Lake Placid or Pittsburgh?

Neither is a place for a swimming vacation. In both, the water is fresh and only warm enough for a few weeks in high summer. What separates them is distance. In Lake Placid you can walk from Main Street to the water and swim before dinner, and there is usually a lake or a river pool near the end of a hike or a paddle, so a swim fits easily into an outdoor day.

Pittsburgh's rivers are for boats, not for swimmers. A swim there means giving up half a day to drive out to a reservoir beach in a state park, or going even further to the Lake Erie shore. In town on a hot afternoon, the public pools are the practical choice.

Pittsburgh gives you far more to eat. Its Central and Eastern European families left pierogies and haluski, the city has its loaded sandwiches with the fries inside, and the Strip District's grocers and fishmongers are worth a morning in themselves. On top of that come the chef-led kitchens in Lawrenceville and East Liberty.

Lake Placid feeds hungry hikers well enough with brewpubs, diners and a few lakeside lodge dining rooms. Beyond maple syrup and local beer, though, there is little that belongs to the place, and some kitchens cut back outside the main seasons.

Pittsburgh's steel money paid for a real museum city. It has the Carnegie's art and dinosaur halls, the Nationality Rooms in the Cathedral of Learning, the Warhol and the Frick estate, and the view of the bridges from Mount Washington to finish. That is several days of sightseeing.

Lake Placid's culture is Olympic history. The 1980 'Miracle on Ice' rink, the ski jumps and John Brown's Farm are worth seeing, but a day is enough for all of them.

Pittsburgh is not a clubbing city either, but you can choose between several bar districts. Butler Street in Lawrenceville has cocktail and dive bars, East Carson Street has the student crawl, and game nights add the noise of the fans. Lake Placid has a handful of pubs on Main Street and the hotel bars, which are busy after a ski day, and most people go to bed early to be ready for the morning trail.

Lake Placid is built around the outdoors. The High Peaks wilderness begins at the edge of town, with Mount Marcy at 1,629m and short climbs such as Mount Jo. There are canoe routes through the Saranac Lakes and the St. Regis area, climbing at Chapel Pond, and at Whiteface the biggest ski vertical in the eastern United States.

Pittsburgh is greener than many visitors expect, with ravine trails in Frick and Schenley Parks and kayaking under the downtown bridges. Its bigger landscapes, Ohiopyle's whitewater and the Great Allegheny Passage, mean a drive, and in winter there is little beyond some modest local skiing.

Pittsburgh has the stronger headline trip in Fallingwater, which you can pair with Kentuck Knob for a full day of Frank Lloyd Wright. Ligonier, the Flight 93 memorial and Old Economy Village add variety.

From Lake Placid the outings mostly lead into the woods. The Wild Center at Tupper Lake and Fort Ticonderoga are the main sights, though Montreal and Burlington are both a couple of hours away. You need a car for nearly all of these from either base.

Pittsburgh has more under one roof for children: the Science Center's submarine, the Children's Museum, the National Aviary, the zoo and aquarium, the dinosaur halls and Kennywood's wooden roller coasters. Much of it works on a wet day too.

Lake Placid suits active families instead, with skating on the Olympic rinks, bobsled rides, the toboggan chute onto the frozen lake and Santa's Workshop nearby. It is smaller and calmer, but there is less to fall back on indoors when the weather turns.

Both are walkable in the middle and need a car further out, but Pittsburgh gives you more options. The T links downtown with the North Side, the inclines climb Mount Washington, and buses and ride-hailing reach the outer neighbourhoods. In Lake Placid you can walk from Main Street to the Olympic Center. Whiteface, the trailheads and the lakes, though, all need a car and some confidence on winter roads.

Neither is a place to go for shopping, but Pittsburgh has more streets to browse: the Strip District's stalls, the vintage and design shops on Butler Street and the boutiques of Walnut Street in Shadyside. Lake Placid's single stretch of Main Street is best for outdoor gear, fly-fishing kit, balsam pillows and maple products.

Pittsburgh is noticeably easier on the wallet. Hotels, even downtown, are cheap by big-city standards, and casual food and beer are fairly priced, though rates go up on football weekends.

Lake Placid charges resort prices in winter, in summer and in the foliage weeks, and lift tickets, guides and a rental car add to the bill. Cabins, motels on the edge of the village and the quiet weeks of spring and late autumn help, and the hiking and swimming cost nothing.

Pittsburgh has a proper Cultural District. The Symphony plays in Heinz Hall, the Benedum stages opera, ballet and touring Broadway shows, there is theatre all year, and the Hill District carries a jazz history. Lake Placid has the Sinfonietta's summer concerts at the Mirror Lake bandshell and occasional shows at the arts centre, and little to attend the rest of the year.

Lake Placid is the more restful of the two, though neither has a bathing tradition. Its lodge spas offer saunas and hot tubs after a cold day outside, but the real calm comes from porches over still water, evenings by the fire and the walk around Mirror Lake.

In Pittsburgh, relaxing means a hotel or day spa, an hour in the warm glasshouses of Phipps Conservatory or a quiet path in Frick Park. For a proper spa stay, people drive out to the resorts in the Laurel Highlands.