Jasper or Vancouver?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Vancouver at least has a shoreline. English Bay, Kitsilano and the long sands of Spanish Banks are inside the city, with summer picnics, volleyball and sunsets over the water, and the saltwater pool at Kitsilano gives a warmer swim than the sea.

Jasper has no coast at all. Its swimming is in Lake Annette and Lake Edith, a short drive from town, which have small sandy beaches and are only warm enough in high summer.

Food is one of the widest gaps between the two. Vancouver is a serious city for eating out, especially for Asian cooking: Cantonese dim sum and seafood in the city and in Richmond, Korean barbecue, ramen and many sushi counters. Pacific salmon, oysters and spot prawns appear on local menus, and Granville Island market is good for snacks and browsing.

Jasper feeds hikers well enough with a brewpub, steak and burger houses, pizza and bakeries, and Alberta beef and bison are on most menus. There is no food scene to explore, though, and many visitors buy groceries and cook for themselves.

Jasper has so few sights that they fit into one short walk: the 1914 stone and timber park information centre, a small museum about fur traders and the railway, the station and a totem pole.

Vancouver has much more, though it is a young city and two or three days cover its sights. The highlight is the Museum of Anthropology, with its glass hall of Northwest Coast totem poles and canoes. You can add Gastown's Victorian warehouses, the Dr Sun Yat-Sen Garden in Chinatown and Emily Carr's paintings at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Vancouver has a reputation for early nights, but it still has far more to do after dark. There are cocktail and wine bars in Gastown, brewery taprooms around Main Street, summer patios in Yaletown and Kitsilano, the club strip on Granville Street and the gay bars of Davie Village.

Jasper has a brewpub and a few pubs where seasonal staff gather. Its best night out is under the sky, since the park is one of the largest dark-sky preserves in the world.

Both are outstanding, and the difference is in the kind of landscape you get. In Jasper the park surrounds you: elk in town, bears and bighorn sheep along the valley roads, Maligne Lake, the hanging glacier on Mount Edith Cavell and the Icefields Parkway running to the Columbia Icefield. It's high, open and properly wild, with skiing at Marmot Basin in winter.

Vancouver's version is greener, wetter and closer to the sea. It has Stanley Park's cedar forest, rainforest canyons at Lynn and Capilano, and lit ski runs on the North Shore less than half an hour from downtown. Kayaking, whale watching and the Sea-to-Sky Highway to Squamish and Whistler bring in the coast.

Vancouver has places to go. Victoria is a long but worthwhile day by ferry, and Steveston, Fort Langley, Bowen Island and Whistler's village make shorter outings. Almost every outing from Jasper goes into the park, because Hinton and Valemount have little to see and Banff is too far for a comfortable return trip in a day. Think of the park itself as the day trip.

Vancouver is the easier choice with children of any age. Stanley Park alone has the aquarium, a miniature train, playgrounds and a water park. Science World, the False Creek ferries to Granville Island and the Grouse Mountain gondola fill other days.

Jasper works for families who like the outdoors and have children old enough for walks. They can spot elk from the car, cross the bridges at Maligne Canyon, paddle at the lake beaches and camp. Nothing is built for children, though, and the main sights mean long drives on winding roads.

On transport the two are opposites. Vancouver's centre is compact and walkable, the SkyTrain runs from the airport to downtown, the SeaBus crosses to North Vancouver and one card covers them all, so you can manage without a car. Jasper's few blocks are easy on foot and the train stops in town, but the lakes, canyons and trailheads are spread along valley roads with only seasonal shuttles and tours, so you will almost certainly need a car.

Vancouver has a real range of shops: chains and flagship stores on Robson Street, luxury brands on Alberni Street, artists' studios and glassblowers on Granville Island, vintage shops on Main Street and Northwest Coast Indigenous prints and carvings to take home. Jasper's two main streets have outdoor gear, plush-bear souvenirs and a few galleries, which is enough for a forgotten fleece and a gift or two.

Both are expensive, but Vancouver is a little easier on the wallet. City hotels cost a lot, but cheap noodle shops, dim sum and casual sushi help, and so do the free beaches and seawall and reasonably priced public transport.

Jasper has few rooms inside the park and charges high prices for them in summer. The park pass, car hire and fuel add to the cost. Camping, self-catering and the shoulder seasons are the main ways to save.

Vancouver has a full programme. The symphony plays in the 1927 Orpheum, opera and Ballet BC perform at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and several theatre companies run full seasons. In summer there is also Bard on the Beach in Vanier Park, the Fringe and the folk festival on Jericho Beach. Jasper has no stage or concert hall, only a guitarist in a pub some evenings and a few events during its seasonal festivals.

In both places you relax through the setting more than through spas, but in different ways. Jasper has the real hot water: Miette Hot Springs, about an hour east, has outdoor pools in a forested valley during the warmer months, and the town itself is very quiet. Vancouver has no springs of its own and its Nordic-style spas are out near Whistler. Instead it has hotel day spas, yoga studios, massage and reflexology in Chinatown and Richmond, and the seawall for slow walks.