Edmonton or Whistler?

Neither is a beach destination, but Whistler makes lake swimming easier. Lost Lake's sandy shore and dock are a walk from the village, and Alta and Alpha lakes have rafts and grassy banks for an afternoon after a hike.

In Edmonton, the lake beaches at Pigeon Lake or Wabamun Lake are about an hour's drive away, and algae can close them in late summer. Most visitors end up in the mall's indoor wave pool or at a city outdoor pool instead.

The two are close, and Edmonton has the wider range. You will find Alberta beef steakhouses, Ukrainian church-supper dishes and Ethiopian, Lebanese and Filipino cooking out along the arterial roads, plus a proper farmers' market in Old Strathcona.

Whistler's eating is narrower but more polished: Pacific Northwest salmon and spot prawns with serious BC wine cellars, then nachos and craft beer on the après patios. After a week, you will feel how few streets it all sits on.

Edmonton gives you more to see, though at a regional scale. The Royal Alberta Museum with its First Nations galleries, the domed Legislature above the valley and the living-history streets of Fort Edmonton Park easily fill two days.

Whistler is a purpose-built resort with no old town. The Audain Art Museum, with its Emily Carr paintings and Northwest Coast masks, and the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre make a good rainy afternoon, and after that your sightseeing turns into looking at mountains.

Both offer about the same amount of going out, but of different kinds. Edmonton's is a student and sports scene: dive bars and small clubs along Whyte Avenue, crowds around the arena on game nights, and wine bars on 124 Street for a quieter evening.

Whistler's night is the ski day carried on. It starts with packed après patios at the lift base and moves on to loud village clubs full of seasonal workers on winter weekends. Out of season it goes quiet early.

Here the gap is widest. Whistler and Blackcomb rank among the world's great ski mountains, with glaciers, alpine bowls and deep Coast Mountains snow. In summer the same slopes become a famous bike park and the starting point for high trails into Garibaldi Provincial Park.

Edmonton's strength is closer to home: a long forested river valley through the city with deer and beavers, plus bison and dark skies at Elk Island National Park. The mountains at Jasper are a multi-day trip away.

Neither has much within easy reach, but Whistler has the more rewarding drives. The Sea to Sky Highway leads to the Squamish gondola and the old Britannia mine, and Vancouver is a long but scenic day out.

From Edmonton the best outings are the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village and the vintage machines at Wetaskiwin. Drumheller's badlands and Banff need an overnight stay.

Whistler has a slight edge for families, thanks to its car-free village, large ski schools and summer lakes, adventure park and gondola rides to see marmots. It has no zoo or science museum, though.

Edmonton fills that gap with the mall's indoor waterpark and roller coasters, the science centre's planetarium and the steam train at Fort Edmonton Park. It is a useful choice in deep winter, as long as you are happy driving between sights.

In Whistler you park the car and forget it. The gondolas leave from the edge of the pedestrian village, free shuttles run along the valley and the Valley Trail links the lakes on foot or by bike.

Edmonton is spread out. The LRT and the walkable stretch between downtown and Old Strathcona cover part of a visit, but the mall and Fort Edmonton Park are slow to reach by bus, so most visitors hire a car.

Edmonton gives you more choice. West Edmonton Mall is a day out in itself, and Whyte Avenue's record and vintage shops and 124 Street's boutiques add more individual buys.

Whistler is excellent for skis, bikes and technical outerwear, and has a few galleries with Indigenous carvings, but beyond gear it is thin and priced for the resort.

There is a big difference in cost. Edmonton's hotels, car hire and parking are moderate by Canadian standards, and much of a summer visit, from festivals to trails, is free.

Whistler is expensive all round: lift passes, slopeside lodging and village dining, with sharp rises over Christmas. Spring or autumn visits and a condo with a kitchen soften the bill, but they never make it cheap.

Edmonton is far ahead here. In August the Fringe festival fills Old Strathcona with hundreds of shows, and the folk festival takes over a hillside above the river. Through the rest of the year the Citadel Theatre, the Winspear Centre's symphony and the Jubilee Auditorium's opera and ballet keep the stages busy.

Whistler offers summer concerts on Olympic Plaza, buskers and pub cover bands. For a real play or concert you have to go down to Vancouver.

Both have Nordic-style hot and cold spas, but in Whistler they are part of the stay. A large silent spa among the cedars by the river, full hotel spas and massage studios for sore legs make a slow week easy to arrange.

Edmonton's few spas sit on the edge of the city and are best reached by car. Beyond them, the quiet comes from a walk in the river valley or an afternoon in the Muttart's glass pyramids.