Flagstaff or Palm Desert?

Neither town has a beach, and both are hours from the coast. Where they differ is in what replaces it. In Flagstaff, swimming means the cold creek pools of Oak Creek Canyon, such as Slide Rock, which are crowded on summer weekends, or else a hotel pool.

In Palm Desert the pool is the whole point. Nearly every resort has one, often heated in winter, and lazy days beside it are a large part of a stay. The Pacific is about two hours away over the mountains, so reaching it takes a full day out.

Neither town is worth travelling to for the food, and they differ mostly in style. Flagstaff's strength is beer. Craft breweries with patios fill the downtown and the Southside, alongside diners, Mexican cooking and regional touches such as Navajo frybread and green chile.

Palm Desert eats more formally, at steakhouses and Californian bistros on El Paseo and in the resorts, which are polished but much alike. Its local flavour comes from the date groves and taquerias of Indio and Coachella, and a date shake is the one thing you will not find in Flagstaff.

Flagstaff has more to see, though neither town will fill a week. It has two real draws: the Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was found in 1930, and the Hopi, Navajo and Zuni collections at the Museum of Northern Arizona. The railroad-era downtown on Route 66 and the ancient pueblo sites nearby add history.

Palm Desert is a post-war resort town. It has a branch of the Palm Springs Art Museum with a sculpture garden, plus the galleries along El Paseo. Most of the valley's cultural interest, especially its mid-century modern architecture, lies in Palm Springs, a short drive west.

Both are early-to-bed places, but Flagstaff has a little more life after dark. Its taprooms, cocktail bars and old Route 66 saloons are a short walk apart downtown and in the Southside, and university students make term-time weekends busier than you might expect.

In Palm Desert, evenings mean wine bars and patio happy hours around El Paseo, with an older crowd and early closing. For a later night you drive to the tribal casinos or to Palm Springs, which has the valley's best bars and a well-known gay scene.

Both are good bases for the outdoors, but Flagstaff is exceptional. Volcanic peaks, aspen groves, a huge ponderosa forest and the Arizona Trail begin at the edge of town. The Grand Canyon, Sedona's red rock and Sunset Crater are within easy reach, and the night skies are among the darkest anywhere.

Palm Desert has its own drama, with the Santa Rosa Mountains rising behind the town, palm oases in the Indian Canyons and the boulders of Joshua Tree an hour away. The real difference is the season. The desert is for October to May, while Flagstaff's high country is best in summer and adds skiing in winter.

Flagstaff's outings have more depth and mix landscape with history. There is Sedona, the hillside mining town of Jerome, the cliff dwellings of Montezuma Castle, the Sinagua ruins at Walnut Canyon and Wupatki, the railway from Williams to the Grand Canyon and, further east, the Hopi mesas.

Palm Desert's trips are lighter in tone. You can see the mid-century neighbourhoods of Palm Springs, taste wine in Temecula, cool off in the mountain village of Idyllwild, walk the film-set street of Pioneertown or visit the painted folk art of Salvation Mountain. From either town you need a car, and the distances add up.

Flagstaff gives children more variety. There are telescope evenings at the Lowell Observatory, dinosaurs at the Museum of Northern Arizona, rope courses in the pines in summer, sledding in winter and a steam-era train to the Grand Canyon. The altitude and cold nights take a day or two to get used to.

Palm Desert has one excellent outing in the Living Desert, a zoo and botanical garden with giraffes and cheetahs, and resort pools with slides fill the time in between. Apart from the tramway in Palm Springs, though, the valley is built for golf and adults, and in summer the heat rules out the middle of the day.

You need a car in both, but Flagstaff is easier on foot. Its downtown and Southside are compact and walkable, a paved trail network makes cycling practical and long-distance trains stop at the downtown station. The parks and monuments are out of reach of the buses, though, and winter snow can make the mountain roads hard going.

Palm Desert is spread out along wide boulevards, El Paseo is the only part made for strolling and the buses are too slow to rely on. On the plus side, the roads are uncongested, parking is easy and ride-hailing covers evenings out.

Palm Desert is the shopping town of the two. Browsing El Paseo, a palm-lined boulevard of upscale boutiques, jewellers and galleries, is an outing in itself. A large designer outlet centre is half an hour away, and Palm Springs adds vintage and mid-century furniture.

Flagstaff's shops are small and practical, selling outdoor gear, books and Route 66 souvenirs. What sets it apart is Native American craft: Navajo rugs, Hopi kachina carvings and turquoise jewellery, best bought from established dealers or from the artists themselves.

Neither is cheap for international visitors, but Flagstaff is easier on the budget. Chain motels along Route 66 keep a basic stay modest. Rooms do climb on summer weekends, when the town fills up as a base for the Grand Canyon, and park fees and a hire car add up.

Palm Desert's resorts are expensive in the winter and spring season, and golf and spa treatments stretch any budget. The catch is that its cheap months, June to September, are exactly when the heat makes the town hard to enjoy.

Palm Desert has the better stage. Through the winter the McCallum Theatre brings touring Broadway shows, ballet, orchestras and well-known singers. The casinos and an arena add big-name concerts, and in spring the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals take over the polo grounds at Indio.

Flagstaff's calendar is smaller and more local. It has the symphony and university musicians on campus, touring folk and indie bands at the restored Orpheum Theater, community theatre and summer concerts in the pines. These make a pleasant evening but not a reason to go.

This is where Palm Desert pulls clearly ahead. The town is built around resort spas, pools under the palms and an unhurried winter pace. Half an hour north, Desert Hot Springs has small spa hotels whose pools are filled straight from natural mineral springs.

Flagstaff has no hot springs and only a few day spas. Its calm comes from cool evenings, pine-scented air and bright stars, and visitors who want treatments drive an hour down to Sedona. The altitude can also disturb sleep for the first night or two.