Canmore or Edmonton?

Neither place is for a beach vacation, but the swimming is different in kind. Canmore's Quarry Lake is on the edge of town, with clear water that stays bracing even in July and mountain walls all around, so expect a quick plunge rather than an afternoon on the sand.

Edmonton's swimmers drive about an hour to Pigeon Lake, Wabamun or Sylvan Lake. There they find sandy strips and water that can reach 20°C, although algae can close the lakes late in summer. The indoor wave pool at the big mall is the reliable alternative.

Canmore eats well for a town of its size, mostly at breakfast and after a hike. Main Street has bakeries, coffee shops and brewpubs, along with a few kitchens cooking bison, game and Alberta beef. The choice soon runs out, and evenings are quiet outside the main seasons.

Edmonton has more range and more to explore. Steakhouses share the city with Ukrainian perogies and cabbage rolls, and there is Vietnamese, Lebanese, Ethiopian and Filipino cooking in the strip malls. Whyte Avenue, 124 Street and the Old Strathcona Farmers' Market are good places to start. Over a week, you will eat far more varied food in Edmonton.

Canmore's sights take an hour or two. There is a small museum on the town's coal-mining past, a few miners' cottages, the old police barracks and the Nordic Centre built for the 1988 Olympics. For more history, people drive to Banff.

Edmonton has enough for two full days. The Royal Alberta Museum, with its strong First Nations galleries, the Art Gallery of Alberta in its steel-and-glass shell, the domed Legislature above the river and the living-history streets of Fort Edmonton Park give a real picture of the province's story.

In Canmore a night out is a pint in a brewpub, perhaps with a band, among climbers and weekenders from Calgary, and most places quieten well before midnight. For anything later, people head up the valley to Banff.

Edmonton offers a proper night out. Whyte Avenue's pubs, dive bars and small clubs fill with students at weekends, the streets around the arena fill up on game nights, and 124 Street has wine bars for a quieter evening. Here a night can easily run on long after midnight, although neither city has a club scene worth travelling for.

This is where Canmore is far ahead. The Three Sisters, Ha Ling Peak and Mount Rundle rise above the streets, and hiking and climbing start at the edge of town. Lake Louise, Moraine Lake and Kananaskis Country are a short drive away, and winter brings skiing and ice climbing.

Edmonton's outdoors is gentler. The forested ravines of the North Saskatchewan River Valley run through the city with more than 150km of trails, and the bison and dark skies of Elk Island are 40 minutes away. It is good for a walk, a bike ride or a paddle, but the mountains are four hours off.

From Canmore the outings are short and worth making. Banff, with its museums and hot springs, is twenty minutes away, Lake Louise and the railway town of Field are close by, and Calgary's Heritage Park and July Stampede are about an hour east.

Edmonton's list is shorter. It is led by the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and the vintage machines of the Reynolds-Alberta Museum. The places most visitors want to see, Drumheller's badlands and the mountain parks, need an overnight stay from there.

Both work with children, in different ways. Canmore is for outdoor families. It has riverside paths for bikes and pushchairs, short walks to Grassi Lakes, daily elk sightings, winter sledding, and a pool and climbing wall for wet days. Bears call for care, though, and nothing there is built just for children.

Edmonton has the edge for variety. The waterpark, rides and ice rink at West Edmonton Mall work in any weather. Fort Edmonton Park's steam train, the planetarium at the science centre and the small Valley Zoo fill more days, even if the long winter keeps families indoors for months.

Neither works well without a car, for different reasons. Canmore's centre is small enough to walk and the Bow River paths suit bikes. Buses run up to Banff and seasonal shuttles serve the busiest lakes, but most trailheads, Kananaskis and the Icefields Parkway need a car, and winter mountain roads call for proper tyres.

Edmonton has light rail linking downtown, the university and the south, plus pedways downtown for winter. Its attractions are far apart across a spread-out city, though, so hire cars and ride-hailing do most of the work.

Canmore's Main Street has outdoor gear, landscape galleries and gift shops. It is handy for replacing boots and pleasant for an hour.

Edmonton can fill a day or more. West Edmonton Mall has hundreds of chain stores, Whyte Avenue has record shops and vintage clothing, and 124 Street has boutiques and galleries. Neither does much luxury, but only Edmonton is worth a trip for the shopping.

Canmore is the more expensive stay by some way. Rooms are priced like a resort's beside a famous national park and fill fast in summer and the ski season, and a hire car and park passes add to the bill. Self-catering condos and visits in spring or late autumn bring the cost down.

Edmonton is easier on the budget. Hotels are moderately priced even downtown, car hire and parking cost less, and the river valley trails and many summer festivals are free. Meals and drinks cost much the same in both.

Canmore's stage life is mostly one weekend: the long-running folk festival in a riverside park each August. Beyond that there are small arts-centre shows and pub bands, with the Banff Centre and its mountain film festival up the valley.

Edmonton has a real season. The Fringe takes over Old Strathcona every August and the Folk Music Festival fills Gallagher Park. All year, the Citadel Theatre, the symphony at the Winspear Centre, and opera and ballet at the Jubilee Auditorium give evenings plenty of choice.

Canmore is the more restful base. The pace is set by tired hikers and there are mountain views from every window. The Banff Upper Hot Springs and the outdoor pools of the large Nordic-style spa at Kananaskis Village are within half an hour, and the town has yoga studios and massage therapists.

Edmonton has a few Nordic-style spas of its own, at their best on snowy winter days, and the Muttart Conservatory makes for a quiet afternoon. The spas mostly need a car, though, and the setting is a city rather than a mountain valley.