Flagstaff or Taos?

Neither town is a place for swimming. Both sit high on inland plateaus, far from any coast. Flagstaff at least has the creek pools at Slide Rock in Oak Creek Canyon, which are cold and crowded on summer weekends. In Taos, the Rio Grande is for rafting rather than swimming, so the nearest thing is a hotel pool or a soak in a hot spring.

The two are about level, and neither has a food scene worth travelling for. Flagstaff's strength is beer, with a cluster of brewery patios downtown and in the Southside. Around them is a fairly standard university-town mix of diners, coffee houses and Mexican cooking.

Taos has the stronger regional character: northern New Mexican cooking with red and green chile, posole and carne adovada at old family-run places, plus bread from the ovens at the Pueblo. Go to Flagstaff for a pint after a hike and to Taos for a plate of chile you will remember.

Taos has much more culture to offer. Flagstaff has nothing like Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage site where a Tiwa-speaking community still lives. Add the buttressed church at Ranchos de Taos and the art-colony houses and museums, and Taos fills two or three unhurried days.

Flagstaff's list is shorter, though what it has is good: the Lowell Observatory, where Pluto was discovered, and the Hopi, Navajo and Zuni collections at the Museum of Northern Arizona. A day or two covers the town, and its ancient pueblo sites need a separate outing.

Flagstaff has more to do in the evening. Brewery taprooms, cocktail bars and old Route 66 saloons sit within a short walk of each other downtown and in the Southside. University students make term-time weekends busier than you would expect in a town this size, though there are few clubs and things wind down early.

Taos is quieter still. An evening there means a margarita in an adobe hotel bar, a saloon with a band or the winter après-ski crowd, and most nights end soon after dinner.

Both are excellent mountain bases, and the outdoors is the main reason to visit either. Flagstaff has the volcanic San Francisco Peaks and a huge ponderosa pine forest, with famous sights close by: Sunset Crater, Sedona's red rock, Meteor Crater and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon. Its dark skies also make it a fine place for stargazing.

Taos feels wilder. It has the Rio Grande gorge for rafting and rim walks, Wheeler Peak for a serious summit hike and a ski valley known for steep runs. Flagstaff has the famous landmarks, while Taos has the river and high-mountain adventure.

Flagstaff's outings are varied but small and spread out. Sedona's red rock and galleries are under an hour away, and beyond them is the old mining town of Jerome on its hillside. Closer in are the Sinagua ruins at Walnut Canyon and Wupatki. You can also take the historic railway from Williams to the Grand Canyon or drive about two hours east to the Hopi mesas.

Taos has slightly better day trips, mainly because Santa Fe is within reach, a real city with its plaza, the Canyon Road galleries and the O'Keeffe museum. The High Road there, through Truchas, Las Trampas and Chimayó, is worth the trip on its own, and to the west Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch lead into O'Keeffe country. From either town you need a car.

Flagstaff is clearly better with children. Telescope evenings at the Lowell Observatory, the dinosaur displays at the museum, rope courses, winter sledding on the mountain and the steam train to the Grand Canyon add up to plenty for curious kids.

Taos is calm and welcoming but has little made for children, so it mainly suits families who like the outdoors. There is a ski school in winter, and gentle float trips on the Rio Grande and horse riding in summer. In both towns, the altitude and the long drives are hard on young children.

Neither works well without a car, but Flagstaff makes it easier. Its downtown and Southside are walkable, a paved trail network makes cycling practical, buses run along the main roads and long-distance trains stop downtown.

Taos has a small walkable centre around the plaza and a basic bus, and little else. The Pueblo, the gorge and the ski valley are spread across a wide valley, and most visitors arrive after a long drive from Albuquerque.

Both towns are known for Native American and regional craft rather than fashion, but Taos has more of it. Collectors can spend days in the gallery-lined lanes around the plaza and Kit Carson Road, looking at Pueblo micaceous pottery, Rio Grande weaving and carved santos.

Flagstaff has less to offer: Navajo rugs, Hopi kachina carvings and turquoise jewellery in downtown galleries, the museum shop and trading posts. Beyond that it has outdoor gear shops and a regional mall.

The two cost much the same, priced like small American mountain towns. In both, tipping adds to every bill and you will almost certainly need a hire car. The expensive times differ. Flagstaff's rooms go up on summer weekends, when it fills as the place to stay for the Grand Canyon. Taos charges resort rates at its historic inns and ski lodging, and it is easiest on the budget in spring and late autumn.

Neither is a place to plan a trip around live performance, and there is little between them, but the kind of event differs. Flagstaff has a modest, conventional calendar: a symphony orchestra and university concerts, touring bands at the restored Orpheum Theater and summer festivals in the pines.

Taos has less on most nights, but its high points are more unusual. On feast days such as San Gerónimo, Taos Pueblo holds traditional dances that visitors may watch under strict rules, and a summer chamber music festival brings serious classical concerts.

Taos is far better for a restful stay. It has real bathing at the historic mineral pools of Ojo Caliente, about fifty minutes away, and at the wild hot springs at the bottom of the Rio Grande gorge. The town also has yoga studios and retreat centres.

Flagstaff has no hot springs and only a few day spas. Its calm comes from pine-scented air and starry evenings, and anyone who wants treatments drives down to Sedona.