Palm Springs or Scottsdale?

Neither has a beach, and in both the hotel pool is where you swim. What differs is what lies beyond the pool. In Palm Springs there is nothing else. The ocean is two hours away over the mountains, and the Salton Sea is too salty and strange for swimming.

Scottsdale at least has fresh water within reach. Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake have small sandy coves and boat hire less than an hour away, and in summer you can float down the lower Salt River on an inner tube.

Scottsdale has a little more to eat. Its Old Town steakhouses, sushi bars and patio grills have breadth more than depth, but Sonoran Mexican food gives it a local flavour, and some of the best tables in the area are a short drive away in Phoenix.

Palm Springs is narrower: brunch patios and mid-range American restaurants along Palm Canyon Drive, and many kitchens cut back in summer. Its most memorable finds are out in the valley, in the date shakes of Indio and the taquerias further east.

Neither has much in the way of culture, and in both the main sight is architecture. In Palm Springs it spreads across whole neighbourhoods: the Frey and Neutra houses and the Alexander tract homes of Twin Palms and Vista Las Palmas, best seen on a self-guided ride or drive. The Agua Caliente Cultural Museum tells the story of the Cahuilla people.

Scottsdale's architecture is in one place, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, which you see on a guided tour. Its own museums of western and contemporary art are modest, but the Heard Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum on the Phoenix side are good enough to fill a second day.

Scottsdale has the bigger night out. Old Town packs rooftop lounges, sports bars and dance clubs into a few blocks, and they stay loud until 2am at weekends, with dress codes, bottle service and, in spring, plenty of bachelor and bachelorette groups.

Palm Springs is smaller and friendlier. It has the long-established LGBTQ bars and drag nights of Arenas Road, retro cocktail lounges and spring pool parties, but hardly any clubs, and most places close early. It suits a sociable evening rather than a late one.

Palm Springs has the more dramatic setting. The tramway climbs from the desert floor into pine forest on Mount San Jacinto, with snow in winter and wilderness trails, while the Indian Canyons and Tahquitz Canyon have palm oases, streams and a waterfall.

Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve is excellent saguaro and boulder country right on the edge of the city, and Camelback, Pinnacle Peak and the Superstition Mountains add steep climbs, riding and kayaking on lakes. What it lacks is a way up into cooler air. In summer Palm Springs can send you up the mountain, while in Scottsdale you hike at dawn or not at all.

Scottsdale has the better day trips. Heading north, one route takes in Sedona's red rocks, the cliff dwelling at Montezuma Castle and the hillside mining town of Jerome. Tucson and the San Xavier mission are to the south, and Phoenix and Tempe are next door.

Palm Springs has quirkier, smaller outings: the pine village of Idyllwild, Pioneertown's lived-in film set, and the abandoned resorts and Salvation Mountain on the Salton Sea. Los Angeles is too far for a comfortable day trip, and in both places every outing needs a car.

Scottsdale is the easier choice with children. Many of its resorts are built for families, with lazy rivers, water slides and kids' clubs. Outside the resort there are miniature trains and a carousel at the railroad park, an aquarium and butterfly house nearby, the Phoenix Zoo and relaxed spring training games.

Palm Springs has a few strong outings, above all the Living Desert, the tramway and the Air Museum. But many boutique hotels are adults-only and evenings lean towards cocktails, so families do better in the bigger resorts down the valley. In both places the summer heat keeps children in the water from midday.

Both are car towns, and public transport is of little use to visitors in either. Palm Springs has the nicer centre on foot, a flat downtown strip with the mid-century neighbourhoods a short bike ride away, and its airport is right on the edge of town.

Scottsdale's Old Town is also walkable, and a free trolley links it to the main shopping areas. Beyond that the city is long and spread out and the light rail does not reach it, so its strength is easy driving on a simple grid with plenty of parking.

Scottsdale is the better place to shop. A large luxury mall holds the big fashion houses, open-air centres to the north add more brands, and the Old Town dealers sell Navajo and Hopi silver, Pueblo pottery, cowboy boots and southwestern art of high quality.

Palm Springs has one real speciality: mid-century furniture, lighting and vintage clothing in the Uptown Design District, plus crafts at the weekly Village Fest. For mainstream brands it relies on El Paseo in Palm Desert and the outlet centres at Cabazon.

Both are expensive resort towns from winter into spring, both need a hire car, and both become bargains in the summer heat, when the same rooms drop sharply in price. The ways to save differ a little. In Palm Springs you avoid the festival weekends and fall back on simple motels and supermarket picnics. In Scottsdale it is business hotels on the main roads, Mexican food across the metro area and free hiking in the desert preserve.

Palm Springs offers a few big moments and some small rooms, while Scottsdale has a steadier season of concerts. In Palm Springs that means the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals filling the polo grounds in Indio each April, pop and rock acts at the valley's casinos, and drag cabaret and piano bars in town. It has no resident orchestra or opera.

Scottsdale is more conventional. Its Old Town arts centre has chamber music, jazz and dance, the Musical Instrument Museum hosts world music and acoustic concerts, and the symphony, Arizona Opera and Ballet Arizona are in Phoenix, half an hour away. In both, the programme is fullest in winter and fades in summer.

Palm Springs has the edge, because its relaxation comes from the ground. The town grew around the Agua Caliente hot spring, which has a bathhouse built over it, and the small spa motels of Desert Hot Springs fill their pools straight from a hot mineral aquifer.

Scottsdale has plenty of big resort spas, several open to day guests, but no bathing tradition of its own, so the comfort is polished, private and costly. Palm Springs also has the slower pace, with quieter streets and evenings that end with a drink as the light turns pink on the mountain.