Lake Placid or Niagara Falls?

Neither is a beach destination, and swimming in both means fresh water in a short summer season. What differs is the kind of swim. At Lake Placid you swim right in the village at Mirror Lake's small lifeguarded beach, or in the ponds and the rocky Ausable swimming holes, as part of a day of hiking.

At Niagara Falls the river is off limits, so a swim means driving about half an hour to Lake Erie. Crystal Beach there has softer, wider sand and shallow water that suits small children.

Neither town has a cuisine of its own, but Niagara Falls has the better food nearby. The town itself is mostly chains and steakhouses. Twenty minutes north, the wine country has winery restaurants cooking Ontario produce, summer fruit stands, and icewine and cool-climate Riesling to taste.

Lake Placid offers mountain-resort comfort food: big diner breakfasts, brewpub burgers, maple syrup and a few lodge dining rooms with a lake view. You'll eat well after a long hike, but you can't plan a trip around it the way you can around Niagara's wineries.

Neither has much to offer the museum-goer, and in both places the heritage is narrow. Lake Placid's is sporting: the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' rink, the ski jumps, the Olympic museum, plus John Brown's Farm on the edge of the village.

Niagara's history is about war and power: Brock's Monument and the 1812 battlefields at Queenston and Lundy's Lane, and the early hydroelectric stations. Clifton Hill's neon and wax museums are spectacle rather than history.

Niagara Falls has much more going on after dark. Evenings start with the falls lit in colour and summer fireworks over the gorge. After that come the two casinos and Clifton Hill's sports bars and dance floors, open late in season, though it feels like a resort strip rather than a scene with any character.

Lake Placid has a few Main Street pubs and lakeside hotel bars that fill up after a ski day, and very little after midnight.

Lake Placid offers a whole wilderness. The forested summits of the High Peaks, Mount Marcy at 1,629m, the St. Regis canoe area, the climbing cliffs at Chapel Pond and the long ski runs at Whiteface give you weeks of variety in every season.

Niagara has a single great spectacle: the Horseshoe Falls seen from the boats, the tunnels and the promenade, then the Niagara Glen, the Whirlpool and the riverside cycle trail. Beyond the gorge the land is gentle orchard country, so a few days covers it.

Niagara Falls has the better day trips. Niagara-on-the-Lake and its wineries are twenty minutes away, Toronto is reachable by train, and Buffalo's early skyscrapers, its Frank Lloyd Wright houses and Old Fort Niagara are just across the border, though you need a passport to cross.

From Lake Placid most outings go into the wilderness. The towns within reach are Saranac Lake, the Wild Center at Tupper Lake and Fort Ticonderoga. Montreal and Burlington mean a long drive, and you need a car for every trip.

Both work well for children, but in different ways. Lake Placid suits active families: public skating on the Olympic rinks, bobsled rides, the toboggan chute onto the frozen lake, ski school at Whiteface and easy canoe trips, with Santa's Workshop nearby.

Niagara Falls is the more classic family stop. Children get the boat into the spray, the tunnels behind the water, and Clifton Hill's observation wheel, mini golf and arcades. Indoor water parks help on wet days, but it's noisier, and the paid attractions soon add up.

Niagara Falls is the easier place without a car. The promenade, the hotels and Clifton Hill are linked by the Falls Incline Railway, visitor buses run along the parkway to the gorge and Queenston, and trains connect with Toronto.

Lake Placid's village is a short walk end to end, but the trailheads, Whiteface and the lakes are spread through the mountains with few buses. You'll be driving winding roads, often in winter conditions.

Shoppers will do better at Niagara Falls, mainly because of its discount outlets, though neither is a serious shopping destination. Lake Placid has one stretch of Main Street, which makes a pleasant browse among galleries and shops selling maple products, balsam pillows and rustic Adirondack décor. Its outfitters are handy if you need ski, hiking or fly-fishing gear, but there are no department stores or fashion shops.

Niagara Falls is worth it if shopping is on your list. Skip the ponchos and magnets on Clifton Hill and head for the large outlet centres on the edge of town, where Canadian and American brands sell at a discount. Then buy a bottle of icewine at a winery and look round the few independent boutiques in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Niagara Falls is the cheaper of the two. The falls cost nothing to watch, motels on the outer strips are cheap, and almost everything costs less in winter, although the boat rides and Clifton Hill soon add up.

Lake Placid is priced as a mountain resort. Lift tickets, guides and gear rental push costs up, and most visitors also need a rental car. Self-catering cabins and the quiet weeks of spring and late autumn help, and the hiking and paddling cost nothing.

Niagara Falls has the stronger offer, thanks to the Shaw Festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Its repertory company plays classic and modern drama across several theatres from spring into late autumn. In town itself there are casino theatres with tribute acts and comedians.

Lake Placid's main event is the Lake Placid Sinfonietta's summer season, which includes free concerts at the Mirror Lake bandshell. For the rest of the year there is little to see.

Lake Placid is the more restful place. The lodge spas offer saunas and hot tubs after a cold day. The quiet village, the walk around Mirror Lake, and the lodge porches and fireplaces do most of the unwinding.

Niagara's spas are in the big hotels above the falls and the wine-country inns, where a massage after a tasting works well. The town around them is loud in summer, so peace means a winter weekend or a stay in Niagara-on-the-Lake.