Monterey or Portland?

Neither is a swimming destination, but Monterey at least has the shore on its doorstep. Del Monte Beach is in town, Carmel Beach's white sand and cypresses are a short drive south, and the Asilomar dunes face the open Pacific. On calm autumn days families paddle near the wharf, though the water stays cold and rip currents are common.

From Portland, the ocean beaches at Cannon Beach and Seaside are an hour and a half away and just as cold. Locals do their swimming in the Willamette and Columbia in high summer, from Sauvie Island or the small sandy patches in Sellwood. That makes for a pleasant dip, not a beach stay.

Portland is the far better place to eat. Its food cart pods put Thai, Georgian, Mexican and barbecue side by side, and neighbourhood restaurants cook with Northwest salmon, mushrooms and berries. Its craft breweries and coffee roasters rank among the best in the country.

Monterey's range is narrower: squid, Dungeness crab and sand dabs from the bay, artichokes from the Salinas Valley and Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands. Skip the chowder bread bowls on the wharf and eat in Old Monterey's side streets or Carmel, where the good cooking is, at resort prices.

Both give you a day or two of pleasant sightseeing rather than a museum trip, but the character is different. Monterey's sights are colonial and compact: the adobes of the State Historic Park, the Custom House, Colton Hall where California's first constitution was written, the Royal Presidio Chapel and the Carmel Mission, plus the old canneries of Steinbeck's Cannery Row.

Portland's best sights are its gardens: the walled Lan Su Chinese Garden in Old Town and the Japanese Garden in Washington Park. Add an art museum strong on Native American work, the Oregon Trail story at the historical society and the view from Pittock Mansion. History lovers will lean towards Monterey, garden lovers towards Portland.

Portland is where you can actually go out. Each neighbourhood has its own strip of taprooms, dive bars with pinball, cocktail bars and wine bars, along Division, Hawthorne, Belmont, Alberta and Mississippi, and bars serve until about 2.30am. There are few dance clubs, and the mood is chatty rather than wild.

Monterey's evenings usually end with dinner and a drink in a pub or wine bar on Alvarado Street or a hotel bar on Cannery Row. Most of the town is quiet well before midnight.

Both are superb bases for the outdoors, but the landscapes are very different. Monterey's is about the ocean: whales over the deep submarine canyon, otters in the kelp, sea lions on the wharf, kelp-forest diving and kayaking. On land there is the coastal walking at Point Lobos and the redwood canyons and cliff trails of Big Sur.

Portland's is about forest and mountains. Forest Park has 110km of trails inside the city, and the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge are half an hour away. Add windsurfing at Hood River and skiing on Mount Hood well into summer. Choose by whether you want the sea or the peaks.

Neither has a long list of outings, and both need a car. Monterey's are short hops: Carmel-by-the-Sea and Victorian Pacific Grove almost next door, the Carmel Valley wineries, Steinbeck's Salinas and the mission at San Juan Bautista. Santa Cruz's boardwalk is under an hour north.

Portland's trips go further afield: the pinot towns of the Willamette Valley under an hour south-west, the steep Victorian streets and maritime museum of Astoria, a coast day at Cannon Beach, and orchards at Hood River. Monterey's day trips are closer, while Portland's cover more varied country.

Monterey is the easier family choice, mainly because of the aquarium, with its towering kelp forest, sea otters and hands-on exhibits for small children. The wildlife continues outside: sea lions at the wharf, tide pools at Pacific Grove and Point Lobos, whale boats, and Dennis the Menace Park by Lake El Estero. The town is small and safe, though the cold sea keeps beach days to sandcastles.

Portland has a strong science museum with a submarine to climb through, plus the zoo and playgrounds in Washington Park, an old riverside amusement park in Sellwood and summer fountains. Transit is easy with a pushchair, but the wet winters drive families indoors and some downtown streets can feel uncomfortable.

Without a car, Portland is much easier. Light rail runs from the airport to the centre, a streetcar links downtown, the Pearl District and the east bank, and short blocks and bike-friendly bridges make it simple to cross the river. Its east-side neighbourhoods are spread out, though, and mean bus rides.

In Monterey the flat coastal trail links the wharf, downtown, Cannery Row and the aquarium nicely on foot or by bike. Beyond that, buses are slow and sparse, and almost everything from the 17-Mile Drive to Big Sur needs a car.

Portland gives shoppers far more to do. The bookshop that fills a whole block in the Pearl District is a sight in itself, and Mississippi, Alberta and Hawthorne have vintage clothing, record shops and makers' studios. Oregon's lack of sales tax and the wide choice of outdoor gear add to the appeal.

Monterey itself sells mostly saltwater taffy and sea-otter souvenirs. The better browsing is among Carmel's galleries and boutiques and Pacific Grove's antique shops, which make a nice afternoon but not a reason to go.

Monterey is the dearer of the two by some way. It is priced for Californian weekenders: hotels in Carmel and on the waterfront are expensive, dinners on Cannery Row carry resort prices, and the aquarium is a big outlay for a family. To save, stay in Seaside or Marina, come midweek or in winter, and spend your days on the free trail and tide pools.

Portland is easier on the budget. Its rooms cost about what other large American cities charge, the food carts are among the best eating in town, transit fares are low, and Forest Park and the waterfront cost nothing. The main extra is a hire car for trips out of town.

Monterey's music life is mostly seasonal. The Monterey Jazz Festival has been held every September since 1958 on the fairgrounds that hosted the 1967 Pop Festival, and the Carmel Bach Festival fills the peninsula's churches in summer. Between festivals there is little on, so time your visit around them.

Portland offers far more across the year. The Oregon Symphony plays in a restored old movie palace, and there are opera, ballet and resident theatre companies. Indie rock and folk bands play small east-side rooms most nights, and there is a historic dance hall with a sprung floor.

Monterey slows you down through its setting rather than any bathing tradition: fog lifting off the bay in the morning, evening walks along the Pacific Grove shore and quiet days in Carmel. For pampering, the resorts in sunny Carmel Valley have spas among the vineyards and oaks, and the Pebble Beach golf resorts have their own. The hot springs down the Big Sur coast are retreat centres you book into, not places to drop in. The waterfront is calmest midweek or outside summer.

Portland's calm is green and urban: gardens, forest trails and long café mornings. It also has a few soaking houses in its residential neighbourhoods, with hot tubs, saunas and cold plunges, which Monterey lacks. Its natural hot springs are in the Cascade forests about two hours away, so they mean a day out by car rather than an evening soak.