Denver or Telluride?

Neither place is anywhere near the sea, and neither is a place to plan a swim. The difference is how close the water is. Denver has sandy reservoir beaches at Cherry Creek and Chatfield on the edge of the city, as well as outdoor public pools. In Telluride the nearest swimming area is the cold reservoir near Ridgway, about an hour away, so summer visitors usually raft, paddle or fish instead.

Denver gives you much more to eat. Its brewing culture fills warehouse taprooms in RiNo and around Coors Field. Green chile, breakfast burritos and a long stretch of Vietnamese and Mexican cooking on Federal Boulevard sit alongside casual chef-run places in Highland and LoHi.

Telluride has a few good kitchens on Colorado Avenue and up in Mountain Village, cooking elk, trout and Western Slope produce, with wine lists that are better than you would expect. A longer stay means going back to the same few places, though, and tables are hard to get on festival and peak ski weeks.

Denver has more to fill a sightseeing day. The Denver Art Museum, with its Native American collection, the single-artist Clyfford Still Museum and the gold-domed Capitol sit together around Civic Center Park, and LoDo and Union Station keep the old commercial city intact. That adds up to two or three good days.

In Telluride the attraction is the town itself, a mining-era grid of clapboard and brick protected as a National Historic Landmark. The Historical Museum in the old miners' hospital and the Sheridan Opera House round off an hour or two of wandering.

Denver has the more varied night out, though it is built on bars rather than clubs. You can watch a game in LoDo, drink in cocktail bars in RiNo's warehouses, or stay late in the dive bars on East Colfax.

Telluride's evenings are après-ski and a few historic wooden saloons on Colorado Avenue. They get lively only on peak winter weeks and summer festival weekends, and in the quiet seasons the town is asleep early.

Telluride puts you inside the scenery. Cliffs and peaks above 4,000m rise from the end of the main street. Bridal Veil Falls, Bear Creek Falls and Blue Lake are a walk away, and the ski area starts above town, with steep hike-to terrain and long cruising runs.

Denver's outdoors is excellent too, but you have to drive to it. Red Rocks and the Golden foothills are about half an hour away, Rocky Mountain National Park about two hours, and the I-70 ski resorts sit at the end of a road known for its weekend traffic. Its paved riverside bike trails and lower altitude make it the easier place to start.

Distance makes the difference here. A short drive from Denver brings you to Boulder's pedestrian main street under the Flatirons, Golden's old brick downtown, the Victorian mining towns of Idaho Springs and Georgetown, where a historic narrow-gauge railway runs, and the old spa town of Manitou Springs. Fort Collins, Estes Park and Breckenridge make good longer outings.

Telluride is remote, so the choice is limited to a few mountain towns. Ridgway is a ranching town, Ouray sits in a narrow canyon, and Silverton lies over Red Mountain Pass, on roads that winter can slow or close. What Telluride has that Denver lacks is Mesa Verde's cliff dwellings, too far for a day from Denver, though at about two and a half hours each way they are a long day from Telluride too.

The choice is between attractions and active mountain days, and Denver offers both. City Park has the zoo and the Museum of Nature & Science, with its dinosaurs and planetarium. The Children's Museum, an aquarium and an amusement park are grouped together by the South Platte, so a bad-weather day is easy to fill, and easy trails and scenic railways are a short drive away for older children.

Telluride works for families who want to spend their days outdoors. Children enjoy the free gondola as a ride in its own right, the ski school is well regarded, and summer brings easy waterfall walks and fishing. With no zoo or museum to fall back on, a rainy day drags, and the altitude can give small children headaches and poor sleep for the first few days.

Once you have arrived, Telluride is the easier place to get around. You can cross the historic grid on foot in a quarter of an hour, and the free gondola and town buses reach Mountain Village and the slopes, so many visitors never drive. Getting there is the hard part, with a weather-prone local airport and larger airports one to two hours away.

Denver is easy to reach by train from its airport, and its flat downtown is walkable. Beyond the centre, though, the city is spread out, and Red Rocks, the mountains and most outings need a hired car.

Denver gives shoppers real choice. Cherry Creek has an upscale mall and surrounding boutiques, South Broadway has vintage clothes and records, and there are big flagship stores for outdoor gear and proper Western wear. Telluride's shopping is a few blocks of Colorado Avenue: galleries, jewellery, bookshops and ski shops, all pleasant to browse but expensive and limited.

Denver costs what most large American cities cost. Downtown hotels, tax and tips and a hire car add up, but you can save by staying near the light rail, eating at taquerias and using the free trails and parks.

Telluride is in a different price bracket. Scarce rooms are priced for second-home owners, and lift tickets, guided activities and restaurant meals are all at the top of the market. Staying in Ridgway saves money but adds a daily drive.

The difference is between a programme that runs all year and a summer festival season. Red Rocks Amphitheatre, set between its sandstone monoliths, is Denver's famous summer stage. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts adds theatre, touring musicals, the Colorado Symphony, opera and ballet through the year, and Five Points keeps its jazz roots alive in small rooms.

Telluride's music arrives in summer, with the Bluegrass Festival in Town Park, a run of jazz, blues and chamber music festivals, and the film festival. Outside those weeks there are only a few shows at the historic Sheridan Opera House, so music lovers should plan their trip around the festival calendar.

Neither place has a bathing tradition of its own, and in both the hot springs mean a drive into the mountains. From Denver it is under an hour to the historic mineral pools and steam caves of Idaho Springs. In town, wellness means day spas, yoga studios and sunny parks.

Telluride's resort spas in Mountain Village are made for tired legs after skiing. Ouray's large public hot springs pool and the springs near Ridgway are about an hour away, and the quiet shoulder seasons make the town itself restful, though the altitude can disturb sleep at first.