Lake Louise or Whistler?

Neither place is a beach destination, but Whistler at least offers summer swimming. In July and August, Lost Lake, Alta Lake and Alpha Lake have docks, rafts and grassy shores, and the shallow water warms enough for an afternoon swim after a ride.

At Lake Louise and Moraine Lake the water is glacial meltwater that stays painfully cold, so a dip is only for the photo. Swimmers have to use a hotel pool or drive towards Banff.

Whistler eats noticeably better. Its village has a group of ambitious kitchens cooking BC salmon and spot prawns with deep local wine cellars, plus ramen, sushi, bakeries and the burger-and-beer ritual of après-ski. A week still means the same few streets.

Lake Louise has almost no independent dining. Meals happen in hotel dining rooms and lodges, with a bakery-deli for hikers. Its most memorable food is tea and soup at the Lake Agnes and Plain of Six Glaciers teahouses at the end of a climb, and serious diners drive to Banff.

Culture is thin at both, but Whistler has something to fill a rainy afternoon. The Audain Art Museum holds Emily Carr paintings and Northwest Coast masks, the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre presents the two nations whose land this is, and the 2010 Olympic venues are worth a look.

Lake Louise offers only its railway history: the Chateau that grew from an 1890s log chalet, and the old log station in the village. There are no museums at all, so for heritage you go to Banff.

Whistler has a real night out, even if it is mostly one kind. Après-ski crowds the patios as the lifts close, and on winter weekends a handful of clubs and late bars in the village stay loud into the early hours, filled with young seasonal workers and groups.

Lake Louise has a hotel lounge and a pub by the fire, and that is all. People there go to bed early for sunrise at the lakes, and anyone wanting a bar goes to Banff.

Both are world-class mountain landscapes, but they work in different ways. Lake Louise is about looking and walking: glacier lakes under the Victoria Glacier and the Valley of the Ten Peaks, trails to the Beehives and Larch Valley, canoes on turquoise water, grizzlies above the gondola, and the Icefields Parkway running north. Its ski area is among Canada's largest.

Whistler is about moving fast. Two joined mountains offer huge skiing and deep coastal snow, and in summer one of the best-known downhill bike parks anywhere and dense singletrack. Hikers head for Garibaldi's lakes, and paddlers float the River of Golden Dreams.

From Lake Louise, nearly every good day out leads to Banff. It is an easy 45 minutes down the valley and gives you the museums, the Banff Springs hotel, the old hot springs and the Cave and Basin site, which are all the history and indoor sights the hamlet itself lacks. Beyond Banff the choice thins out to Canmore, the railway village of Field and Calgary two hours away, so most other days out are drives for the scenery rather than visits to towns.

Whistler has no nearby town like Banff. Its close stops are smaller: Pemberton, a farming village to the north, and Squamish to the south with its gondola, plus the Britannia mine museum on the way down. The big outing is Vancouver, a major city with far more to offer than anything near Lake Louise. At about two hours down the Sea to Sky Highway it is too much for a single day, so it works best as a night or two at the start or end of the trip.

Whistler is far easier with children. The car-free village, large ski schools, tubing and sledding in winter, and lake beaches, an adventure park and gondola rides to see bears and marmots in summer keep most ages busy, and kitchen apartments are common.

Lake Louise suits families whose children like walking: canoeing, the gondola and the teahouse hike. On cold or wet days there is little to fall back on, and the drives between stops are long.

Getting around is where the two differ most in daily life. In Whistler you can leave the car behind: the pedestrian village, gondolas at its edge, free shuttles and the paved Valley Trail between lakes cover most of a stay.

Lake Louise splits its sights across a valley. The lake is a steep 4km above the village, Moraine Lake further along a winding road and the ski area across the valley, so you depend on park shuttles, buses or a car, and summer parking fills at dawn.

If you need to buy or rent skis, boards or bikes, Whistler is far better, while Lake Louise has one small mall. That mall covers groceries, maps, books, outdoor basics and souvenirs, and the Chateau adds a few boutiques. It is enough to replace whatever you left at home.

Most of Whistler's pedestrian village sells gear, from big Canadian outdoor brands to rental counters and specialist tuning shops. Galleries selling Indigenous prints and carvings and the summer farmers' market in the Upper Village add some variety, but beyond equipment the choice is thin.

Both are expensive, and the costs pile up in different ways. At Lake Louise the problem is how few places there are to stay, so summer rooms and resort-priced meals hurt most. Hiking costs nothing, and sleeping in Banff or Canmore saves a lot.

At Whistler, lift passes, lessons and rentals are the heavy items, and Christmas is the costliest time. Kitchen condos, free shuttles and lodgings further down the valley help, especially in spring and autumn.

Whistler has a modest summer stage: free concerts on Olympic Plaza, buskers in the village, a small community arts centre and cover bands in ski-season pubs. For anything serious, you go to Vancouver.

At Lake Louise, a pianist in a hotel lounge is about the limit, and live performance means Banff's arts centre programme.

Whistler makes more of rest. Its Nordic-style outdoor spa in the cedars by the river has hot pools, saunas and cold plunges, and guests keep silent, so soaking under falling snow becomes the evening's main event. Massage for sore legs is easy to find everywhere.

Lake Louise offers a different kind of calm: hotel spas, silent winter forest and early nights. For hot springs you drive to Banff, and in high summer the coach crowds at the lakeshore make midday anything but peaceful.