Las Vegas or Palm Desert?

Neither town has a beach, and in both a stay revolves around the pool. Las Vegas goes bigger, with sand-lined wave pools and lazy rivers at the Strip resorts. It also has real outdoor swimming at Boulder Beach on Lake Mead, a gravel shore about 40 minutes' drive away.

In Palm Desert the water is a quieter resort or rental pool under the palms, often heated in winter. Nobody swims in the Salton Sea, so the nearest open water is the Orange County coast, a full day out over the mountains.

Las Vegas has by far the stronger table. The Strip gathers outposts of famous chefs, classic steakhouses, French dining rooms and tasting menus. Spring Mountain Road adds kilometres of Sichuan, Korean, Thai and Vietnamese cooking, much of it served late.

Palm Desert eats well but narrowly, mostly at dependable steakhouses and Californian bistros along El Paseo, which are best enjoyed on a warm patio. Its one true speciality is the Medjool date, and the meals with the most character are at the family-run taquerias of Indio and Coachella further east.

Neither town is a sightseeing destination, and in both you will run out of sights within a day or two. Las Vegas offers spectacle rather than heritage: the themed resorts, the dancing fountains and the light canopy over Fremont Street. It also has two museums that tell its story well, the Neon Museum's yard of retired signs and the Mob Museum in the old federal courthouse.

Palm Desert has less to see in town: a branch of the Palm Springs Art Museum with a sculpture garden, and some galleries on El Paseo. Palm Springs, twenty minutes away, has the main museum and mid-century modern houses for a morning of architecture.

This is the widest gap between the two. Las Vegas goes out all night, with famous DJs on weekend residencies, dayclub pool parties and drinks carried along the Strip. For something cheaper and more local, there are dive bars and cocktail lounges around Fremont Street and the arts district.

In Palm Desert, evenings end early over a glass of wine on an El Paseo patio, among golfers and retirees. For a later night you have to drive to a tribal casino or to downtown Palm Springs, which has the valley's liveliest bars and a well-known gay scene.

Both put spectacular desert within easy reach, so the difference is in the setting. From Las Vegas you drive out to it: Red Rock Canyon's sandstone cliffs and climbing half an hour west, the flame-coloured rock and petroglyphs of Valley of Fire, kayaking on Lake Mead, and the pine and bristlecone forest on Mount Charleston.

In Palm Desert the Santa Rosa Mountains begin at the edge of town, with trails climbing from its south side. There are fan-palm oases in the Indian Canyons, and the tramway climbs to cool forest. Joshua Tree's boulders and night skies are an hour away, and golfers have courses all along the valley.

Palm Desert has the better spread of outings. Palm Springs is twenty minutes away for its mid-century neighbourhoods and vintage shops. Within a couple of hours are Temecula's tasting rooms, the cool mountain village of Idyllwild, the old film set at Pioneertown and Salvation Mountain, a painted folk-art hillside.

Las Vegas has one classic, Hoover Dam paired with Boulder City, the town built for its workers, and after that its isolation shows. The Grand Canyon, Zion and Death Valley trips are long journeys to landscapes rather than to towns.

Palm Desert is the easier place for children. The Living Desert, a zoo and botanical garden with giraffes and cheetahs, is in the town itself, and older children love the Palm Springs tramway. The town is safe and spacious, although beyond these two the valley is aimed at golfers and adults.

Las Vegas can fill a day or two with its indoor amusement park, shark aquarium, tower thrill rides and the Discovery Children's Museum. But the route through almost every resort crosses a casino floor, and the adult advertising is hard to avoid. Many families treat the city as a stop on a road trip to the national parks.

Las Vegas is easier without a car, though it is not easy. You can cover the 6km of the Strip by combining walking, the monorail and the buses that run day and night to downtown, with taxis and ride-hailing filling the gaps. Distances between the giant resorts are deceptive, though.

Palm Desert assumes you will drive. Apart from a few walkable blocks of El Paseo, it is wide boulevards and gated communities served by slow buses, but quiet roads and easy parking make driving painless. In both places, the desert is only practical by car.

Las Vegas has more shops, all of them indoors and open late: the Roman-themed arcade at Caesars Palace, the canal-side shops at the Venetian, a luxury mall in the middle of the Strip, the Fashion Show mall and two big outlet centres.

Palm Desert shops outdoors on El Paseo, a palm-lined boulevard of boutiques, jewellers and galleries that feels more like a stroll than a trip to the mall. A large designer outlet is half an hour west, and Palm Springs has vintage furniture shops. Neither has real markets, though Palm Desert's date farms at least offer a local souvenir.

Both cost what American resort destinations usually cost, and in each the trick is timing. In Las Vegas it is the day of the week. Rooms from Sunday to Thursday can be cheap, while weekends and big convention dates cost several times as much, and resort fees and expensive drinks and shows come on top. Eating in Chinatown keeps costs down.

In Palm Desert it is the season. Winter and spring rates are steep, but the summer heat drops resort rooms to a fraction of their winter price. A hire car is a daily extra, and golf and spa treatments are where budgets stretch fastest.

Las Vegas is above all a show town. Dozens of productions play every night in purpose-built theatres, from water-based acrobatics to magicians and comedians, and major stars take long residencies. The Smith Center downtown adds touring Broadway musicals, the Philharmonic and ballet.

Palm Desert has one good stage, the McCallum Theatre, which is busy mainly in winter, plus concerts at the casinos and the arena. Its big draw is the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals held in nearby Indio each spring, which are famous but last only a few weekends.

Palm Desert is the restful choice. The whole town keeps the pace of a winter retreat, with resort spas, afternoons by the pool and early nights. Across the valley in Desert Hot Springs, small spa hotels fill their pools straight from natural mineral springs.

Las Vegas has bigger spas, with thermal circuits and salt and ice rooms that non-guests can use for a day fee, but they sit inside casinos that never go quiet. The way to make it work is a weekday-morning spa slot at a non-gaming hotel.