Flagstaff or Scottsdale?

Neither town has a coast, so neither is for a beach trip, and the swimming you do find is very different. In Flagstaff it means the cold, slippery creek pools of Oak Creek Canyon, such as Slide Rock, which are lovely on a hot day but crowded at weekends.

In Scottsdale the water is warmer and easier to get to. Resort pools are a big part of any stay, Saguaro and Canyon lakes have small sandy coves, and in summer people float down the Salt River on inner tubes.

Scottsdale has the wider choice of restaurants: steakhouses, sushi, smart brunches, long patio happy hours and good Sonoran-style Mexican food across the metro area, with Phoenix close by for more character.

Flagstaff's food is simpler: diners, Mexican cooking, barbecue and the occasional plate of Navajo frybread. Its real strength is the craft breweries around downtown and the Southside, which suit a tired hiker better than someone planning dinners.

Neither has a long list of sights, but each has one or two worth the trip. In Flagstaff they are about the sky and the land. Pluto was discovered at the Lowell Observatory, and the Museum of Northern Arizona covers Hopi, Navajo and Zuni art alongside the region's geology, with the brick Route 66 downtown as a backdrop.

Scottsdale's culture is more about architecture and art. Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West is the highlight, Old Town has western and contemporary art museums, and the Heard Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum are a short drive away.

Scottsdale is the place for a real night out. Old Town's entertainment district has dance clubs, rooftop lounges and sports bars that stay loud until closing at weekends and through the spring season, with dress codes and bottle service to match.

Flagstaff's evenings are more relaxed: brewery taprooms, a few cocktail bars and old Route 66 saloons, livelier when the students are in term. There are hardly any clubs, and most visitors are in bed early anyway, ready for the trail.

This is where Flagstaff pulls clearly ahead. Alpine trails on the San Francisco Peaks, one of the world's largest ponderosa forests, Sunset Crater's lava flows and the Grand Canyon are all close to town, and its dark skies earned it the title of the first International Dark Sky City.

Scottsdale's desert is beautiful too, with saguaro and granite boulders in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve and quick climbs up Camelback Mountain. For half the year, though, the heat confines hiking to dawn, while Flagstaff's trails are at their best in summer.

Flagstaff sits right among the northern sights. Sedona's red rock is under an hour away, the Sinagua ruins at Walnut Canyon and Wupatki are close to town, the historic railway runs from Williams to the Grand Canyon, and the Hopi mesas, with some of the oldest continuously inhabited villages in North America, are about two hours east.

Scottsdale reaches the same northern places only after a longer drive. Sedona, Jerome and Montezuma Castle are about two hours away, and the Grand Canyon really needs a night away. Its own outings lie south and east instead: Tucson and the San Xavier mission, the Apache Trail and Goldfield ghost town for an easy half-day, and Phoenix and Tempe next door.

Both work well with children, but the days look different. In Flagstaff, families watch the stars at the observatory, look at dinosaurs at the museum, try rope courses in the pines and go sledging in winter. The catches are the altitude and long drives between outings.

Scottsdale is easier going, a vacation built around resort lazy rivers, water slides and kids' clubs, with miniature trains at McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park and the aquarium nearby. From midday in summer, though, the heat keeps children in the water or indoors.

Plan on a car in both towns. Flagstaff is slightly easier without one: its downtown and Southside are compact enough to walk, the paved urban trails make cycling practical, and a bus and the long-distance train serve the centre. Even so, the mountain, the monuments and the canyon are all beyond public transport.

Scottsdale is spread along wide roads across a long, narrow city, and the regional light rail does not reach it. A free trolley serves Old Town, but resorts, trailheads and the airport all mean driving or ride-hailing, although the grid makes driving simple.

Scottsdale is the clear choice for shopping. It has a large luxury mall with the big fashion houses, open-air centres to the north, and Old Town galleries along Main Street and Marshall Way selling southwestern art, Navajo silver, Pueblo pottery and cowboy boots.

Flagstaff's shops are small: outdoor gear, bookshops and Route 66 souvenirs. Its one strength is Native American craft, with rugs, kachina carvings and turquoise jewellery from downtown galleries and the trading posts outside town.

Flagstaff is easier on the budget. Chain motels on Route 66 and brewery meals keep costs moderate, and staying here is much cheaper than staying at the canyon rim, although rooms rise on summer weekends.

Scottsdale is a resort city, and in its winter and spring season the rooms, golf, spa treatments and Old Town dinners are all expensive. The savings come in the summer heat, when resort rates drop sharply, and from free hiking in the desert preserve.

Scottsdale offers more for an evening out. Its Old Town performing arts centre and the world-music concerts at the Musical Instrument Museum theatre are close by, and the symphony, opera and ballet in Phoenix and Broadway tours in Tempe are within half an hour.

Flagstaff's calendar is smaller and more local: the symphony and university concerts on campus, touring folk and indie bands at the restored Orpheum, and outdoor music in the pines in summer.

Scottsdale is built for rest. It has many large resort spas offering desert-inspired treatments, steam rooms and outdoor pools, several of them open to day guests, and yoga and retreats are easy to find. All of it is polished and private rather than traditional.

Flagstaff has only a few massage studios and no hot springs. What it offers is quiet: pine-scented air, cool evenings and bright stars, though the altitude can disturb the first night's sleep. Anyone who wants a spa drives down to Sedona.