Jodhpur or Udaipur?

Neither city offers any swimming beyond the hotel pool, since both sit far inland and their lakes are not for bathing. The difference lies in the setting: in Jodhpur a pool is usually tucked into a heritage courtyard as relief from the desert heat, while around Lake Pichola it often comes with a view across the water.

Jodhpur is the better city to eat in. Its breakfast of mirchi vada and pyaaz kachori, thick makhaniya lassi and desert dishes such as ker sangri give it a distinct Marwari identity, and the stalls around the Clock Tower are where to find it.

Udaipur shares much of the Rajasthani repertoire, with dal baati churma and generous thalis, but the good local food sits away from the lakefront, and the view-led rooftops serve pizza and pancakes alongside curry. Both cities are largely vegetarian and drink little.

Jodhpur has the more powerful centrepiece. Mehrangarh grows out of its ridge and holds one of Rajasthan's best museums, and the blue city, Toorji ka Jhalra and Mandore's cenotaphs round out a compact two days.

Udaipur's strength is atmosphere rather than depth: the City Palace rising from Lake Pichola, the Lake Palace and Jag Mandir on the water, the Jagdish Temple and Bagore ki Haveli. It makes a lovelier picture, but there is less inside to study.

Neither is a place for a night out, and both old cities fall quiet early. Udaipur has slightly more to offer after dark, with a handful of lounge bars, some weekend music and sunset drinks over the lake. In Jodhpur the evening is mostly dinner facing the lit fort and perhaps a hotel bar.

Udaipur has the greener surroundings. Its ring of Aravalli hills, chain of lakes, boat rides, Sajjangarh's forest and the jungle walks of Kumbhalgarh sanctuary give genuine variety, with cycling and short hikes among the hill villages.

Jodhpur's landscape is rocky desert scrub, best seen in the Desert Rock Park below the fort. Its distinctive outing is a jeep drive through Bishnoi country for blackbuck and chinkara, plus camel rides and ziplines, but there are no hills or forest to walk in.

Udaipur is by far the better base for excursions. Eklingji, Nagda and Nathdwara are close, Kumbhalgarh and Ranakpur pair into one memorable day, and Chittorgarh's fortress lies about two hours east.

From Jodhpur the main outing is Osian's sandstone temples, about an hour and a half away, with Bishnoi and Salawas craft villages for shorter trips. The region's headline sights are three hours or more distant, and are usually seen on the way to Udaipur.

Both suit older children in winter rather than toddlers in summer, with little built for kids and narrow lanes full of motorbikes and cows. The appeal differs: Jodhpur offers cannons, armour, ziplines and blackbuck safaris for adventurous children, while Udaipur leans gentler with boat rides, puppet shows and the cable car.

Both are walkable at the core and car-dependent beyond it, with no public transport visitors use. In Jodhpur the market, blue city and stepwell sit together beneath a steep climb to the fort, and auto-rickshaw fares need agreeing first. Udaipur's old city around the palace and ghats is compact but hilly, and ride-hailing cars add an option for the outer areas.

Jodhpur gives more scope, especially for larger purchases. Beyond Sardar Market's spices, bangles and silver, its outskirts hold warehouses of antique doors, chests and reclaimed-wood furniture that can be shipped home, and riding breeches can still be tailored.

Udaipur's speciality is miniature painting, bought from workshops near the City Palace, along with block prints, leather notebooks and puppets, and Shilpgram's December crafts fair. In both, touts push commission shops, so take your time.

Costs run very close: street food, thalis, rickshaws and simple guesthouses are cheap in both, and the bill rises only if you choose a palace or haveli hotel. The splurge differs in kind, a fort-view haveli in Jodhpur against a lake-view palace room in Udaipur, where mid-range lakeside stays offer a comfortable middle ground.

Both offer Rajasthani folk performance and little else. Jodhpur's is rooted in hereditary Manganiyar and Langa musicians playing in the fort and on hotel terraces, peaking with an autumn folk festival at Mehrangarh. Udaipur's centres on the nightly dance show at Bagore ki Haveli and the puppetry kept alive by Lok Kala Mandal.

Jodhpur keeps its quiet behind walls. The city slows down in a shaded haveli courtyard, a palace garden or on a rooftop at dusk below the lit fort, and treatments mean a massage room in the old town or a spa in a heritage hotel. Toorji ka Jhalra may look like a place to bathe, but it is a monument, and there is no bathing tradition to fall back on.

Udaipur is the easier place to unwind because its calm is in the open rather than shut away. The lakes give the eye somewhere to rest, a slow boat out on Pichola or an hour beside Fateh Sagar takes the edge off the day, and a lakeside hotel makes that view the backdrop to a longer stay. Away from the shore the lanes are as loud as Jodhpur's, so the gentler pace belongs to the water's edge.