Denver or Scottsdale?

Neither city is anywhere near the sea, and swimming in both means pools and inland water. Denver's options are the sandy reservoir beaches at Cherry Creek and Chatfield and mountain lakes too cold for most.

In Scottsdale water matters more to the stay itself: the resort pool is often the centre of the day, and Saguaro and Canyon lakes or a summer tube down the Salt River make warmer outings than anything near Denver.

Denver eats with more personality. Its brewing culture is among the deepest in the country, green chile turns up on everything, and Federal Boulevard and the chef-run places of Highland and LoHi give you neighbourhoods to explore by appetite.

Scottsdale dines comfortably but more generically, with steakhouses, patio grills and brunches aimed at golfers and groups. Its best local food, Sonoran Mexican, is largely found in family places around the wider Phoenix area rather than in Scottsdale itself.

Denver has a little more to see, and it is grouped together. The Capitol, the Denver Art Museum with its Native American collection and the Clyfford Still Museum sit around Civic Center Park, with LoDo's warehouses and Union Station a walk away.

Scottsdale's culture rests mainly on one outstanding site, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, plus a western art museum and the galleries of Old Town. Its other strong museums, the Heard and the Musical Instrument Museum, mean a drive across the city line.

The two are fairly even, but the evenings feel quite different. Denver spreads its nights across neighbourhoods: sports bars in LoDo, warehouse taprooms in RiNo, dive bars on East Colfax, and only a small club scene.

Scottsdale packs everything into a few blocks of Old Town, where dance clubs, rooftop lounges, dress codes and bottle service set a louder, more party-minded tone, especially at weekends and in spring. Step outside that pocket and the evenings go quiet.

Denver has the bigger landscape. The Rockies give you red sandstone at Red Rocks, high summits, alpine tundra and elk in Rocky Mountain National Park, and ski slopes in winter, with good conditions in every season. The catch is the altitude and the need for a car.

Scottsdale's desert is closer to the door: the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Camelback Mountain and Pinnacle Peak are on the edge of town, with saguaros and granite boulders. Its outdoor season, though, is essentially late autumn to spring, since summer heat confines hiking to dawn.

Denver has more within an easy drive: Boulder and Golden in under an hour, the Victorian mining towns of Georgetown and Idaho Springs up the mountain road, and Colorado Springs to the south. The famous heritage sites of the Southwest, though, are out of reach.

Scottsdale's best outings take longer but reach that Southwest landscape: Sedona's red rocks, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle and hillside Jerome, all around two hours north. Closer in, there is little beyond the Goldfield ghost town and Phoenix.

Denver offers children more to do in the city itself. City Park pairs the zoo with the dinosaurs and planetarium of the Museum of Nature & Science, and the Children's Museum, aquarium and amusement park sit together near downtown. Scenic railways and easy mountain trails are a short drive away.

Scottsdale family stays revolve around resort lazy rivers, slides and kids' clubs, with the railroad park, OdySea Aquarium and Butterfly Wonderland as outings. Summer heat limits it more than Denver's altitude does.

Denver is easier without a car. Its compact downtown has a free shuttle along the 16th Street Mall, a train runs from the airport to Union Station, and light rail serves the suburbs, even if the mountains still mean hiring a car.

Scottsdale is car-dependent almost throughout. The light rail stops short of the city, and only Old Town is walkable, with a free trolley to the shopping areas. In its favour, driving there is simple, without Denver's weekend jams on the road to the mountains.

Scottsdale is the better shopping destination. A luxury mall holds the big fashion houses, and the Main Street and Marshall Way gallery district deals in southwestern art, Navajo and Hopi silver, turquoise and Pueblo pottery of real quality.

Denver is more practical and less polished: Cherry Creek for mainstream upscale shopping, South Broadway for vintage and records, and big flagship stores for outdoor gear, where it outdoes Scottsdale. Both do cowboy boots and western hats.

Both are expensive by American standards, and neither is easy on a budget. Denver's costs climb with conventions and ski season, and staying out along the light rail line is the main way to save.

Scottsdale is pricier in its winter and spring high season, but its resorts cut rates sharply in summer, so timing does most of the work there. In both cities, Mexican food and free trails help.

Denver is far stronger here. Red Rocks Amphitheatre alone justifies a summer trip for many music fans, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts gathers theatre, Broadway tours, the symphony, opera and ballet in one downtown complex, with jazz rooms in Five Points.

Scottsdale's own stage is the Old Town arts centre, and the Musical Instrument Museum's theatre is good for world music. The major companies, though, are half an hour away in Phoenix.

Scottsdale is built for this: a dense ring of large resort spas, many open to day guests, plus yoga retreats, dry warm air and an unhurried pace. It is private and polished rather than traditional.

Denver's city offering is mostly hotel and day spas. What it has that Scottsdale lacks is natural hot water, with the mineral pools and steam caves of Idaho Springs under an hour into the mountains.