Bogota or Medellin?

Neither city has any sea swimming, and both send beach-seekers to the Caribbean coast by plane. The only difference is the escape nearby. From Bogota, people make a long, winding drive down to the hot lowland towns for water parks and hotel pools. From Medellín, the easy options are a finca pool in the hills or the reservoir at Guatapé.

Bogota is the more rewarding city for eating. Its highland comfort food, from ajiaco to hot chocolate with melting cheese, is matched by chefs in Chapinero, Zona G and Usaquén who cook with ingredients from across the country. Paloquemao is a better market for exploring unfamiliar fruit.

Medellín's paisa cooking is heavier and narrower, built around bandeja paisa and arepas. Its strengths are fresh juices and coffee grown in Antioquia itself. Laureles is good for long, local lunches, but there are fewer meals you would travel for.

Bogota is far ahead. La Candelaria keeps a real colonial quarter around the Plaza de Bolívar, and within walking distance are the Museo del Oro, one of the great archaeological collections of the Americas, and the Botero Museum, with its European masters.

Medellín lost most of its old fabric, so its draw is the story of how the city changed. The Casa de la Memoria, the escalators and murals of Comuna 13 and the gondolas over the barrios tell that story well. Plaza Botero shows the sculptor's work outdoors, but the whole list takes only two or three days.

Both cities take going out seriously, but the nights feel different. Medellín is the reggaeton city, and the clubs around Parque Lleras and Provenza stay packed past dawn at weekends. La 70 in Laureles offers cheaper, open-air drinking.

Bogota's best nights are in salsa bars and on its underground electronic scene. Chapinero has huge LGBTQ clubs, and Parque de la 93 is quieter for drinks. Venues close earlier, and in both cities a ride-hailing car home is the sensible way back.

Each city has strong scenery, but of very different kinds. Bogota's Eastern Hills lead up to the páramo, a cold, misty landscape of frailejón plants and glacial lakes, which you can visit with a guide in Chingaza or Sumapaz. The sandstone at Suesca draws climbers, and road cyclists come for the long mountain climbs.

Medellín's outdoors are warmer and easier to reach. A cable car runs from the metro to the cloud-forest trails of Parque Arví, paragliders launch from San Félix, and the forests of Santa Elena are good for birdwatching.

Medellín has the better day trips. Guatapé, with its painted zócalo houses beside the granite rock of El Peñol, is a memorable day out. Santa Fe de Antioquia adds whitewashed colonial streets in a hot valley, and Carmen de Viboral is known for its ceramics.

Bogota's best outing is the salt cathedral at Zipaquirá, which pairs with Nemocón or the sacred lake at Guatavita. Villa de Leyva really needs a night, and traffic leaving the capital can eat into any day.

The two are close, and in both cities children are welcomed warmly. Medellín is the easier of the two because Parque Explora, its aquarium, the planetarium and the botanical garden sit side by side, and the gondolas to Parque Arví double as a ride. The trade-off is very steep streets.

Bogota offers more variety, with Maloka, two amusement parks, Jaime Duque's zoo and the car-free Ciclovía on Sundays. However, the places are far apart, and the thin air can leave little ones tired for the first day or two.

Medellín is clearly easier to move around. Its clean metro runs along the valley floor and connects with Metrocable gondolas and a tram, so the centre, Comuna 13 and Parque Arví are all reachable without a car. Cheap taxis cover the gaps between neighbourhoods.

Bogota is long and congested. La Candelaria and the northern districts are each walkable, but the trip between them can take half an hour or more in heavy traffic. TransMilenio is crowded and confusing for visitors, so most people rely on taxis and ride-hailing.

Bogota has the more interesting shopping. Emerald dealers trade along Avenida Jiménez, the Usaquén flea market on Sundays gathers crafts from across Colombia, and boutiques in Zona G and Chapinero show local designers.

Medellín's strength is clothing, since it is the country's textile centre. Look for local labels, swimwear and leather in the El Poblado malls and Provenza boutiques. El Hueco is a crowded wholesale maze downtown, and there is little at the luxury end.

Both are inexpensive by Western standards, and in each the prices rise in the same kind of place: the cocktail bars and polished restaurants of the smart northern or southern districts. Bogota's great museums cost very little, which helps on a sightseeing trip. In Medellín, cheap metro rides and a base in Laureles rather than El Poblado keep daily costs especially low.

Bogota is the stronger stage city by some distance. The gilded Teatro Colón presents opera and ballet, the Teatro Mayor hosts touring orchestras and dance companies, and the Ibero-American Theatre Festival and the free Rock al Parque festival fill the city during their seasons.

Medellín's live music is more local and informal. Salsa bars have live bands, and tango has lived on since Carlos Gardel died here in 1935. The Teatro Metropolitano hosts the philharmonic, but there are no regular seasons of opera or musicals.

Neither city is restful. Both are loud, and spa options stop at hotel and day spas. To really slow down, you have to leave town. From Bogota, the thermal springs at Choachí and Tabio are about an hour away. From Medellín, the better option is a few nights in a finca or eco-lodge in the hills of Santa Elena, with cheap massage and yoga back in El Poblado and Laureles.