Lake George or Salem, Massachusetts?

Lake George is much the better place to swim. It is a long, clear freshwater lake that warms well by midsummer, with a broad lifeguarded state beach at the south end of the village, smaller beaches at Shepard Park and Bolton Landing, and swimming from the islands if you rent a boat. The water is calm and the season short, with no surf and no salt.

Salem's own shores at Salem Willows and Winter Island are harbour edges, good for a paddle and a picnic. The proper sand, such as the dunes of Crane Beach, is a drive up the North Shore, and the Gulf of Maine stays cold enough that a swim there is a quick, bracing dip.

Neither is a place to travel for food, but you will eat better in Salem. Its pedestrian streets and wharf have independent bistros, brewpubs and a few international kitchens serving chowder, fried clams, lobster rolls and North Shore oysters, all within a short walk of each other.

Lake George is mostly pizza, pancakes and waterfront decks where you are paying for the view. A few more careful dining rooms up the western shore serve Adirondack game and lake fish. Keen eaters leave both for their best meals: from Lake George they drive to Saratoga Springs, and from Salem they take the train to Boston.

Salem is in another league here. Two layers of history sit side by side. One is the witch trials of 1692, remembered at the memorial, the Witch House and the old burying ground. The other is the seafaring wealth you can still see in the maritime park's wharves, the House of the Seven Gables and the Federal mansions of Chestnut Street. The Peabody Essex Museum, with its Asian art and a whole Chinese merchant's house rebuilt inside, would stand out in a far larger city.

Lake George's heritage comes down mostly to Fort William Henry, the reconstructed fort behind The Last of the Mohicans, and a small historical museum in the old courthouse. The region's weightier sites, Fort Ticonderoga and Saratoga, are a drive away.

Neither has clubs, but Lake George is livelier on a summer weekend. Boaters and day-trippers fill the bars and decks along Canada Street until closing, though it all goes quiet once the season ends. A night out in Salem means a taproom or a cocktail in an old building and an early bed. It only gets busy with the Halloween crowds in October, and anyone wanting a proper night out takes the train to Boston.

Lake George lies inside the Adirondack Park, and it shows. The lake runs 50km between forested ridges and holds more than a hundred islands, many with campsites. There are hikes up Prospect Mountain, Black Mountain and the Tongue Mountain range, the High Peaks are within two hours, and Gore Mountain has skiing in winter, so it works as a base for the outdoors in every season.

Salem's outdoors is coastal and mild: headland walks at Marblehead and Halibut Point, sea kayaking among the harbour islands, birding on Plum Island and whale-watching boats from Gloucester. It is pretty country, but there are no mountains within easy reach.

Salem is the better base for days out, mostly because Boston is half an hour away by commuter train, and the same line runs up to Gloucester and Rockport. Lexington and Concord, Marblehead, Newburyport and Portsmouth add Revolutionary history and old harbour towns, and much of this works without a car.

Lake George's outings are good but fewer, and all of them need a car. The best are the spa town and racecourse of Saratoga Springs, Fort Ticonderoga on its headland over Lake Champlain, and the Olympic town of Lake Placid.

Lake George was built as a family resort. The theme park and water park are a short drive south, the lifeguarded beach has calm water, paddlewheel steamboats leave from the pier and the main street is lined with mini golf and arcades. Motels with pools and cottages with kitchens make things simple, though most of it closes outside the summer.

Salem works best for older children who enjoy pirates, costumes and climbing aboard the replica tall ship. The dark history of hangings suits little ones less well, and families usually go to Boston's aquarium for a day aimed squarely at them.

Salem is far easier without a car. The whole historic centre is within a twenty-minute walk, and the station near the centre has direct trains to Boston and Cape Ann. You only need to drive for the beaches and the inland towns.

At Lake George, the village takes only a few minutes to walk from end to end, and seasonal trolleys run to Glens Falls. The shore hamlets, trailheads and day trips all need a car, though, and summer traffic and parking are a chore. A rented boat is the most enjoyable way to get about on the lake itself.

Salem's shops sell things few other towns stock: tarot cards, crystals, herbs and spell books along Essex Street and around Pickering Wharf, some of them sold by practising witches. Antique dealers, independent bookshops and the museum shop are good for better gifts. There is no fashion, though, and serious shoppers go to Boston.

Lake George has T-shirts and fudge on Canada Street and outlet centres selling American brands on Route 9. Its best buys are the maple syrup, balsam pillows and rustic Adirondack crafts found in a few shops.

Both are expensive in high season, but Lake George gives you more ways to save. Older motels on Route 9, cottages with kitchens, cheaper beds in Glens Falls, and free or cheap beaches and trails all help, and spring, late autumn and weekdays cost much less than July and August.

Salem has few hotels and Boston-area room rates for most of the year, and in October a fairly priced bed is among the hardest to find in New England. What it saves you is a car, since the town is walkable and the train is inexpensive.

Live performance is thin in both, but Lake George has a little more in summer. There are free concerts by the water in Shepard Park, summer theatre, a jazz weekend in September and a chamber music festival in August, and the large amphitheatre at Saratoga Springs is within an hour. Salem has a modest professional theatre company and occasional concerts at the Peabody Essex Museum, but for anything major it relies on the train to Boston.

Lake George is the more restful of the two, as long as you stay away from the village centre. The resort hotels near Bolton Landing have full spas, lakeside cottages and quiet mornings on the water set a slow pace, and the historic mineral baths of Saratoga Springs are under an hour south. Early autumn is the calmest time.

Salem has a few day spas and massage studios, along with tarot readers, crystal healers and meditation sessions that suit its spiritual side. Its best tonic is a slow walk along Chestnut Street or the waterfront, but in October the crowds rule out any rest.