Lake Placid or Salem, Massachusetts?

Neither is a beach destination, and they offer opposite kinds of swim. Lake Placid's swimming is in fresh water: the small lifeguarded beach on Mirror Lake in the village, the lakes and ponds of the Saranac chain and rocky swimming holes on the Ausable. The shallower lakes warm up nicely in midsummer.

Salem swims in the cold Gulf of Maine. Its own harbour beaches suit a paddle and a picnic, and for real sand you drive about forty minutes to the dunes of Crane Beach. In both places the season covers only high summer.

Lake Placid feeds hungry hikers rather than food lovers. Main Street has brewpubs, diners serving big breakfasts and pizza places, plus a few lodge dining rooms with lake views. Maple syrup and craft beer are as regional as it gets, and some kitchens cut back outside the busy seasons.

Salem eats better, mostly thanks to the sea: chowder, fried clams, lobster rolls and North Shore oysters, with independent bistros all within a short walk. The range is still narrow, and many visitors save their serious meals for Boston.

Lake Placid's sights are sporting. There is the Olympic Center, with the rink from the 1980 Miracle on Ice and a small museum, along with the ski jumps, the speed skating oval and John Brown's Farm just outside the village. A day covers it.

Salem has far more depth. Besides the witch trials, remembered at the Memorial, the Witch House and the Charter Street burying ground, there is the maritime park, the House of the Seven Gables and the Federal houses of the McIntire district. Above all there is the Peabody Essex Museum, a major collection of Asian, maritime and American art.

Both towns go quiet early, but Salem has a little more going on. It has taprooms, cocktails in historic buildings and a cluster of bars around the pedestrian centre, and in October the streets fill with people in costume. Lake Placid's evenings mean a beer in a Main Street brewpub or lodge bar, livelier after a ski day, then an early night before the trail. For a real night out, Salem at least has the train to Boston.

Lake Placid is in another league for the outdoors. It sits on the edge of the Adirondack High Peaks. Mount Marcy, the highest summit in New York, is close by, along with shorter climbs such as Cascade and Mount Jo. There is skiing on Whiteface, and the lakes and rivers are good for canoeing, fly fishing and climbing.

Salem's outdoors is coastal and gentle: the Marblehead headlands, the granite shore at Halibut Point, sea kayaking among the harbour islands, birding on Plum Island and whale-watching boats out of Gloucester. It's pleasant, but there are no mountains within easy reach. Both are at their best in the autumn colours.

From Lake Placid, most excursions lead into the wilderness rather than to other towns. Saranac Lake, Keene and the Wild Center in Tupper Lake are close. Fort Ticonderoga, Burlington and Montreal are longer drives, and you need a car for all of them.

Salem is a much better base. Boston is half an hour away by train, Marblehead is next door, and Gloucester and Rockport on Cape Ann are on the same rail line. Lexington and Concord, Newburyport and Plymouth add more days of Revolutionary and colonial history.

Lake Placid works for a wider range of ages. Small children have Santa's Workshop, a long-running Christmas theme park about twenty minutes away, and the ride up the ski jump tower. Older ones can take lessons at the Whiteface ski school or spend a morning at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake. The drawback is the long drives between places and the deep cold of winter, which take some planning.

Salem works best for children old enough to enjoy dressing up and dark history. The replica tall ship, the pirate museums, the old seaside arcade at Salem Willows and the hands-on family spaces at the Peabody Essex Museum fill a day or two. Beyond that, little is made just for children.

Lake Placid needs a car, and Salem does not. In Lake Placid, Main Street, Mirror Lake and the Olympic Center are a short walk apart, but the High Peaks trailheads, Whiteface and the lakes are spread across the mountains and local buses are few. Expect winding roads, often in winter conditions, and an hour's drive to the nearest Amtrak station.

Salem's commuter rail station is a short walk from the centre, with direct trains to Boston and up the coast to Gloucester and Rockport. The sights themselves all lie within a twenty-minute walk. A car only helps for Crane Beach, the state forests and inland towns such as Concord.

Lake Placid's shopping is practical rather than a pastime. Its one stretch of Main Street is where you pick up a forgotten fleece, ski wax or a fly-fishing licence, and the souvenirs run to maple syrup, balsam pillows and rustic lodge décor. Neither town has fashion boutiques or a department store.

Salem is the better place to shop, because its shops give you something you won't find in any other New England town. The witch theme carries through Essex Street and Pickering Wharf, so a stroll turns up crystals, herbs and tarot decks next to the Halloween souvenirs. Antiques and secondhand books, plus a well-stocked museum shop, give the town a more serious side for an afternoon's browsing.

Both are expensive, for different reasons. Lake Placid is priced as a resort, with lodge rates peaking in winter, summer and the foliage weeks, and lift tickets, gear rental and a hire car on top. Motels, cabins and the quiet spring weeks cut costs, and hiking and paddling are free.

Salem's rooms carry Boston-area prices and are scarce in October. You save on transport, though, since the town is walkable and the train is cheap, and most sights charge modest fees.

Live performance is thin in both, so the difference is in kind. Lake Placid's highlight is the summer season of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, including free concerts at the Mirror Lake bandshell, and there is little else for most of the year. Salem has a small professional theatre, talks at the Peabody Essex and street performers in October, and Boston's symphony and opera are a train ride away.

Lake Placid is the more restful choice. The lodge spas have saunas and hot tubs for after a cold day, but the real calm comes from porches over still water, fires in winter and the quiet walk around Mirror Lake.

Salem offers day spas, tarot readers and crystal healers. Its harbour streets are peaceful outside October, but the Halloween crowds make that month anything but relaxing.