Los Angeles or Salt Lake City?

Los Angeles has a real coastline. The sand runs from the Malibu coves through Santa Monica and Venice to the South Bay, with surf breaks, volleyball and a bike path along the shore. The Pacific stays cool, though, so most people wade or put on a wetsuit.

Salt Lake City has no sea at all. Swimming here means floating once in the briny Great Salt Lake off Antelope Island, or driving up to Wasatch reservoirs such as Jordanelle or Pineview to paddleboard on a hot day.

Los Angeles is worth visiting for its food alone. Immigrant cooking runs at full strength in Koreatown, the San Gabriel Valley, Thai Town and Little Ethiopia, and on top of that sit chef-driven restaurants and grazing at Grand Central Market.

Salt Lake City eats well enough but modestly. Its local specialities are fry sauce, pastrami burgers, fried scones and drive-through dirty sodas. The best meals come from the Mexican, Pacific Islander and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street, and Utah's drinking rules keep wine and cocktail culture thin.

Los Angeles has the broader circuit, though it is modern and spread out. You can see the Getty Center and the Getty Villa, LACMA and the Broad, and the Huntington's library and gardens, alongside Hollywood's movie palaces and the city's mid-century and Art Deco buildings. What it lacks is an old centre.

Salt Lake City's sights tell one coherent story in one place. Temple Square holds the granite temple, the Tabernacle and its organ, and nearby are Brigham Young's Beehive House and the Family History Library. Add the Capitol and the Cathedral of the Madeleine and you can see it all comfortably in two days.

Los Angeles is a serious city for going out, though each night tends to stay in one district. There are velvet-rope clubs in Hollywood, gay bars along Santa Monica Boulevard, rooftop bars downtown and dive bars in Silver Lake and Echo Park.

Salt Lake City is quiet after dark. It has a few bars, breweries and dance clubs around Main Street and the Granary District, plus a long-standing gay scene. Utah's liquor laws limit strong drinks and late opening, so this is a place for a beer after a day in the mountains.

Salt Lake City has the stronger mountain country, and it starts at the edge of town. Foothill trails begin above the Avenues and the University. The Cottonwood Canyons lead to alpine lakes, wildflower meadows and some of the most famous powder in the country, and to the west lie Antelope Island's bison and the white Bonneville Salt Flats.

Los Angeles has more than you would expect for its size: Griffith Park, the chaparral ridges of the Santa Monica Mountains and the San Gabriels behind the city. It also has the ocean, with surfing, winter whale watching and boats to the Channel Islands. Traffic is what keeps it all further away.

Los Angeles has the better choice of day trips. Santa Barbara has its mission and red-tile streets, Catalina's Avalon is a ferry ride away, and there are Laguna Beach's galleries, Ojai's orange groves and the Temecula vineyards. The catch is that traffic can stretch any drive by an hour.

From Salt Lake City, Park City's restored silver-mining Main Street is the obvious outing, with Midway and Ogden's 25th Street close behind. After that the list runs out quickly. Arches, Zion and Bryce need an overnight stay.

Los Angeles has more for children to do: Disneyland, Universal Studios and Magic Mountain, the space shuttle at the Science Center, the La Brea Tar Pits and the Santa Monica Pier. The price is a lot of time in the car between them.

Salt Lake City wins on ease rather than headline attractions. Large families are normal here and restaurants expect them. It has Hogle Zoo, Tracy Aviary and the dinosaur halls, plus Lagoon's roller coasters twenty minutes north and good children's ski schools in winter.

Neither city works well without a car, but Salt Lake City is easier. Temple Square, the Capitol and the main shops sit in one walkable core. TRAX runs to the airport, and the address grid counted out from Temple Square is easy to follow once you know it.

Los Angeles spreads its sights across a basin of separate cities linked by jammed freeways. The Metro reaches Hollywood, Pasadena and Santa Monica but leaves large gaps. Walking works within Venice or Old Pasadena, not between them.

Los Angeles shops for style, Salt Lake City for gear. In Los Angeles that means the luxury houses on Rodeo Drive, streetwear and designer boutiques on Melrose, independent shops on Abbot Kinney and serious vintage hunting at the Rose Bowl flea market.

Salt Lake City's shops are practical: familiar brands at City Creek Center, Trolley Square in its old streetcar barns and a few vintage shops around 9th and 9th. What it does well is local ski, climbing and camping equipment, worth a look before heading up the canyons.

Salt Lake City is easier on the wallet, at least in summer. Downtown hotels are fairly priced, everything on Temple Square is free and light rail is cheap. A winter trip costs much more once you add lift tickets and lodging in Park City or the canyons.

Los Angeles is expensive almost everywhere. Hotels on the coast and in West Hollywood are costly, a car and parking are hard to avoid, and theme park tickets are steep. Taco trucks, the free Getty collections and Griffith Observatory soften the bill, but only a little.

Los Angeles plays at a higher level and in greater volume. The Philharmonic performs at Disney Hall and in summer at the Hollywood Bowl, and the city has LA Opera, Broadway tours at the Pantages and rock rooms on the Sunset Strip. Its comedy and improv theatres are among the best anywhere, and there is jazz in Leimert Park.

Salt Lake City's highlight is hearing the Tabernacle Choir and the great organ on Temple Square. Beyond that it has the Utah Symphony, Ballet West and Utah Opera, and the club circuit is small.

Koreatown gives Los Angeles a bathing tradition few American cities can match. Its bathhouses offer hot and cold pools, scrubs and heated floors for napping, many of them open late into the night, and the city adds yoga studios and Beverly Hills spas. For real quiet, though, you have to leave town for Ojai or Palm Springs.

Salt Lake City is calmer day to day but has less to offer. Its standout is a soak in the limestone dome of Homestead Crater at Midway, an hour away. Otherwise there are the resort spas in Park City after a day of skiing.