Boulder or Minneapolis?

Neither is a beach destination, but Minneapolis comes much closer. Lake Harriet, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Nokomis and Cedar Lake all have sandy strips with lifeguards, and the water reaches about 24°C by late July, all within cycling distance of downtown.

Boulder has the small swim area at Boulder Reservoir and an inner-tube float down Boulder Creek, which make a fun afternoon but don't amount to a swimming scene. In both cities the water is a summer pleasure only.

Minneapolis has much more range, thanks to its immigrant communities. Lake Street and Eat Street on Nicollet Avenue have Mexican, Vietnamese, Somali and Ethiopian kitchens, the Hmong markets serve food few American cities have, and the Midtown Global Market brings much of it under one roof. Juicy Lucys and walleye add local flavour.

Boulder cooks in a narrower style: seasonal, farm-to-table and kind to vegetarians, with a Saturday farmers' market by the creek and tea at the hand-carved Dushanbe Teahouse. There is little international food there. Both cities love their brewery taprooms.

Minneapolis is clearly the place for museums. The Minneapolis Institute of Art runs from Chinese jades to old masters, the Walker is a leading contemporary museum with the Spoonbridge and Cherry in its sculpture garden, and the Mill City Museum and Stone Arch Bridge tell the city's flour-milling story beside St Anthony Falls.

Boulder's sights are about atmosphere: the 1898 Chautauqua cottages below the Flatirons, the sandstone-and-red-tile university campus and I.M. Pei's atmospheric research laboratory on the mesa. One day covers them, compared with two or three in Minneapolis.

Minneapolis has the livelier evenings, spread across several districts: old bars and taprooms in Northeast, cocktail bars in the North Loop's warehouses, and weekend crowds in the Warehouse District and Uptown. Summer patios and rooftops are its best.

Boulder goes to bed early. An evening means a taproom or cocktail bar around Pearl Street, or the student bars on University Hill during term, and much of the town is up for a dawn hike. Neither has much of a club scene, and Boulder people head to Denver for one.

Boulder's outdoors is in another league. The Flatirons stand right behind town, a ring of protected open space carries more than 200km of trails up Green Mountain and Bear Peak, and Eldorado Canyon draws climbers from across the country. Beyond them are the Indian Peaks Wilderness and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Minneapolis has excellent city green space rather than wild country. The Grand Rounds loops about 80km past the Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Falls and the Mississippi gorge, and winter brings cross-country skiing at Theodore Wirth Park. The land is flat, with no mountains.

Boulder has the slightly better list. Denver's art museum and Union Station are an express bus ride away, and with a car you can reach the mining towns of Georgetown and Idaho Springs, the western main street in Golden, Fort Collins and the national park gateway at Estes Park.

From Minneapolis, the standout outing is St Paul, with its Capitol, cathedral and Summit Avenue mansions, reached by light rail. Stillwater on the St Croix and the river towns around Lake Pepin make pretty drives, but beyond them it is mostly farmland.

Minneapolis gives children more to do, especially indoors. The Mall of America has an amusement park and aquarium on the light rail, and St Paul has the Science Museum, the Children's Museum and the free Como Zoo. In summer the lake beaches and paddle boats fill the outdoor days.

Boulder suits outdoorsy families who are happy with smaller pleasures: tubing on the creek, the Chautauqua meadow, the street performers on Pearl Street and the university planetarium. The zoo and aquarium are in Denver, and the altitude means carrying water and hats on hikes.

Boulder is the easier place to get around, as long as you stay in town. Downtown, the university and Chautauqua are a short walk or bike ride apart, linked by off-street paths along Boulder Creek. The trailheads and parks beyond town, though, really need a hire car.

Minneapolis covers more ground with two light-rail lines to the airport, the Mall of America and St Paul. In winter the skyways keep you indoors downtown, and the Midtown Greenway makes cycling to the lakes simple. Outside the core distances grow, and deep cold makes walking hard.

Minneapolis offers far more choice. The Mall of America puts hundreds of mainstream stores under one roof, Minnesota charges no sales tax on clothing, and the North Loop and Northeast add independent boutiques and artists' studios.

Boulder's shopping is the four pedestrian blocks of the Pearl Street Mall, with independent bookshops, galleries and toy shops. Its real strength is outdoor gear: climbing, running and cycling shops here are unusually good, which suits the reason most people visit.

Minneapolis is noticeably cheaper. Hotels near downtown and the river are moderately priced by American standards, the Institute of Art and the Sculpture Garden are free, and the immigrant food corridors offer good-value meals.

Boulder is one of the wealthier towns in the country, with few hotels and high room rates, especially in summer and on university weekends. Your days on the trails cost almost nothing, so the expense is mostly in where you sleep and eat, and many visitors stay in Denver instead.

Minneapolis is one of the stronger performance cities in the country. The Guthrie Theater, with its bridge cantilevered over the Mississippi, leads a large circuit that includes the Hennepin Avenue houses and the Children's Theatre Company. The Minnesota Orchestra, the St Paul Chamber Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera perform all year, and First Avenue has been the city's rock venue since Prince's day.

Boulder's live scene is smaller and more seasonal: bluegrass and roots acts in small downtown rooms, the Colorado Music Festival in the wooden Chautauqua Auditorium and outdoor Shakespeare on campus in summer. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, about 45 minutes away, is its big trump card.

Boulder has the stronger wellness offer, in outlook more than in facilities. Yoga and meditation studios are everywhere, a Buddhist-inspired university gives contemplative practice real roots, and slow sunny mornings are the local rhythm. For soaking, there is the spring-fed pool at Eldorado Springs, and real hot springs at Idaho Springs about an hour away.

The Minneapolis version is Nordic and wintry: public saunas on the frozen lakes, with a cold plunge or a roll in the snow. Otherwise it offers hotel spas and an evening walk around a lake.