Guadalajara or Puebla?

Neither city is a beach destination. In both, a swim means a hotel pool or a spring-fed balneario. The difference is how far the sea is. From Guadalajara, a short flight puts you on the Pacific around Puerto Vallarta, which is easy to add on, while the nearby lake at Chapala is for looking at rather than swimming in. From Puebla, the Gulf coast is a drive of several hours, so beach time is much harder to fit in.

Both are cradles of Mexican cooking and very evenly matched. The difference is in style. Guadalajara's food is robust and everyday: birria, the sauce-soaked torta ahogada and carne en su jugo. It is also tequila country, and Colonia Americana and Providencia add a modern scene of coffee bars and chefs working with local produce.

Puebla's cooking has deeper roots in its convents. This is where mole poblano began, chiles en nogada appear in late summer, and the Calle de los Dulces sells convent sweets. Street eating here means cemitas, chalupas and tacos árabes, and pulque replaces cantaritos. Puebla has a slight edge for food history, and Guadalajara for contemporary dining.

Puebla is clearly the richer city for sightseeing. Its UNESCO-listed centre has dozens of churches within a few blocks, the gilded Capilla del Rosario, the seventeenth-century Biblioteca Palafoxiana and strong collections at the Museo Amparo and the Baroque museum.

Guadalajara has one sight of the same calibre: Orozco's murals in the chapel of the Hospicio Cabañas. The cross of plazas around its cathedral and the mansions of Colonia Americana make a good walk, but the museums are modest, and the city rewards you less once you have seen the essentials.

Guadalajara wins easily. As a big university city it goes out late. Mezcal and craft-beer bars fill the streets around Avenida Chapultepec, the city has one of Mexico's best-known LGBTQ+ scenes, and the clubs of Providencia and Zapopan run past 3am for a dressed-up crowd.

Puebla's evenings are gentler. They mean cantinas and rooftop terraces looking out on the cathedral near the Callejón de los Sapos. For a proper night out you have to go to Cholula's student strip, which is lively from Thursday to Saturday, or to the clubs of Angelópolis.

There is little to separate them, but the landscapes are different. Guadalajara's outdoors are close by: the oak and pine forest of Bosque La Primavera on the city's edge, the steep canyon hike down the Barranca de Huentitán, and birdwatching on the hills above Lake Chapala.

Puebla offers more dramatic scenery but needs more effort. Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl dominate the skyline, and La Malinche is a serious climb to more than 4,400m. Almost every outing needs a car, a tour or an early bus, though, and the city's own parks are small.

Puebla has more variety within easy reach. Cholula's Great Pyramid is half an hour away, the folk-Baroque churches of Tonantzintla and Acatepec are close by, and the convent at Huejotzingo is one of the UNESCO monasteries on the volcano slopes. Tlaxcala, the Cacaxtla murals and even Mexico City are all realistic days out.

Guadalajara's outings are fewer but good. They include the agave landscape and distilleries of Tequila, a gentle day at lakeside Ajijic, the circular pyramids of the Guachimontones, and the cooler mountain villages of Tapalpa and Mazamitla.

Both are reasonable with children, and the difference is in the kind of day out. Guadalajara has more for them in town: a large zoo with Selva Mágica next door, a freshwater aquarium, the hands-on Trompo Mágico museum and car-free avenues on Sundays, although these places are spread out and need taxis.

Puebla's big draw is Africam Safari, where animals walk around the car. Children also enjoy the tunnels inside Cholula's pyramid. Beyond that, most sights are aimed at adults, and the altitude can tire small legs.

Getting around is much the same in both: walk the historic centre, then use ride-hailing for everything else. Puebla's flat grid is the tidier of the two centres, with almost everything within twenty minutes of the zócalo, but it has no rail network at all.

Guadalajara sprawls along wide avenues with heavy traffic. In return, its light rail and Mi Macro bus corridors are useful for reaching Zapopan and Tlaquepaque without a taxi.

Guadalajara is the better place to shop. Tlaquepaque's galleries sell glass, furniture and ceramics, Tonalá has a large pottery street market, and Mercado San Juan de Dios fills three floors with leather and boots. The malls of Andares cover luxury brands.

Puebla's shopping centres on one craft, Talavera, which is excellent and can be bought straight from the workshops. Add onyx at El Parián and weekend antiques on the Callejón de los Sapos, and that is most of it. For fashion, you have to go out to the Angelópolis malls.

Both are inexpensive, with cheap street food, cheap rides across town and low museum fees. Puebla is a little easier on the budget, and comfortable rooms in restored colonial houses near the zócalo are its best deal. In Guadalajara, the smart restaurants and bars of Providencia and Andares are where the bill goes up.

Guadalajara has much more to offer. Mariachi comes from here, and groups play at the Plaza de los Mariachis and around El Parián's bandstand in Tlaquepaque. At the Teatro Degollado you can hear the Jalisco Philharmonic or watch the university's Ballet Folclórico.

Puebla has the historic Teatro Principal and a university arts complex, and the 5 de Mayo festivities bring folk dance into the streets. Most of the time, though, live music means trios playing in restaurants, so it is rarely a reason to plan an evening.

Neither city is built for a spa trip, so in both, rest mostly means long lunches and quiet plazas. Guadalajara has more warm water nearby, with thermal pools beside Bosque La Primavera and on Lake Chapala's north shore, and Ajijic is good for a few unhurried days. Puebla's options are smaller: temazcal sweat lodges around Cholula, the sulphur pools at Agua Azul and the calm of its shaded colonial courtyards.