Chicago or Lake George?

Both are freshwater lakes with the same short swimming season, from late June to early September. At Lake George, though, swimming is the point of a summer stay, while in Chicago it fills a spare afternoon. Lake George's water is a little warmer at its peak, the state beach looks across to the mountains, and a rented boat or an island in the Narrows lets you swim away from the crowds.

Chicago has more and longer beaches, with sand right beside the Gold Coast towers and volleyball at North Avenue, but a change of wind can chill the lake overnight. For a city it has an unusually good beach life. If the beach is the reason for the trip, Lake George is the better choice.

Chicago is a city people travel to for its food. Deep-dish, tavern-cut pizza, Italian beef and the fully dressed hot dog make up its own canon, tasting-menu kitchens line Randolph Street in the West Loop, and the neighbourhoods go further still, with Mexican cooking in Pilsen, South Asian food on Devon Avenue and Vietnamese on Argyle Street.

At Lake George, a food-minded visitor gives up almost all of that. There is no local dish to look for, and on the lakeside decks you pay for the view rather than the plate. A memorable dinner means one of the resort dining rooms near Bolton Landing, with their game and lake fish, or the drive south to Saratoga Springs. Outside summer, even the simple places thin out.

Chicago is where the skyscraper grew up. A river cruise past the towers of the Loop, Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and the Impressionist galleries of the Art Institute would each justify a visit, and the Field Museum and Millennium Park add more.

Lake George has one real sight, the reconstructed Fort William Henry and its story of the 1757 siege, plus a small museum in the old courthouse. The region's weightier history, at Ticonderoga and Saratoga, means a drive, though it is older than anything Chicago has.

Chicago goes out late by American standards, and a good number of its bars stay open well past midnight. Each neighbourhood has its own kind of night: cocktail bars and dives in Logan Square, dance clubs in River North that draw on the city's house music roots, a sports crowd around Wrigley Field and the gay bars of Northalsted. In winter the city keeps going out, moving from rooftops and beer gardens into warm old taverns.

Lake George's night out is beer with a view of the lake on the decks along Canada Street, which get loud on summer weekends with boaters and day-trippers. There are no clubs, and once the season ends, or in the shore hamlets at any time of year, the evenings are quiet.

Lake George is by far the stronger base for the outdoors. It has some 50km of lake between forested ridges, more than a hundred islands, summit trails on Prospect and Black Mountain, and the High Peaks less than two hours away. You can paddle and hike in summer and ski at Gore Mountain in winter.

Chicago's outdoors is its lakefront: a 29km shore path for walking and cycling, birding in Lincoln and Jackson Parks, and kayaking on the river beneath the towers. For dunes or canyons you go out to Indiana Dunes or Starved Rock, and there are no hills at all.

Lake George has the better day trips, though every one needs a car. Saratoga Springs, with its racecourse and spa, is less than an hour away, Fort Ticonderoga stands over Lake Champlain, Lake Placid has its Olympic history, and the Vermont towns lie to the east.

Chicago is surrounded by flat prairie. Milwaukee is the easy one by train, and Oak Park's Wright houses are on the edge of the city. Lake Geneva and the Michigan shore towns make pleasant drives rather than strong reasons to go.

Both work well with children, and Chicago comes out slightly ahead on range and on how long its season lasts. The Museum of Science and Industry, the dinosaurs and belugas of the Museum Campus, the free Lincoln Park Zoo and Navy Pier are open whatever the season, though winters are bitterly cold.

Lake George is a classic summer resort instead, with The Great Escape, a gently sloping lifeguarded beach, steamboat cruises, mini golf and motels with pools. It is easy-going in July and August, but you need a car and most of it shuts after the summer.

Chicago works without a car. The L runs in from both airports, the Loop is flat and walkable, and the main museums and parks are close together, though getting from one neighbourhood to another often means taking a bus.

At Lake George you can walk the village in minutes, and seasonal trolleys run to Glens Falls. The western shore, the trailheads and every day trip need a car, though, and summer parking is a nuisance. A rented boat is the nicest way to see the lake itself.

Chicago is a proper shopping city. It has flagships on the Magnificent Mile, luxury labels on Oak Street, the old Marshall Field's under its Tiffany ceiling, and independent boutiques in Wicker Park and Andersonville.

Lake George offers souvenirs and beachwear on Canada Street and outlet centres on Route 9. Its best finds are Adirondack crafts, maple syrup and balsam pillows to take home as gifts.

Neither is cheap, and the costs come from different places. In Chicago it is downtown hotels, high taxes and sit-down restaurant bills. Cheap taquerias, the L and free sights such as the lakefront and Lincoln Park Zoo help to keep costs down.

At Lake George the costs are those of a summer resort: lakefront rooms, boat rentals and theme park tickets. Cottages with kitchens, older motels on Route 9, weekday or off-season stays and staying in Glens Falls all bring the cost down.

This is one of Chicago's great strengths. It has the Chicago Symphony at Symphony Center, the Lyric Opera, a deep theatre scene running from Steppenwolf to small storefront companies, nightly improv at Second City, and blues and jazz clubs with late sets all year round.

Lake George has a summer programme of free concerts in Shepard Park, chamber music in August, a jazz weekend in September and summer theatre. For anything bigger, people drive to the amphitheatre in Saratoga Springs, and the rest of the year is quiet.

Lake George is the more restful of the two, as long as you avoid the village in midsummer. The resort spas near Bolton Landing, slow mornings on the water and the historic mineral baths at Saratoga, less than an hour south, make for a calm few days, especially in early autumn.

Chicago's surprise is its bathhouses: an old Russian-and-Turkish one in Wicker Park and a Korean-style jjimjilbang in the suburbs. The conservatories and early walks on the lakefront add some quiet, but around them the city moves at a big-city pace.