Chiang Mai or Luang Prabang?

Neither town has a coast, and both lie a long way from the sea. Luang Prabang still has the more memorable swim: the turquoise limestone pools under Kuang Si waterfall, with Tad Sae as a smaller second choice.

Chiang Mai's options are more ordinary: the reservoir at Huay Tung Tao, old quarry lakes and pools below waterfalls. Most visitors who want sand fly south to the islands.

Chiang Mai is by far the better place to eat. Northern Thai cooking is a cuisine in its own right, and you can eat it all day: khao soi, sai ua sausage and nam prik noom at Warorot market, the stalls at Chang Phueak Gate and along the weekend walking streets. A coffee culture rooted in the nearby hills and a handful of modern Lanna kitchens add depth.

Luang Prabang has its own dishes, such as or lam stew, jeow bong chilli paste and crisp kaipen river weed, plus French bakeries and baguettes left from colonial times. But the choice is narrow, and within a few days the same set menus come round again.

The two are evenly matched, but they offer different things. Chiang Mai is a city of temples: Wat Chedi Luang's ruined chedi, the Lanna halls of Wat Phra Singh, the silver Wat Sri Suphan and the mountain temple of Doi Suthep, spread through a moated old city with modern districts around it.

In Luang Prabang the attraction is the whole town. Wat Xieng Thong and more than thirty other monasteries stand among French shophouses, the former Royal Palace holds the national museum, and the dawn alms round shows it is still a religious town in daily life. In both, the museums are small.

Chiang Mai has an actual night out, though not a wild one. There are cocktail bars and craft beer in Nimmanhaemin, backpacker bars and rooftops around Tha Phae Gate, a rowdier strip on Loi Kroh Road and a few clubs. Most places close around midnight.

Luang Prabang hardly has a nightlife. A few garden bars and river terraces serve Beerlao, the curfew shuts them at midnight, and after that the streets are dark.

Both are surrounded by green hills, but the landscapes differ. Chiang Mai's are mountains: Doi Suthep-Pui National Park begins at the edge of town, and the cloud forest of Doi Inthanon is a drive away, with rafting, ziplines and mountain biking in the valleys to the north.

Luang Prabang's outdoors centres on its rivers: slow boats past limestone cliffs on the Mekong, kayaking on the Nam Khan, the Kuang Si falls with their bear sanctuary, and treks to Hmong and Khmu villages. In both places, haze from field burning dulls the views late in the dry season.

Chiang Mai has more towns within easy reach. Lamphun's gilded chedi is half an hour away, and Lampang, with its horse carriages, teak mansions and the walled Wat Phra That Lampang Luang, is a full day out. Chiang Rai and Pai are better done with a night away.

From Luang Prabang, the main day out is the boat up the Mekong to the Buddha-filled Pak Ou caves, plus the weaving villages near town. The railway makes Vang Vieng and Vientiane possible, but beyond those it is mostly countryside.

Chiang Mai is the easier choice with children. Feeding and walking elephants at the sanctuaries, the zoo on Doi Suthep, the Night Safari and the quarry swimming parks give several days of activities, even if broken pavements and traffic around the moat make getting about tiring.

Luang Prabang's quiet streets are safer to walk, and children love Kuang Si and the long-tail boats. After that there is little aimed at them, and limited medical care makes it better for older children than toddlers.

Luang Prabang is easier to get around. The old town is a flat peninsula with light traffic, so walking or a rented bicycle covers almost everything. You only need a tuk-tuk or boat for the falls, the caves and the train station.

Chiang Mai is more spread out. You can walk the old city, but beyond the moat you depend on red songthaew pickups, tuk-tuks and ride-hailing, and on a scooter or hired driver for the mountains.

Both are places to buy crafts, but Chiang Mai has far more of them. The Sunday Walking Street, the Saturday market on Wualai Road and the nightly Night Bazaar are long markets of textiles, silver, celadon and lacquerware. The craft villages of Bo Sang and San Kamphaeng are close by, and Nimmanhaemin adds design shops and malls.

Luang Prabang has one nightly market on its main street, where some of the goods are mass-produced. The better silk and mulberry paper is in the weaving studios and nearby villages.

Both are very cheap, but Chiang Mai goes further on a small budget. Teak guesthouses, street food, songthaews and daily massages all cost little, and the costs that add up are mostly organised excursions.

Luang Prabang is cheap by most standards, but it is the most expensive stop in Laos. Its restored colonial hotels, riverside wine lists and private drivers raise the bill faster.

Neither has opera, a classical season or much theatre, but Chiang Mai gives you more for an evening out. There are nightly jazz and blues jams near the north gate, bands in Nimmanhaemin, Muay Thai fight nights and khantoke dinners with Lanna dance.

Luang Prabang's main performance is the masked Phralak Phralam, the Lao Ramayana, danced at the theatre in the Royal Palace grounds. Beyond that, a few folk evenings and the temple drums at dusk are all there is.

Chiang Mai is the better choice for a wellness trip. It is Thailand's best-known place to learn Thai massage, and it has yoga studios, spas in teak houses, meditation retreats at Wat Umong and Wat Suan Dok, and the San Kamphaeng hot springs.

Luang Prabang offers calm more than treatments. Lao massage, which is gentler than the Thai style, and lemongrass herbal saunas fill an afternoon. Otherwise the restful part is the quiet town itself, with mornings at the alms round and evenings watching the sun set over the Mekong.