Page, Arizona or Santa Fe?

On the water, Page is far ahead. Lake Powell gives it real summer swimming, with open sand at Lone Rock, coves around Wahweap and deep water off sandstone ledges you reach by boat or kayak. There are no lifeguards, and the shoreline moves with the lake level, but in the dry heat the lake is a genuine draw.

Santa Fe has nothing like it. The nearest swimming is at reservoirs such as Abiquiu Lake, about an hour away, or on a float down the Rio Grande. Most visitors only swim in a hotel pool.

Page is a place to refuel rather than to eat well. The main strip has diners, barbecue, Mexican places and chains, and frybread topped as a Navajo taco is the one dish worth looking for.

Santa Fe has a cuisine worth travelling for. New Mexican cooking, with red and green chile, blue corn, posole and sopaipillas, fills the old adobe dining rooms around the Plaza. The town also has more fine dining than you would expect for its size, and the Railyard farmers' market makes a good morning out. The range beyond its own cuisine is thin, but it is still far more than Page offers.

Page dates only from the 1950s, when it was built to house the workers on the Glen Canyon Dam. Its main indoor sights are the dam's visitor centre and a small museum devoted to John Wesley Powell. The deeper cultural interest lies in the surrounding Navajo Nation rather than in the town.

Santa Fe has four centuries of history on show. The Spanish colonial Plaza, the Palace of the Governors, the cathedral and the Loretto Chapel sit close together. Museum Hill, the O'Keeffe Museum and the galleries of Canyon Road add enough to fill two or three full days.

Neither town is for a big night out, but Page is quieter still. It has a handful of bars and a brewpub, and most visitors are in bed early before a sunrise canyon tour. Its best evening costs nothing: the very dark desert sky full of stars.

Santa Fe gives you more to fill an evening. You might have a long dinner and then a margarita on a rooftop facing the Jemez Mountains, visit a brewery in the Railyard or spend a summer evening on the Plaza. That is about as lively as it gets, and anyone who wants clubs drives to Albuquerque.

Both are superb bases for the outdoors, but Page has the more extraordinary landscape right on its doorstep. Horseshoe Bend, the Antelope slot canyons, the red maze of Lake Powell with Rainbow Bridge, rafting from Lees Ferry and the Vermilion Cliffs with the Wave make it one of the most spectacular small-town settings in the West.

Santa Fe's appeal is different in kind, with mountains rather than canyons. Trails climb from the edge of town into the Sangre de Cristo range, the aspens turn gold in autumn and there is skiing in winter. Valles Caldera, the Rio Grande Gorge and the cliffs around Abiquiu add variety.

From Page, the land is the attraction and there are few towns to visit. Lees Ferry, the cliff dwellings at Navajo National Monument, Kanab and Pipe Spring are worthwhile, but most mean a long drive for a fairly small stop.

Santa Fe is surrounded by places to visit, not just scenery. The High Road runs through Chimayo and Truchas to Taos Pueblo. Add the cliff dwellings at Bandelier, Los Alamos, Pecos, Ghost Ranch and the old mining villages on the Turquoise Trail, and you have a week of varied outings.

Neither town is built for children, and families will find them about even, though in different ways. Page suits outdoorsy families, with lake days at Lone Rock, short slot-canyon tours and motel pools. Its unfenced cliff edges and fierce summer sun call for care.

Santa Fe has a children's museum, the toys and miniatures at the folk art museum, the ladders at Bandelier and a small ski school. Still, its galleries, long dinners and high altitude suit older children better than young ones.

In Page you cannot manage without a car. Only the motel strip can be walked, every sight lies outside town, and with the major airports hours away most visitors arrive on a road trip anyway.

Santa Fe is easier on foot, at least in the centre. The Plaza, the museums downtown, Canyon Road and the Railyard are all within a short walk of each other, and the Rail Runner train reaches Albuquerque. You will still want a hire car for Museum Hill, the mountains and the pueblos.

Both towns sell Native American silver, turquoise and pottery. In Page, the trading posts and roadside stalls, where you can buy straight from the maker, are the one highlight among gift shops and boating supply stores.

Santa Fe makes the same craft into serious shopping. Artists sell under the portal of the Palace of the Governors under rules on authenticity, and galleries line Canyon Road and fill the Railyard. The summer Indian, Spanish and International Folk Art markets draw collectors from far away.

Neither is cheap, and the gap between them is small. In Page the costs come from the sights: Antelope Canyon can only be seen on a paid guided tour, boat hire is expensive, and room rates climb in the busy months. Camping at Lone Rock or Wahweap keeps the bill down.

In Santa Fe the money goes on hotels near the Plaza and on restaurants, with peaks around the summer markets and the opera. Hiking, the Plaza and browsing the galleries cost nothing, and staying out on Cerrillos Road helps.

Page offers Navajo dance presentations for visitors and the odd band in a bar. That can make a pleasant evening, but it is nothing to plan a trip around.

Santa Fe has a real calendar, at least in summer. The Santa Fe Opera, staged in an open-sided theatre as the sun sets over the desert, is reason enough to visit. Chamber music, flamenco and the historic Lensic theatre fill out the rest of the year.

Page offers little beyond a few hotel treatments and motel pools. Its calm comes from dark skies and quiet evenings, but days built around dawn canyon tours and long drives rarely feel restful.

Santa Fe is the place to slow down. It has Japanese-style soaking tubs among the pines above town, many spas and yoga studios, and the historic hot springs at Ojo Caliente an hour to the north. Its unhurried pace helps too.