario, and Cerro Catedral's ski slopes half an hour away.

Mendoza's landscape is drier and more rugged. It offers rafting at Potrerillos, high hiking in the Cordón del Plata, paragliding from Cerro Arco and a long day out to Aconcagua. It is impressive, but more of it needs a drive.

Mendoza gives more reasons to leave town, as long as you like wine. Flat Maipú can be cycled between family bodegas, Luján de Cuyo has the big Malbec estates and the Uco Valley has high vineyards beneath the peaks, so a week can hold several distinct outings.

From Bariloche the drives are mostly through scenery. Villa La Angostura, the settlers' fair at Colonia Suiza and El Bolsón's craft market are the town options, and there are no wineries or heritage sites within reach.

Bariloche works better with children. Ski schools on Cerro Catedral, sledging at Cerro Otto, boat trips to Isla Victoria, chocolate workshops and the St Bernards in the Centro Cívico fill the days in both seasons.

In Mendoza, Parque San Martín's paddle boats and playgrounds, the Cacheuta pools and gentle rafting make good outings. However, the winery circuit that draws adults suits children poorly, and the summer heat tires them out.

Both cities have a small walkable centre surrounded by places that need wheels, so neither is easy without a car or a tour. In Bariloche the problem is length: lodgings and trailheads stretch about 25km along Avenida Bustillo, served by crowded buses and roads that can be icy in winter.

Mendoza's centre is a flat, shaded grid and is easier on foot. A light-rail line runs towards Maipú, where bikes take over, but the Uco Valley and the mountain road still need a driver.

Chocolate and wool against wine: the real difference is what you carry home. On Bariloche's Calle Mitre that means chocolatiers, Patagonian knitwear, smoked trout and mountain gear, and the craft fair by the Centro Cívico adds woodwork and Mapuche-style textiles.

In Mendoza the prize is bottles from small producers that rarely leave Argentina, bought in specialist shops or at the cellar door, along with olive oil and leather. The Peatonal Sarmiento and the malls on the edge of town also cover everyday fashion, which Bariloche barely does.

In Bariloche the bill depends on when you go. The town is the country's leading mountain resort, so beds and meals cost most in the July ski weeks and in January, and a week on Cerro Catedral adds lift passes and equipment hire on top. Spring or autumn dates, a cabin in a side valley where you cook for yourself, and days on the park's free trails bring a stay back to a moderate level.

Mendoza is the easier place to stay within budget, because most of its expense is optional. Everyday city life, from a plain hotel to an empanada lunch or a steak dinner, is moderately priced all year. The costs pile up in wine country, with tasting fees, long pairing lunches and the driver needed to reach Luján de Cuyo or the Uco Valley. If you keep the bodegas to a bike day in Maipú, you avoid most of that spending.

Neither city is a reason to travel for performances. Mendoza has the slight edge thanks to the Vendimia harvest festival's huge night show in the hills of Parque San Martín, with philharmonic concerts and cueca folk nights through the year.

Bariloche's connection is chamber music: the Camerata Bariloche carries its name and the Semana Musical Llao Llao holds a week of concerts, but most evenings have little on.

Mendoza offers more for a restful stay. The Cacheuta hot springs up the river canyon have drawn bathers for over a century, the city slows down through the afternoon heat, and vineyard lodges in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley offer spa retreats.

Bariloche has no thermal water nearby. Its calm comes from the hotel spas, the Llao Llao among them, and from staying out by the lake or in the woods away from the centre's student crowds.