Big Sky or Seattle?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Seattle at least has a shoreline to enjoy. Alki Beach and Golden Gardens have sand, bonfires and views of the Olympics, and in July and August the lifeguarded beaches on Lake Washington are warm enough for a proper swim.

Big Sky has nothing like that. The Gallatin is too cold and fast for swimming, so summer water time means a hotel pool or a quick paddle in a pond.

Seattle eats far better and with far more range. Between Pike Place Market, oysters and Dungeness crab from the Sound, serious coffee roasters and the Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean kitchens of the Chinatown-International District, you can eat differently every day for a week.

In Big Sky, food is fuel for the mountain: bison, elk, trout and pizza in Mountain Village, Town Center and the canyon roadhouses, plus a few more ambitious lodge kitchens. The menus repeat, some places close between seasons, and the nearest real variety is an hour away in Bozeman.

Here the gap is wide. Big Sky was built from the 1970s on, and apart from the log cabins of Crail Ranch in Meadow Village its buildings are lodges and condos. History and museums mean a drive.

Seattle is not a heritage city either, but it fills two or three days well. There is the Space Needle and the Museum of Pop Culture at Seattle Center, the Seattle Art Museum, the Burke's Northwest Coast collections, the Museum of Flight and the brick blocks of Pioneer Square, rebuilt after the fire of 1889.

An evening in Big Sky is après-ski: drinks on the decks in Mountain Village, a few taverns in Town Center, a canyon saloon with a pool table, then an early night before the first lift. Out of ski season it goes almost silent.

Seattle has a real night out, centred on the cocktail bars, dive bars and dance floors along Pike and Pine on Capitol Hill, with Ballard's taprooms and Belltown's clubs as alternatives. Even so, the night ends at last call rather than running until dawn.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but Big Sky puts you inside the landscape rather than within sight of it. The skiing on Lone Peak starts at your door, summer lifts lead towards Beehive Basin and the Spanish Peaks, the Gallatin offers fly fishing and rafting, and Yellowstone's wildlife is about an hour away.

From Seattle, the mountains take a drive: under an hour to Snoqualmie Pass, about two to Rainier. What the city adds is water, with kayaks on Lake Union, ferries where orcas sometimes appear, and the Olympic Peninsula's rainforest across the Sound.

From Big Sky, a day out usually means more landscape rather than another town. Bozeman, an hour down the canyon, has a Western main street and the dinosaur fossils of the Museum of the Rockies. The 1860s gold-rush boardwalks of Virginia City are about two hours away. After that, the choice soon runs out.

Seattle has more variety, and many of the best outings start with a ferry. Bainbridge Island is half an hour across the water, and longer crossings reach the farm villages of Whidbey and the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. By road, there are tasting rooms at Woodinville and the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Big Sky has no wine country or old harbour towns to compare with these.

Seattle gives children more variety and more to do on wet days. There is Woodland Park Zoo, the aquarium, the Pacific Science Center and the space shuttle trainer at the Museum of Flight, plus lake beaches in summer.

Big Sky suits outdoorsy families well, with ski school and beginner slopes in winter and zip lines, ropes courses and Yellowstone's bison in summer. But there is nothing indoors to fall back on, and the altitude of Mountain Village tires small children at first.

You can do Seattle without a car. The centre is walkable, if hilly, and Link light rail runs from the airport through downtown to Capitol Hill. Buses, the monorail and the ferries all work on the same card, and only the national parks really need a car.

Big Sky stretches along about 15km of road. A free bus links the villages and ski-in lodgings help, but the airport is an hour away, Yellowstone needs a hired car, and the canyon road takes care in winter.

Seattle offers proper shopping: department stores downtown, big outdoor gear stores, makers' stalls at Pike Place, and vintage and record shops on Capitol Hill, Fremont and Ballard. Big Sky has ski gear, a few Western-style boutiques and wildlife art galleries, and anyone who wants more drives to Bozeman.

Neither is cheap, but Big Sky is harder on the wallet. Lift passes, slopeside lodging, ski school and guided fishing add up fast, and saving money means staying in the canyon or in Bozeman and driving more.

Seattle is expensive too, but there are more ways to keep costs down. You can use public transport instead of a car, eat at teriyaki shops and Pike Place counters, and stay in outer neighbourhoods near the light rail.

Seattle has a full stage calendar. There is Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet at McCaw Hall, the symphony at Benaroya Hall, and musicals at the Paramount and the 5th Avenue. Clubs in Belltown and Capitol Hill carry on the city's Hendrix and grunge story.

Big Sky's programme is small and seasonal. Chamber music and touring acts play at the Meadow Village arts centre in winter, and summer brings free lawn concerts and a short classical festival. Apart from the après-ski bands, there is little in between.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and in both, relaxing is pleasant rather than distinctive. In Big Sky it means a hot tub under the stars and a lodge spa massage for tired ski legs, in a place that goes quiet at night.

Seattle's version is urban: Korean-style bathhouses with steam and scrubs in the suburbs, walks in the Japanese Garden and slow mornings in coffee houses. In both places, natural hot springs are a drive away.