Boulder or Taos?

Neither town is a beach destination, and both lie far inland. The water they do have is different in kind. Boulder has a small sandy swim area at the reservoir and lazy tubing on Boulder Creek in summer. In Taos the Rio Grande is for rafting rather than swimming, and the best way into warm water is a hot spring.

Both eat well for small towns without offering much range, but the cooking is very different. Boulder is farm-to-table and health-minded, with vegetarian menus, bakeries, craft taprooms and the Saturday farmers' market by the creek. The Dushanbe Teahouse is a good place for a calm lunch.

Taos has the stronger sense of place: posole, carne adovada and red or green chile in the family-run places near the plaza, and horno bread from the Pueblo. Go to Boulder for healthy variety and to Taos for one regional kitchen done with conviction.

Taos has far more to see. Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO site lived in for around a thousand years, is a sight of real weight. The church at Ranchos, the Millicent Rogers and Harwood museums and the old art-colony homes fill two or three unhurried days.

Boulder's appeal is atmosphere rather than monuments: the Chautauqua cottages beneath the Flatirons, the sandstone-and-red-tile campus and I.M. Pei's atmospheric research laboratory on the mesa. One day covers it.

Neither is a town for clubbing, but Boulder gives you much more to do after dinner. There are taprooms and cocktail bars around Pearl Street, loud student bars on University Hill during term, and Denver forty minutes away for a bigger night.

Taos winds down soon after dinner. A margarita in an old adobe hotel bar, a saloon band or, in winter, the après-ski crowd at the ski valley is about the extent of it.

Both are outdoor bases first and foremost, and either would satisfy a hiker. Boulder edges ahead on access. The Flatirons and well over 200km of trails start from town, Eldorado Canyon's climbing walls are ten minutes away, and Rocky Mountain National Park is an hour's drive.

Taos is wilder and more spread out. It has the Rio Grande gorge for rafting the Taos Box, trails up Wheeler Peak at 4,013m, and steep, demanding skiing at Taos Ski Valley, a more serious ski mountain than Boulder's nearby Eldora.

Taos has the better outings. The High Road to Santa Fe passes Truchas, Las Trampas and the sanctuary at Chimayó before reaching the galleries of Canyon Road, and O'Keeffe country at Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch is within reach too. Every one of these trips needs a car.

From Boulder, Denver is the main draw and the only one you can reach by bus. Beyond it, Golden, Fort Collins and the old silver towns of Georgetown and Idaho Springs are pleasant rather than memorable.

Boulder gives children more to do between outdoor outings. The Chautauqua meadow beneath the Flatirons is good for picnics and short first walks. The free weather and climate exhibits at the atmospheric research centre and the university's natural history museum suit curious minds, and street performers on the Pearl Street Mall fill the evenings. The mountain sun is strong, so pack hats and water for every outing.\n\nTaos works better with older children and teenagers who want something active: ski lessons up the canyon in winter, and a calm float on the Rio Grande or a morning on horseback in summer.

A wet or tired day is harder to fill than in Boulder, because nothing there plays the part of the university museums, and the town's galleries and painters' houses hold little for young visitors. Distances matter as well. Boulder's family sights are a bike ride apart, but in Taos the ski valley, the gorge and the riding trails are spread across a wide valley, so most days begin and end in the car.

Boulder is much easier without a car. The centre, the campus and Chautauqua are a short walk or bike ride apart along off-street creek paths, and an express bus runs to Denver. You still need wheels for the more distant trailheads and the national park.

In Taos only the area around the plaza is walkable. The Pueblo, the gorge, the ski valley and Santa Fe all mean driving, and most visitors begin with a drive of about two and a half hours from Albuquerque.

Neither is a shopping destination, and each has one strong suit. In Boulder it is outdoor gear, with good climbing, running and cycling shops alongside the bookshops and boutiques of the Pearl Street Mall. In Taos it is art and craft: galleries around the plaza, turquoise and silver jewellery, Rio Grande weaving, and micaceous pottery bought straight from the makers at the Pueblo.

Taos is gentler on the budget. Simple motels and New Mexican diners are fairly priced, and spring and late autumn are the cheapest times to go, though the hire car adds to the cost of every day.

Boulder is expensive almost across the board, with few hotel rooms and high prices for them, and affluent prices for meals and beer. The trails cost nothing, and many visitors save by staying in Denver and driving in.

Boulder has the fuller calendar. Small rooms book touring rock, bluegrass and roots acts most nights. In summer the Colorado Music Festival fills the 1898 Chautauqua Auditorium and the Shakespeare festival plays outdoors on campus, and Red Rocks Amphitheatre is within reach.

Taos offers less, but something rarer. The highlights are the feast-day dances at Taos Pueblo, watched quietly and without cameras, and a summer chamber music festival. The rest is mostly bar bands.

Taos is the better place to unwind. The mineral pools at Ojo Caliente, the primitive springs beside the Rio Grande and the silence of the plateau make for real rest, and retreat centres draw on the valley's spiritual reputation.

Boulder's wellness is more about studios than soaking. Yoga, meditation and massage are everywhere, but the nearest proper hot springs are an hour away at Idaho Springs.