Oaxaca or San Miguel de Allende?

Neither town has any beach life, and in both a swim means a hotel pool. What differs is how far the sea is. From Oaxaca, the Pacific at Puerto Escondido, Mazunte or Huatulco is a short flight or a long mountain drive away, so a few days on the coast are easy to add at the end.

San Miguel sits deep in the central plateau, so the sea is a separate journey. Its alternative to the beach is the warm spring-fed pools in the countryside, which are for soaking rather than swimming.

Oaxaca is one of Mexico's great food destinations, and San Miguel cannot match it. The range of moles, the meat grilled to order in the Mercado 20 de Noviembre, chapulines, quesillo and hot chocolate with egg bread give every meal a sense of place. Mezcal tasting rooms pour spirits from the surrounding valleys, and chef-led tasting menus build on local maize.

San Miguel eats well for its size, with rooftop and courtyard dining, Bajío ingredients and wine from Guanajuato's high desert. Much of it is aimed at foreign residents, though, and the menus start to look alike long before Oaxaca's would.

Oaxaca has more to see and more weight behind it. Monte Albán, the Zapotec capital on its flattened mountaintop, is twenty minutes away. In the former monastery beside Santo Domingo, the gold of Tomb 7 is on show, and the Tamayo and Textile museums go deeper into the region's art and weaving.

San Miguel's appeal is the townscape itself: cobbled hillside streets, ochre façades and the pink spires of the Parroquia. Bellas Artes with its unfinished Siqueiros mural is a highlight, but there are no major museums, and two days cover the essentials.

Evenings are much alike in size: relaxed drinking rather than clubbing, with very little after the early hours in either. Oaxaca's nights centre on tasting village mezcal in small bars in the centre and Jalatlaco, with salsa nights at weekends.

San Miguel moves more with the calendar. On Fridays and Saturdays visitors from Mexico City and Querétaro keep the streets round the Jardín busy and a few dance bars open late, but on weeknights the town goes quiet soon after dinner.

Oaxaca has far better outdoor country. In the Sierra Norte, the Pueblos Mancomunados run trails, cabins and guides through pine-oak and cloud forest, and you can walk from village to village for several days. The petrified-looking cascades of Hierve el Agua make a fine half-day out.

Around San Miguel the landscape is dry scrub and cactus with no real mountains or forest. The canyon trails of El Charco del Ingenio, horse riding on the ranches and dawn balloon flights fill a morning rather than a trip.

San Miguel is the better base for excursions, mainly because of the cities around it. Guanajuato, the silver town packed into its ravine, and baroque Querétaro are each about an hour away. Atotonilco's mural-covered sanctuary, Dolores Hidalgo and Bernal beneath its monolith fill out a full week.

Oaxaca's outings are smaller places in the Central Valleys: the Tule cypress, the weavers of Teotitlán, Mitla's stone fretwork and the mezcal villages near Matatlán. The lonely monasteries of the Mixteca Alta reward a longer day, but there is no second historic city to set beside Oaxaca itself.

Neither is an obvious family destination, with no zoo, aquarium or theme park in either, but Oaxaca gives children a little more to do. Hands-on sessions painting alebrijes or making chocolate and tortillas work well for older children, and the flat zócalo is pleasant in the evenings.

San Miguel is more of an adult town of galleries and rooftop bars, and its steep cobbles are harder with a pushchair. Spring pools and horse rides help, but younger children run out of things to do sooner.

Both centres are compact enough to walk, but Oaxaca's is easier on the legs. Its grid is level, and the pedestrian Macedonio Alcalá runs from the zócalo to Santo Domingo. Colectivos and second-class buses make the valley villages simple to reach without a car.

San Miguel's streets climb steeply over uneven stones at about 1,900m, so even short walks take effort. With no airport in town, arrival means a shuttle from Querétaro or León, and smaller places beyond the bus routes need a driver.

Both are towns for crafts rather than fashion, but Oaxaca has the edge because you can buy at the source. Rugs come from Teotitlán, black pottery from San Bartolo Coyotepec and carvings from Arrazola, and the weekly markets at Tlacolula and Ocotlán are worth visiting even if you buy nothing.

San Miguel is stronger on things for the house. Tin lanterns and glass fill the stepped Mercado de Artesanías, the design shops gather folk art from across Mexico, and an old textile mill is now full of studios and antique dealers.

Oaxaca is clearly the cheaper stay. Market tlayudas, fonda lunches, simple guesthouses and rides out to the ruins all cost little, and the expense is mostly in boutique hotels and tasting menus.

San Miguel is among the dearer places in Mexico, with colonial boutique hotels and restaurants around the Jardín priced for foreign residents and visitors from the capital. Street food and cantinas are still cheap, and the churches and streets cost nothing to enjoy.

Neither town has much of a formal programme, and the difference lies in when the music happens. Oaxaca's big moment is the Guelaguetza in July, when dancers from across the state perform above the city. Outside festival time, marimba and the state band in the zócalo are pleasant but modest.

San Miguel spreads its music more evenly through the year. The Teatro Ángela Peralta hosts chamber music and jazz festivals in their seasons, and mariachi bands play on the Jardín every night.

San Miguel is the better place to unwind. The mineral springs towards Atotonilco, with open-air pools and domed grottoes of naturally hot water, make an easy half-day out. In town, spas, yoga and temazcal cater to the large resident community, and the town's slow pace does the rest.

Oaxaca's wellness tradition is more rooted in local custom: temazcal ceremonies led by traditional healers in the city and nearby villages. It has no thermal baths, though, and festival weeks bring fireworks and crowds.