Mendoza or Santiago?

Neither city works for a beach trip, but Santiago at least puts the sea within a day out. Viña del Mar and the central coast are about two hours away, even if the Humboldt Current keeps the water cold enough that many people only paddle.

From Mendoza the Chilean coast lies over a high Andean pass, a full day's drive each way, so swimming means a hotel pool or the scenic but uninviting Potrerillos reservoir.

Mendoza has the edge for anyone who travels to eat and drink, because its best meals happen at the wineries: many-course lunches with a Malbec matched to each plate and the mountains beyond. Back in town it is steak from wood-fired parrillas and late terrace dinners on Arístides Villanueva.

Santiago's strength is the Pacific. Conger eel soup, sea urchins and machas at the Mercado Central and around La Vega have no match in landlocked Mendoza, and Lastarria and Barrio Italia offer more modern cooking. Both cities leave variety-seekers short of choice once they step outside the local repertoire.

Santiago gives a sightseer far more to do. The Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino is a museum worth travelling for, and La Moneda, the Museum of Memory and Human Rights and Neruda's house in Bellavista tell the story of modern Chile.

Mendoza's main sight is the city itself, the shaded grid of plazas laid out after the 1861 earthquake, with tiled Plaza España, the foundation ruins and Cerro de la Gloria above the park. It makes a pleasant day, not a reason to come.

Santiago has the bigger night out. Bellavista fills with student bars, pavement crowds and the city's main LGBTQ+ clubs, Lastarria and Barrio Italia have quieter cocktail and wine bars, and weekend clubs run into the morning.

Mendoza keeps the same late Argentine hours but on a smaller scale: one busy bar street on Arístides Villanueva, wine bars in Chacras de Coria and only a few clubs on the edge of town. Many visitors call it a night early before a winery or mountain day.

Both cities sit under the Andes and use them well, so the choice is about what kind of outdoors you want. Mendoza is the place for rafting and kayaking at Potrerillos, paragliding off Cerro Arco, serious hiking in the Cordón del Plata and the drive up to Aconcagua, the highest summit in the Americas, all under reliably dry, clear skies.

Santiago lets you hike on Cerro San Cristóbal and Manquehue without leaving the city, and the big ski areas of Valle Nevado and La Parva make an easy winter day out, far more than Mendoza's small Vallecitos. Set against that are the sprawl, the winter smog that can hide the peaks, and few buses to trailheads.

Santiago offers the wider range of outings. Valparaíso's hills, funiculars and street art make one of the best day trips in South America, Viña del Mar fits into the same day, and the Maipo and Casablanca valleys and the pottery village of Pomaire add wine and crafts.

From Mendoza every road leads to wine, and the three regions differ enough to fill several days: flat Maipú for cycling, the big estates of Luján de Cuyo, the high vineyards of the Uco Valley. Anyone not drinking will run out of ideas quickly.

Santiago has much more aimed at children: the funicular, cable car and zoo on Cerro San Cristóbal, the hands-on Museo Interactivo Mirador, an amusement park in Parque O'Higgins and Buin Zoo, plus a metro that copes with pushchairs.

Mendoza is relaxed and child-friendly in spirit, with paddle boats in Parque San Martín, hot pools at Cacheuta and gentle rafting at Potrerillos. But the winery circuit at the heart of most visits suits children poorly, and the summer heat wears them out.

Santiago is easier to get around without a car. Line 1 of the metro runs the length of the main axis from the Centro to Las Condes, one card covers trains and buses, and ride-hailing fills the gaps, though rush-hour trains are crowded.

Mendoza's centre is flat, shaded and a pleasure on foot, and the Metrotranvía reaches Maipú for bike hire. The catch is that Luján de Cuyo, the Uco Valley and the mountain road need a hired car, a driver or a tour, and the open irrigation channels by the kerbs call for care after dark.

Santiago is the better place to shop. Costanera and Parque Arauco cover international brands, Alonso de Córdova has luxury labels and galleries, Barrio Italia has independent design and vintage, and Pueblito Los Dominicos sells lapis lazuli, copper and Mapuche silver.

Mendoza's shopping is mainly wine, and it is very good at that: bottles from small producers that seldom leave Argentina, with olive oil, leather and a weekend craft fair on Plaza Independencia as extras. For fashion it offers little beyond everyday chains.

Overall costs are much the same, but the money goes in different places. In Mendoza, city life is moderate and the bills come from tasting fees, winery lunches, vineyard lodges and the drivers needed to reach them, with Argentina's unstable currency making the total hard to predict.

In Santiago, set lunches, market food, the metro and largely free museums keep daily costs down, while hotels in Providencia and Las Condes, skiing and mountain tours push them up.

Santiago has a real performing arts calendar. The 19th-century Teatro Municipal stages opera, ballet and orchestral seasons, GAM adds contemporary dance and theatre, and each January the Santiago a Mil festival takes over stages and streets.

Mendoza's standout is a single event, the Vendimia harvest festival in late summer, with its huge night show in the amphitheatre of Parque San Martín. For the rest of the year there are concerts at the Teatro Independencia and cueca folk nights, enough for an evening but not to plan around.

Mendoza is the more restful stay. The city itself slows down through the afternoon heat, the Cacheuta hot springs are an easy trip up the river canyon, and vineyard lodges in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley offer spa retreats among the vines.

Santiago has to be escaped to unwind. Its spas are mostly in Las Condes hotels, and the relaxation lies outside town at Termas de Colina or the simple pools of Baños Morales, with Parque Forestal for a quiet walk in between.