Bend or Portland?

Neither is a beach destination, and swimming in both happens in rivers and lakes rather than at sea. In Bend that means tubing the Deschutes through the Old Mill District, or a cold, clear swim at Elk or Sparks Lake in August.

Portland has small sandy river beaches downtown, in Sellwood and on Sauvie Island. The real coast at Cannon Beach is a day out of town. It is great for walking among sea stacks, but the Pacific is too cold and rough for most swimmers.

Both towns are built around beer, food carts and Pacific Northwest produce, but Portland does it on a much larger scale. Its cart pods offer Georgian, Thai, Mexican and barbecue side by side, and there is a deep layer of neighbourhood restaurants, plus coffee roasters and Willamette Valley wine as well as beer.

Bend's version is a brewpub crawl on foot or by bike, ending at a fire pit in a cart courtyard. It is pleasant for a few nights, but the international choice and fine dining run out quickly.

Neither is a sightseeing city, but Portland gives you more to fill a day with. The Japanese Garden in Washington Park and the walled Lan Su Chinese Garden are true highlights. The art museum has a strong Native American and Northwest section, and the view from Pittock Mansion takes in Mount Hood.

Bend's best stop is the High Desert Museum, which is worth half a day for its mix of natural history and Indigenous and pioneer life. After that, a little logging-town history, the Tower Theatre and the old mill smokestacks take up about an afternoon.

Neither has much of a club scene. Bend's evenings are early and outdoorsy: taprooms and cart courtyards full of people in hiking gear, a short run of downtown bars, and quiet streets well before midnight.

Portland has many more bars of every type, from pinball dives to careful cocktail rooms, spread along Alberta, Mississippi, Division, Hawthorne and Belmont. They serve until around 2.30am, so a long night of drinking and talking is easy to find.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but Bend has the edge because the variety starts right at the edge of town. Mount Bachelor is half an hour away. The Cascade Lakes and the Three Sisters Wilderness lie along the same road, and there are mountain-bike trails, Smith Rock's climbing and the lava fields of Newberry. The reliable sun means you can ski and bike on the same spring day.

Portland's strengths are greener and wetter. Forest Park's 110km of trails start in the city itself, and the Columbia River Gorge, with its waterfalls and windsurfing at Hood River, is close by. Mount Hood is further out than Bachelor, and the long grey winters cut the season short.

Portland has much more to do beyond the city. The pinot noir country around McMinnville and Dundee is under an hour away. Astoria's Victorian river port, Cannon Beach and the orchards of Hood River all make full days out with real places at the end of them.

From Bend, excursions mostly lead into empty landscape. There is the western main street of Sisters, Sunriver's nature centre and the Warm Springs museum, and beyond those mostly working ranch towns, or long drives to Crater Lake and the Painted Hills.

For children who like being outside, Bend has a slight edge. A lantern walk through the Lava River Cave, a summer float on the Deschutes, the otters and raptors at the High Desert Museum and the beginner slopes on Bachelor fill several days, and the Sunriver nature centre adds another. The catch is that almost every outing needs a car, and there is no zoo or amusement park.

Portland is the better choice for rainy days and families without a car. The science museum with its submarine, the zoo in Washington Park, the old-fashioned Oaks Amusement Park in Sellwood and the waterfront fountains can all be reached by light rail or streetcar.

Portland is much easier without a car. The MAX light rail runs from the airport to downtown, the short blocks are good for walking, a streetcar crosses the river, and the bridges and flat riverside are good for cycling. You only need a car to leave the city.

Bend's walkable core covers just downtown and the Old Mill District, and the buses are of little use to visitors apart from the winter ski shuttle. You will need a car for the lakes, trailheads and Smith Rock.

The real difference is between getting kitted out and browsing. Bend's shopping is mostly practical: chain stores in the converted mill buildings, a few downtown boutiques and galleries, and excellent ski, bike and climbing shops, with consignment stores for used gear.

Portland is where you go to browse. Powell's City of Books fills a whole block in the Pearl District. Mississippi, Alberta and Hawthorne have vintage clothing, record shops and makers' studios, and the Saturday Market under the Burnside Bridge sells local crafts. Oregon's lack of sales tax applies in both.

Both cost roughly the same overall, but the costs fall in different places. In Bend, the expense is a resort town's accommodation, which rises sharply in summer and on ski weekends, plus a hire car for almost the whole stay. Free trails and rivers and quiet midweek visits in spring or autumn help.

Portland's hotels are priced like any large American city's, but you can do without a car until you head out of town. Cheap transit, free parks and some of the best food carts make it easy to keep daily costs down.

Portland has a proper arts calendar: the Oregon Symphony in the restored Arlene Schnitzer hall, plus opera, ballet, resident theatre and touring Broadway shows. On top of that, a long indie and folk tradition fills small east-side rooms and the sprung-floored Crystal Ballroom every night.

Bend's live music is largely a summer affair, with touring acts at the riverside amphitheatre and free concerts in the parks. The rest of the year, the Tower Theatre, a community symphony and bands in the brewpubs carry the calendar.

In Bend, relaxation usually comes after effort: a hot tub after a ski or bike day, or a resort spa around Sunriver. Its one distinctive option is the primitive hot springs at Paulina Lake, in the Newberry caldera, which you reach on foot.

Portland makes slowing down a little easier, and you can do it without a car. Unhurried café mornings, the gardens and a few neighbourhood soaking houses with saunas and cold plunges suit a restful stay, although neither city has a bathing tradition of its own.