Pittsburgh or Stowe?

Neither place is for a swimming vacation, and the difference is in how you swim. Pittsburgh's rivers are for kayaks, not swimmers, so a swim means a drive to Lake Arthur's small beaches or a longer run to the sand at Presque Isle on Lake Erie.

In Stowe the water is closer and wilder: rocky swimming holes in the mountain streams and small reservoir beaches within half an hour. Both make a cooling break in a day of hiking rather than the point of the trip.

Pittsburgh eats more widely. The Strip District is a whole street of grocers, fishmongers and Asian markets, the pierogies and haluski are a legacy of Central and Eastern European families, and Lawrenceville and East Liberty have chef-led kitchens in old industrial buildings.

Stowe's strength is narrower but distinctive: Vermont's hazy IPAs from some of the country's most sought-after breweries, plus farm cheddar, maple syrup and cider doughnuts. Its restaurants are mostly farm-to-table dining rooms and après-ski pubs along Mountain Road, and choice thins in the quiet weeks.

There is a big gap here. Steel money left Pittsburgh with real institutions: the Carnegie Museums' dinosaurs and art, the Warhol Museum, the Cathedral of Learning's Nationality Rooms and the Frick estate. The view of its bridges from Mount Washington, reached by nineteenth-century incline, is a sight in itself.

Stowe offers a postcard instead: a white steeple below the mountain, covered bridges, a small ski museum and the von Trapp estate. It is pleasant to stroll through, and an afternoon covers it.

Pittsburgh gives you a proper night out in bars. Cocktail bars and breweries line Butler Street in Lawrenceville, the student crowd heads to East Carson Street, and game nights fill everywhere with black and gold.

Stowe's evenings are après-ski: busy base-lodge bars and taprooms when the lifts close, then not much after midnight. Outside the peak ski weeks the valley is quiet, and anyone wanting more drives to Burlington.

Stowe sits right under Vermont's highest peak, and that is the difference. Mount Mansfield and Spruce Peak give proper skiing and a big cross-country network in winter. In summer and autumn there is the Long Trail, the boulder-strewn pass of Smugglers' Notch and the riverside recreation path, all on the doorstep.

Pittsburgh's green is gentler, with ravine trails in Frick and Schenley parks and kayaking under the downtown bridges. Its best outdoor country, Ohiopyle's whitewater gorge in the Laurel Highlands, is an hour and a half's drive away, although the Great Allegheny Passage cycle trail starts in the city itself.

Pittsburgh has the stronger headline: Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob give a full day of Frank Lloyd Wright. Ligonier's fort and the Flight 93 memorial lie on the same eastern route, though the choice thins out after that.

From Stowe the outings are gentler and closer together: lakeside Burlington, the folk art and steamboat of the Shelburne Museum, Montpelier's gold dome and Waterbury's cider mills. You need a car for both lists.

Pittsburgh has more for children to do. The Science Center's submarine, the Children's Museum and the National Aviary are all on the North Side, and there are also the zoo, the dinosaur halls and Kennywood's old wooden roller coasters.

Stowe suits families who would rather be outdoors: ski school on gentle slopes, a child-centred resort over Smugglers' Notch and sugarhouses where children watch maple syrup being made. It has no zoo or children's museum, and in winter the Notch road closes, so that resort is an hour's drive round.

Pittsburgh is the easier place without a car, at least in the centre. Downtown, the North Side and the Strip are all walkable, and the T and the inclines fill the gaps, but outer neighbourhoods like Oakland and Squirrel Hill mean slow buses or ride-hailing.

Stowe is strung along an 11km valley road, with a free shuttle only in ski season and the recreation path in the warmer months. A car is effectively essential, and in winter that means snow tyres on steep, icy roads.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Pittsburgh has more streets to browse. There is the Strip's stalls and kitchenware, the vintage and design shops of Butler Street and Shadyside's boutiques on Walnut Street.

Stowe's shops are ski and outdoor stores, galleries, and craft shops selling pottery, woodwork and wool. Maple syrup and cheddar make better souvenirs than anything you would carry home from Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh is noticeably kinder to the budget. Its hotels cost well below coastal-city rates and its casual food and beer are fairly priced, though tips and rides between neighbourhoods add up.

Stowe is a well-known ski resort and charges accordingly. Lodging, lift tickets and resort dining are expensive, especially at Christmas and in foliage season. Summer and the shoulder months are easier, and the valley motels and free trails help.

Pittsburgh has a full programme all year in its downtown Cultural District. The symphony plays at Heinz Hall, the Benedum hosts opera, ballet and touring musicals, and the city has the jazz legacy of the Hill District that August Wilson wrote about.

Stowe's calendar is small and mostly seasonal: touring acts at the Spruce Peak arts centre, summer community theatre and hillside lawn concerts linked to the von Trapp family's music.

Stowe is built for slowing down. Its big resorts have saunas, steam rooms and heated outdoor pools in the snow, and couples come for spa weekends in the quiet seasons.

Pittsburgh's version is hotel and day spas, with Phipps Conservatory's warm glasshouses for calm. For a real spa stay, Pittsburghers drive to the Laurel Highlands.