Colorado Springs or Salt Lake City?

Neither city is a place to swim, but Salt Lake City has a little more to offer. You can float in the Great Salt Lake from Antelope Island, which is a novelty you'll try once, and on hot days there are sandy reservoir shores at Jordanelle, Deer Creek and Pineview.

Colorado Springs has pools, cold city lakes and reservoirs, and its best water outing is rafting on the Arkansas River rather than a swim.

The food is much the same standard in both, casual and dependable, and in neither is it the reason to go. In Colorado Springs, look for Southwestern cooking with green chile and for brewpubs, with the best surroundings in Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs and the Broadmoor at the formal end.

Salt Lake City's character comes from local oddities such as fry sauce, fried scones and dirty sodas, and from the Mexican, Pacific Islander, Peruvian and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street. Utah's drinking rules make wine and cocktails thinner than the beer that Colorado Springs does well.

Salt Lake City has more to see. Temple Square makes a real centre, with the granite temple, the domed Tabernacle and the Beehive House close together, and the State Capitol, the Cathedral of the Madeleine and the dinosaur halls of the Natural History Museum fill a second day.

The sights in Colorado Springs are fewer and more spread out. The aluminium spires of the Air Force Academy's Cadet Chapel are the standout, followed by the Olympic and Paralympic Museum and the Southwestern collection at the Fine Arts Center. Most visitors end up outdoors instead.

Both cities go to bed early, so plan for a drink after a day in the mountains rather than a night out. Colorado Springs is mostly about brewery taprooms that close well before midnight, plus the sports bars and cocktail bars of Tejon Street, which are livelier with students and soldiers at weekends.

Salt Lake City has a slightly wider spread, with downtown and Granary District bars, a few dance clubs and a long-standing gay scene. Utah's liquor laws limit stronger drinks and late opening.

Both sit right at the foot of big mountains, and the difference lies in what you do there. Colorado Springs is at its best in the warmer months. You can hike, drive or take the train up Pikes Peak, climb and walk among the red sandstone of Garden of the Gods and Red Rock Canyon, and test yourself on the Manitou Incline, with good mountain biking much of the year.

Salt Lake City has a slight edge thanks to winter. Famous powder lies less than an hour up the Cottonwood Canyons, and the same canyons have alpine lakes and wildflowers in summer. It also has a stark contrast to the west, with the bison of Antelope Island and the white Bonneville Salt Flats.

Colorado Springs has the wider choice of outings. Manitou Springs is next door, and Denver and Boulder are an easy drive away, as are the mining towns of Cripple Creek and Victor up steep mountain roads and the Royal Gorge Bridge near Cañon City. On a longer day you can reach Breckenridge or Salida.

From Salt Lake City, the obvious trip is to Park City and its Victorian Main Street, followed by Midway, Ogden's 25th Street and the Golden Spike site. The famous Utah national parks are too far away for a day trip.

Both work well with children, but in different ways. Colorado Springs is the outdoor choice, with hand-feeding giraffes at the mountainside Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, cave tours at Cave of the Winds, the Manitou Cliff Dwellings and the cog railway, though it has no theme park or aquarium.

Salt Lake City fills those gaps with an aquarium, a children's museum, a planetarium and the roller coasters of Lagoon, and it has a local culture built around large families. In both cities, these outings are spread out and best reached by car.

Salt Lake City is noticeably easier without a car. TRAX light rail runs from the airport to downtown and the University, FrontRunner trains reach Ogden and Provo, and Temple Square, the Capitol and the shops sit in a walkable core, although the wide grid makes the blocks feel long.

Colorado Springs is a city for drivers. The buses are thin, the sights are strung along the foothills, and only downtown, Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs are pleasant to walk.

Neither city is worth visiting for the shopping, but Salt Lake City has more choice. City Creek Center and the old streetcar barns of Trolley Square have the main brands, there are vintage shops around 9th and 9th, and excellent local ski and climbing outfitters.

Colorado Springs is better for small finds, such as Western wear, rocks and gems, and galleries in the old storefronts of Old Colorado City and Manitou Springs.

The two cost about the same, with moderate American prices and a hire car that is hard to avoid. What you spend depends on what you do. In Colorado Springs, Garden of the Gods, the canyon parks and the trails are free, and the costs are the car and the meals, which come with a tip.

In Salt Lake City, Temple Square is free and the light rail is cheap, but a winter ski week with lift tickets and lodging in the canyons costs far more than a summer of hiking.

Colorado Springs has a respectable local programme. The Philharmonic plays its season at the Pikes Peak Center, the Fine Arts Center stages plays and musicals, and touring bands play the outdoor amphitheatre in summer. However, it lacks a major opera house or a large-scale opera company, big musicals come only now and then, and on most nights live music means a small room or a brewery stage.

Salt Lake City is where a night out can shape the trip. The Tabernacle Choir rehearses and broadcasts on Temple Square, often with the great organ, which also gives daily recitals. Beyond the square, the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall, Utah Opera, Ballet West and the touring Broadway shows at the Eccles Theater fill a full season.

For relaxing, the two are much alike, and neither is a spa destination. Colorado Springs has the advantage of having its waters in town. Manitou Springs grew up as a health resort around its carbonated springs, with public fountains and a small outdoor soaking spa, and the Broadmoor has a full resort spa.

From Salt Lake City, the most memorable soak is an hour's drive away, in the warm water inside the limestone dome of the Homestead Crater at Midway. Otherwise, relaxation means a ski resort spa after a day on the slopes.