Mendoza or Vina del Mar?

Mendoza has no beach to speak of. The coast is on the Chilean side of the Andes, so in summer you swim in a hotel or club pool, and the Potrerillos reservoir is a scenic drive rather than a swim.

Viña del Mar is a real seaside resort, with central beaches, the sheltered Las Salinas for children and the wide, sociable sand at Reñaca. The Humboldt Current keeps the water cold and the surf can be rough, so expect sunbathing and quick dips more than long swims. Even so, it is the only beach option of the two.

Mendoza eats better, and the reason is wine. Multi-course lunches paired with Malbec at bodegas with the Andes in view are a highlight of the trip, and the city adds parrillas and late terrace dinners along Arístides Villanueva.

Viña del Mar's strength is the Pacific: machas, locos and caldillo de congrio, plus the seafood and shellfish empanadas along the road to Concón, with Casablanca Sauvignon Blanc to drink. Away from the seafood, the restaurants in the centre are run-of-the-mill resort fare. In both cities the range narrows quickly once you step outside the local speciality.

Neither city is a major sightseeing destination, and both are worth only a day or two. Mendoza's main sight is its plan: the tree-lined grid rebuilt after the 1861 earthquake, the tiled Plaza España, the foundational ruins and the Cerro de la Gloria monument.

Viña del Mar offers Belle Époque mansions and the Palacio Vergara in its park. Its best single collection is the Fonck Museum, with a real Easter Island moai on the lawn. Valparaíso next door supplies the deeper history Mendoza cannot reach.

Viña del Mar has more going on after dark, at least in January and February, when the clubs in Reñaca and along the coast keep going until dawn and the Art Deco casino adds a touch of old resort style. Out of season it goes quiet, and Valparaíso's bars take over.

Mendoza's nights are steadier but gentler. Students fill the bars on Arístides Villanueva past midnight, and Chacras de Coria has quiet wine bars. Big clubs are mostly a weekend affair on the outskirts, and many visitors turn in early before a winery or mountain day.

Mendoza sits at the foot of the highest mountains in the Americas. Within an hour you can be rafting the Mendoza River or hiking in the Cordón del Plata, and a longer day reaches Puente del Inca and the foot of Aconcagua. Vineyard cycling and a small winter ski area add to that.

Viña's outdoors is gentler and coastal: sea lions and pelicans on the rocks towards Concón, the high sand dunes of the Concón sanctuary, wetsuit surfing and the palm-forest trails of La Campana. It is attractive country, but the high Andes are out of reach from the coast.

Viña del Mar has more variety within easy reach. Valparaíso's hills and funiculars are a short metro ride away, and the Casablanca wine valley, Neruda's house at Isla Negra, the beach villages of Zapallar and even Santiago all make good days out.

From Mendoza, almost every outing goes to wine country: cycling between bodegas in Maipú, the big estates of Luján de Cuyo and the high vineyards of the Uco Valley. That is excellent if wine is the point of the trip, and thin if it is not.

Viña del Mar is slightly easier with children, mainly because of the beaches. Las Salinas and Caleta Abarca are calm enough for paddling, and carriage rides and the moai at the Fonck Museum keep children interested, though there is no zoo or theme park.

Mendoza offers paddle boats in Parque San Martín, the hot pools at Cacheuta and gentle rafting at Potrerillos. Its main attraction, the winery circuit, means little to children, and the summer heat in the city can wear them out.

Both cities have flat, walkable central grids. Viña del Mar is a little easier overall, because the Merval coastal metro reaches Valparaíso directly and frequent buses run to Santiago. Hire a car or book a tour for the wine valley and La Campana, and expect traffic on the summer coast road.

Mendoza's centre is a shaded pleasure to walk, and the Metrotranvía runs down to Maipú, where you can hire bikes for the wineries. Luján de Cuyo, the Uco Valley and the mountain road need a car, a driver or a tour, and much of the trip happens there. Watch for the open irrigation channels along the kerbs at night.

Neither city is worth the trip for shopping. The difference is what you carry home: in Mendoza it is bottles from small wineries that rarely leave Argentina, plus olive oil and leather, with a weekend craft fair on Plaza Independencia.

Viña del Mar's souvenirs are lapis lazuli jewellery, copper and woollens from stalls near the beaches. Otherwise there are large malls and Avenida Valparaíso, and Valparaíso and Santiago are better for antiques and design.

The two cost about the same, but the expense falls in different places. In Mendoza, everyday city life is moderate, while winery lunches, tasting fees and drivers add up fast, and prices for visitors move with Argentina's unstable currency.

In Viña del Mar, the cost depends on the calendar. Sea-view rooms are expensive in January, February and on long weekends and much cheaper the rest of the year. Seafood dinners cost about what you would pay in a Southern European resort.

Each city has one big annual event and a modest programme the rest of the year. Mendoza's is the Vendimia grape-harvest festival in late summer, with a vast night-time show in the amphitheatre in Parque San Martín, and folk nights of cueca and Cuyo guitar song.

Viña's is the February International Song Festival in the Quinta Vergara, famous across the Spanish-speaking world for its Latin pop stars and tough audience. The rest of the year, the Teatro Municipal covers ballet and theatre, with Valparaíso and Santiago close by for more.

Mendoza is the better choice for real relaxation. The thermal pools at Cacheuta, about 40km up the river canyon, have drawn bathers for over a century, and lodges in Luján de Cuyo and the Uco Valley offer spa retreats among the vines. The city also slows right down in the afternoon heat.

Viña del Mar has no thermal springs, and the sea is too cold to stay in for long, so treatments mean a hotel spa. Its restfulness comes from long promenade walks and Pacific sunsets outside the summer crowds.