Macau or Las Vegas?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Macau at least has the sea. Hac Sa's long curve of dark sand and the small cove at Cheoc Van are pleasant for a stroll or a barbecue, even if the Pearl River leaves the water brown and silty.

Las Vegas has no coast at all. Its nearest natural swimming is the gravel shore of Lake Mead, a drive away in a bare, shadeless basin. In both cities most visitors end up swimming in resort pools, and the Strip's wave pools and lazy rivers are the more elaborate of the two.

Macau has the cooking you cannot get anywhere else. Macanese dishes such as minchi, African chicken and curry crab sit alongside Portuguese bacalhau and serious Cantonese dim sum, and the egg tarts and pork chop buns in the lanes near St Paul's make even a walk around town a meal.

Las Vegas eats well too, but almost everything comes from somewhere else: celebrity chefs' steakhouses and tasting menus on the Strip, and a long run of Asian restaurants open late on Spring Mountain Road. What it lacks is street food, markets and a kitchen of its own.

Macau has far more for a sightseer. Its UNESCO-listed historic centre runs from the façade of St Paul's down through Senado Square's wave-patterned paving to A-Ma Temple, with fortresses, mansions and chapels along the way. It is compact, but it is real history and fills a day or two.

In Las Vegas the sights are the city's own show: replica skylines, the dancing fountains and the light canopy over Fremont Street. The Neon Museum and the Mob Museum tell its short story well, but a heritage-minded visitor will be done in an afternoon.

Las Vegas is in a different league. Resort nightclubs book the world's best-known DJs, dayclubs fill the afternoons, you can carry a drink along the Strip, and at weekends the crowds are as thick at three in the morning as at nine. Fremont Street and the arts district add cheaper dive bars and craft beer.

Macau's nights happen inside the casinos as well, but the choice is mostly hotel lounges with a view of the lit-up towers. Without a bar district, and with the old centre quiet by late evening, it suits a calm drink more than a big night out.

This is where Las Vegas pulls furthest ahead. The sandstone cliffs of Red Rock Canyon, with their climbing routes and scenic drive, lie half an hour away, Valley of Fire has petroglyphs and narrow washes, and Lake Mead has kayaking among bare desert hills. From June to September the heat rules out desert hiking except at dawn, but Mount Charleston, rising to over 3,600m an hour north-west, keeps its pine-forest trails cooler through the summer. You need a car for all of it.\n\nMacau is almost entirely built up. Its green relief is limited to the wooded hills and short trails of Coloane and the loop around Guia Hill, so real hiking means crossing to Hong Kong or the mainland.

From Macau you can reach one of Asia's great cities in about an hour: Hong Kong, by fast ferry or over the sea bridge. Zhuhai is just over the border, and Guangzhou and Sun Yat-sen's home town of Zhongshan are within reach, though every outing means passport control and possibly a mainland visa.

Las Vegas has Hoover Dam and Boulder City for a good half day, and little else close by. The Grand Canyon, Zion and Death Valley are spectacular, but they mean long drives to scenery rather than varied outings.

Macau is the more comfortable of the two with children. It is safe and small, and the Science Center's hands-on galleries and the panda pavilion in Seac Pai Van Park are easy outings, although the stairways of the old town are hard work with a pushchair.

Las Vegas has more thrill rides, with an indoor amusement park, a shark aquarium and rides on top of the observation tower. But almost every route passes through a casino floor, the Strip's advertising is aimed at adults, and in summer the heat makes walking with children hard going.

Macau is the easier city to get around. Nothing is more than half an hour away, the old peninsula is best seen on foot, and buses, the Taipa light rail and free casino shuttles cover the rest, even if routes take some working out. You never need a car.

Las Vegas looks walkable on a map but isn't. Resorts are vast, footbridges and casino interiors send you the long way round, and most visitors fall back on taxis and ride-hailing. Anything in the desert needs a hire car or a tour.

Both cities shop indoors in resort malls, and the Venetian's canal-side arcade exists in both. Las Vegas has a little more choice, with the Fashion Show mall's department stores and two large outlet centres for bargain hunters.

Macau's strength is luxury, especially watches and jewellery. Its local buys are edible: almond cookies, egg rolls and jerky from the lanes below St Paul's, along with Portuguese tiles and tinned fish. Neither city has much in the way of independent shops or crafts.

Neither city is a budget destination, but Macau is the gentler of the two on the wallet. Las Vegas's bargain rooms are really a midweek affair: come for a weekend or a big convention and the bill multiplies, extra resort charges turn up on nearly every booking, and once you are inside, drinks, nightclub entry, headline shows and Strip restaurants all add up quickly. Midweek dates and meals in Chinatown help a lot, but they rarely turn it into a cheap trip.

In Macau the day-to-day spending is lower. Its main sights are streets, squares and churches that cost nothing to walk, buses and resort shuttles are cheap or free, and egg tarts and Cantonese noodle shops keep lunch inexpensive. The catch is the same as in Las Vegas, resort rooms that jump at weekends, with the mainland's festival weeks such as Chinese New Year and October's Golden Week on top, and the casino restaurants are dear. A midweek stay outside those weeks saves the most.

Las Vegas is one of the world's great show towns. Its permanent resort theatres run water-based acrobatics, magicians and comedians every night, and major stars take long residencies, so you can see acts that rarely tour. The Smith Center adds Broadway tours and ballet.

Macau's stage is smaller and works more by season: the Macao Orchestra at the Cultural Centre, the historic Dom Pedro V Theatre and the autumn music and spring arts festivals. On an ordinary evening there is little to drop into, so check what is on before you go.

The two are evenly matched, each relying on large hotel spas with no bathing tradition behind them. Las Vegas's spas have elaborate thermal circuits and salt and ice rooms, and you will rest best at a non-gaming hotel, away from the noise of the casinos.

Macau adds the foot massage parlours of the old town. Outside the resorts it also has calmer places to slow down: Coloane village and the quiet streets around Taipa's old houses.