Denver or Taos?

Neither is a beach destination. Both sit high in the interior with cold mountain lakes. The difference is in how you cool off. Denver has sandy reservoir beaches at Cherry Creek and Chatfield and outdoor public pools. In Taos, the river in the gorge is for rafting rather than swimming, so a hot spring or a hotel pool is the nearest thing to a swim.

Denver gives you more variety. It has brewery taprooms in old warehouses, smothered green chile and breakfast burritos, bison and lamb on menus, chef-run places in Highland and LoHi, and a long run of Vietnamese and Mexican kitchens on Federal Boulevard. You can eat somewhere different every night for a week.

Taos is narrower but more distinctive. Its northern New Mexican cooking, with red or green chile ("Christmas" if you want both), posole, carne adovada and blue corn, is served with conviction in the old family places. Beyond that kitchen, though, choice runs out quickly.

Taos has the stronger sights, because it has Taos Pueblo. The adobe houses there have been lived in for around a thousand years, it is a World Heritage site, and nothing in Denver compares. Add the buttressed church at Ranchos de Taos and small museums such as the Harwood and the Millicent Rogers, and you have two or three slow, rewarding days.

Denver's culture is that of a young gold-rush city. It has the Denver Art Museum, which is strong on Native American art, the Clyfford Still Museum, the gold-domed Capitol and the brick warehouses of LoDo. It is a pleasant addition to a trip, but rarely the reason for one.

Denver is the place to go out. LoDo fills up on game nights, RiNo has cocktail bars and taprooms, East Colfax stays scruffy and late, and there is a small club scene for dance music. Taos offers a margarita in an adobe hotel bar, a band in a saloon or après-ski up the valley, and then bed. Either way, remember that alcohol hits harder at altitude.

Both are superb outdoor bases, but the landscapes differ. From Denver you reach the red sandstone of Red Rocks, the Flatirons, Mount Blue Sky and Rocky Mountain National Park with its elk and tundra. The big I-70 ski resorts are about two hours away, and there are paved bike trails through the city.

From Taos everything is closer and wilder. The ski valley, known for steep runs, is half an hour away, Wheeler Peak and Williams Lake are above it, and the Rio Grande gorge offers spring rafting through the Taos Box and mountain biking on the West Rim, all under huge desert skies.

Both offer good driving days, but of different kinds. From Denver you head to Western towns: Boulder under the Flatirons, the mining towns of Georgetown and Idaho Springs, Manitou Springs, and Estes Park for the national park. They are pleasant, but none is a headline sight.

Taos has the single standout trip: the High Road through Truchas, Las Trampas and Chimayó to Santa Fe. It also has O'Keeffe country at Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch, and Bandelier's cliff dwellings if you are ready for a long day.

Denver is much better set up for children. City Park has the zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science with its dinosaurs and planetarium. Near the South Platte are a children's museum, an aquarium and an amusement park, and the mountain railways are close by for older children.

Taos is calm and welcoming, with ski lessons, gentle float trips and horse riding, but it has no attractions made for children. Every outing means time in the car, and young children are more likely to tire in the first days at around 2,100m.

Denver gives you more without a car. The downtown is flat and walkable, with a free shuttle along the 16th Street Mall, a train from the airport to Union Station and light rail to the suburbs. You still need to hire a car for the mountains.

In Taos, only the plaza area is walkable. The Pueblo, the gorge, the ski valley and the villages are spread across a wide valley, and since most visitors fly into Albuquerque, two and a half hours away, a hire car is effectively part of the trip.

There is little to separate them, but they sell very different things. Denver covers the practical side: the upscale mall and boutiques of Cherry Creek, vintage shops on South Broadway, and large flagship outdoor-gear stores. Taos is for art and craft: galleries off the plaza, turquoise and silver jewellery, Rio Grande weaving and santos, and micaceous pottery bought directly from makers at the Pueblo.

Both cost about what you would expect in the American West, and a hire car adds to the bill in either. In Denver, prices rise with conventions and ski season, and you save money by staying along the light rail and eating at taquerias. Taos has fairly priced motels and diners next to resort-priced inns, and it is cheapest in spring and late autumn, between the ski and summer seasons.

Denver is far ahead here. A summer show at Red Rocks, between the sandstone monoliths, is reason enough to plan a trip. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts puts theatre, touring musicals, the symphony, opera and ballet within a few blocks, and Five Points keeps its jazz roots.

Taos has a summer chamber music festival and a small arts centre, but its most memorable performances are the feast-day dances at Taos Pueblo. You may watch them quietly, but photography is not allowed.

Taos is the better place to unwind. Its slow pace and quiet plateau set the tone, Ojo Caliente's outdoor pools of different mineral waters are under an hour away, there are primitive springs down by the river, and retreat centres in town. In Denver, wellness means hotel spas and yoga studios, with the historic pools at Idaho Springs as the nearest proper soak.