Fort Collins or Santa Fe?

Neither city is a beach destination, so this should not decide the trip. Fort Collins makes swimming a little easier, with Horsetooth Reservoir's swim beach and paddleboarding coves just west of town. In Santa Fe the nearest real swim is Abiquiu Lake, about an hour away, or a float on the Rio Grande, and most visitors make do with the hotel pool.

Fort Collins wins on drink. Its large breweries and dense spread of taprooms can fill several days for beer lovers, but the food alongside is gastropub fare, burgers and tacos, and a serious dinner usually means a drive to Denver.

Santa Fe is the better place to eat because it has something Fort Collins lacks: a cuisine of its own. Red or green chile, blue corn, posole and sopaipillas served in old adobe dining rooms near the Plaza give meals a strong sense of place. There is also a fine-dining tier that is unusual for a town its size, though you will find little variety beyond the regional cooking.

Fort Collins has a pleasant red-brick Old Town, a museum of discovery and a Victorian house museum. Together they make one relaxed day of sightseeing rather than a reason to travel.

The two cities differ more on culture than anywhere else. Santa Fe was a Spanish colonial capital from 1610, and it has the Plaza with the Palace of the Governors, the cathedral and old chapels, Museum Hill, the O'Keeffe Museum and the galleries of Canyon Road. Seeing them properly takes two or three days.

After dark, Fort Collins has more going on, thanks to its university. The pubs, sports bars, rooftop patios and taprooms around Old Town stay busy at weekends, although there are few clubs and the crowd is young.

Santa Fe winds down after a long dinner and a margarita on a rooftop at sunset, and its streets are quiet well before midnight. For proper clubbing, visitors to Fort Collins head to Denver and visitors to Santa Fe go to Albuquerque.

Both are excellent bases for the outdoors, but the landscapes differ. Fort Collins sits where the plains meet the foothills, with Horsetooth Mountain and Lory State Park on the doorstep and rafting and fly fishing in the Poudre canyon. The alpine lakes and elk of Rocky Mountain National Park are within reach, and the paved river trails in town are made for cycling.

Santa Fe combines mountain and desert. It has piñon foothills and the Sangre de Cristo high country above the town, red mesas towards Abiquiu, and the grasslands of Valles Caldera. It also offers the downhill skiing that Fort Collins lacks, less than an hour from the Plaza, while winter near Fort Collins means snowshoes and cross-country skis.

From Fort Collins the outings are pleasant rather than memorable: Boulder beneath the Flatirons, the museums of Denver, Estes Park and frontier Cheyenne.

Santa Fe has much the stronger set of day trips, with history at almost every turn. You can take the High Road through Chimayo and Truchas to Taos Pueblo, or visit the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, Pecos, Los Alamos and the old mining villages on the Turquoise Trail. Nearly all of these need a car, though the train does run to Albuquerque.

Both cities are safe and relaxed with children, and neither has big headline attractions. Fort Collins is the easier fit for young children, with playgrounds, flat cycle paths along the river, a city farm and days at the reservoir, all at a lower altitude.

Santa Fe is aimed more at adults, but older children who enjoy history and hiking will be happy there. They can climb the ladders at Bandelier, look at the toys in the folk art collection and take lessons at the small ski area.

In both cities the centre works on foot, and almost everything beyond it needs a car. The real difference is the bicycle. Fort Collins is flat, with protected lanes, a bike-share scheme and a rapid bus line, so cycling between campus, breweries and parks comes naturally.

Santa Fe's Plaza, Canyon Road and Railyard are a short walk apart, but the altitude makes uphill stretches tiring. Local buses are infrequent, so Museum Hill and the trailheads are reached by car or taxi.

Fort Collins has a few blocks of independent boutiques, bookshops, outdoor gear shops and vintage clothing in Old Town, plus a regional mall and the chain stores along the highways. It is enjoyable for an hour but not a reason to come.

Santa Fe is a real shopping destination for art and craft. Native American artists sell silver, turquoise and pottery under the portal of the Palace of the Governors, and there are dense clusters of galleries on Canyon Road and in the Railyard. Summer brings markets such as Indian Market, which draw collectors from far away, and gallery prices match a serious art market.

Fort Collins is easier on the wallet. Its hotels are mostly mid-range chains, taproom meals are reasonable and the trails and river paths cost nothing, although room prices jump on graduation and football weekends.

Santa Fe charges resort prices around the Plaza, especially during the summer markets, the opera season and Christmas, and its restaurants are aimed at well-off visitors. Staying out along Cerrillos Road helps. In both cities a hire car is a significant extra cost.

Fort Collins keeps a steady programme through the academic year, with the Lincoln Center, the university's concerts and theatre, and indie and bluegrass bands on small stages in Old Town. All of it is regional in scale.

Santa Fe has more to offer, especially in summer. The Santa Fe Opera performs at sunset in its open-sided theatre north of town, a chamber music festival runs at the same time, and the city has a long tradition of flamenco. In winter the programme shrinks to the Lensic theatre and concerts in the old churches.

Fort Collins has the usual university-town mix of day spas and yoga classes, and the nearest hot-spring soak is at Idaho Springs, almost two hours away by car. Its calm comes from shaded river paths and quiet neighbourhoods rather than from anything built for relaxation.

Santa Fe is the place to unwind. It has outdoor soaking tubs among the pines on the road to the ski area, a large number of spas and healers for a town its size, and the historic mineral pools at Ojo Caliente about an hour north.