Colorado Springs or Las Vegas?

Neither city has a coast, so the question is which kind of inland water suits you. In Colorado Springs that means a public pool or a city lake, and the mountain water stays cold well into summer. Rafting on the Arkansas River is the livelier way to get wet.

Las Vegas has warmer and more varied options. The Strip resorts have large pools, some with sand-lined wave pools and lazy rivers, and Boulder Beach on Lake Mead has a gravel shore and warm summer water, though no shade.

Las Vegas is by far the better place to eat. The Strip has steakhouses, French dining rooms and tasting menus from internationally known chefs. Off the Strip, Spring Mountain Road runs for kilometres with Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese cooking, much of it open late.

Colorado Springs is plainer: green chile, barbecue and burgers, with brewpubs and food trucks as its most characterful side and the Broadmoor dining rooms at the formal end. The nicest meals are in the old brick blocks of Old Colorado City or in Manitou Springs, and the local beer is a bigger draw than the cooking.

Neither is a city for museum-goers, but Colorado Springs has a little more to see. It has the aluminium spires of the Cadet Chapel at the Air Force Academy, the Olympic and Paralympic Museum, the Southwestern collection at the Fine Arts Center and the Gold Rush story at the Pioneers Museum. The sights are scattered, and the Victorian streets of Manitou Springs are good for a wander.

Las Vegas offers spectacle rather than heritage: themed resorts, dancing fountains and the light show over Fremont Street. Its real history is in two places downtown, the Neon Museum's yard of retired casino signs and the Mob Museum in the old federal courthouse.

This is where the two cities differ most. Las Vegas runs all night, with resort nightclubs hosting world-famous DJs, dayclub pool parties earlier in the day and casino bars that never shut. Around Fremont Street and the arts district there are cheaper dive bars, cocktail lounges and craft beer.

In Colorado Springs, a night out means a few blocks of Tejon Street, busy at weekends with students and young soldiers, or a taproom that closes well before midnight. It is good for a drink after a hike, not for a celebration.

Both cities have striking red rock close by, but Colorado Springs has more to do and a longer season for it. Pikes Peak rises above the town to more than 4,300m, and Garden of the Gods has both easy paths and serious climbing. The dry climate keeps the mountain-bike trails open for much of the year, and the Arkansas River and the ski resorts are both within reach.

Las Vegas has its own Red Rock Canyon, with excellent climbing, as well as the rock formations of Valley of Fire and the pine forests of Mount Charleston. But from June to September the heat limits desert hiking to dawn, and every outing needs a car.

Colorado Springs has the wider choice of day trips. Denver's museums are a little over an hour north, the gold-mining towns of Cripple Creek and Victor are up steep mountain roads, and Cañon City and the Royal Gorge Bridge are about an hour away. Manitou Springs is next door for a half day.

From Las Vegas, the classic trip is Hoover Dam combined with Boulder City. Beyond that, the options are long journeys to the Grand Canyon, Zion or Death Valley, which are landscapes rather than towns. In both cities you need a car or a tour for almost every trip.

Colorado Springs is much the easier city with children. The mountainside zoo, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, the flat paths of Garden of the Gods and the little Christmas-themed amusement park all make short outings. The downsides are a lot of driving, and the altitude and strong sun need care.

Las Vegas has an indoor amusement park, a shark aquarium and the Discovery Children's Museum. But casino floors lie on the route through almost every resort, and the adult side of the Strip is hard to avoid, so many families treat the city as a stop on a road trip to the national parks.

Neither city is easy without a car, but Las Vegas depends on one less. Along the Strip and up to Fremont Street you can use the monorail, buses that run day and night, and plenty of taxis and ride-hailing. Even so, the resorts are larger than they look, and summer heat makes walking hard work.

In Colorado Springs, the sights are spread along the foothills and up mountain roads, and the buses are thin and infrequent. Downtown, Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs are each pleasant on foot, but to go further you will need to hire a car.

Las Vegas is clearly better for shopping. The resort malls at Caesars Palace and the Venetian, the luxury mall in the middle of the Strip and Fashion Show between them have most of the big fashion and jewellery houses, and they stay open late. Two large outlet centres cater for bargain hunters.

Colorado Springs has nothing on that scale, but it has the local character Las Vegas lacks. Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs sell rocks and gems, Western wear, local art and outdoor gear from old storefronts.

Colorado Springs is somewhat easier on the budget. The chain hotels along the interstate are reasonably priced, and the best sights, Garden of the Gods and the canyon parks, are free. Car hire, though, is an extra cost that is hard to avoid.

Las Vegas can be cheap midweek, but weekend and convention rates, resort fees and the cost of drinks, shows and dining on the Strip push most trips higher. Staying from Sunday to Thursday and eating in Chinatown keeps costs down a good deal.

In Las Vegas the shows are a reason to travel in themselves. Dozens play every night in purpose-built resort theatres, from water-based acrobatics to magicians and comedians, and major stars hold long residencies. Downtown, the Smith Center adds touring Broadway musicals and ballet.

Colorado Springs has a respectable local programme: the Philharmonic at the Pikes Peak Center, plays and musicals from the Fine Arts Center's theatre company, and touring bands at the outdoor amphitheatre in summer. It is worth checking what is on, but rarely worth planning a trip around.

The two are evenly matched, but they offer very different kinds of rest. Colorado Springs has a real health-resort history in Manitou Springs, where you can drink naturally carbonated water from public fountains and soak in outdoor tubs facing the mountains. The Broadmoor has a full resort spa.

Las Vegas has no bathing tradition, but it has some of the largest hotel spas in the country, with thermal circuits and salt and ice rooms, open to non-guests. They are restful on a weekday morning, although the noisy, brightly lit casinos around them make calm hard to find.