Portland or Salt Lake City?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Portland gives you a little more. Its summer swimming happens on the Willamette and Columbia, from small downtown and Sellwood beaches to Sauvie Island, and the Oregon coast at Cannon Beach makes a scenic though chilly day out.

Salt Lake City has no sea at all. The Great Salt Lake offers a one-time float in muddy, fly-prone shallows, and proper swimming means driving to Wasatch reservoirs such as Jordanelle or Pineview.

Portland is by far the better city to eat and drink in. Food cart pods give you dozens of cuisines in one lot, neighbourhood restaurants lean on salmon, Dungeness crab and mushrooms, and breweries, coffee roasters and Willamette Valley pinot noir run through every part of town.

Salt Lake City is pleasant rather than memorable. Fry sauce, scones with honey butter and dirty sodas are fun to try, and the best meals come from Mexican, Pacific Islander and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street, but Utah's drinking rules leave wine and cocktails thin.

The two are broadly level, and both are covered in two or three days, but the character is different. Portland's best sights are calm and green: the Lan Su Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden in Washington Park and the view from Pittock Mansion, with the Portland Art Museum for Northwest art.

Salt Lake City's sightseeing centres on its founding faith, with Temple Square, the Tabernacle and the Family History Library, plus the dinosaur halls at the Natural History Museum. It offers a single, distinctive story where Portland offers gardens and city atmosphere.

Portland makes far more of an evening. Taprooms, dive bars with pinball, cocktail and wine bars line strips in Hawthorne, Belmont, Mississippi and downtown, open until around 2.30am, though big clubs are few.

In Salt Lake City, nights are short and limited by Utah's liquor laws. A drink downtown, in the Granary District or in Sugar House is fine after a day outdoors, but there is little to build a trip around.

Both are excellent outdoor cities, and Salt Lake City has the edge thanks to the sheer scale of the Wasatch. Alta, Snowbird and the Park City resorts sit under an hour away with famous dry powder, summer brings alpine lakes and peak hikes, and to the west lie Antelope Island's bison and the Bonneville Salt Flats.

Portland's outdoors is greener and wetter: Forest Park's trails from the city's edge, the waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge, windsurfing at Hood River and skiing on Mount Hood. It shines in summer and early autumn, while Salt Lake City works in both winter and summer.

Portland has the richer range of outings. Willamette Valley wine towns are under an hour away, Astoria offers Victorian streets and a maritime museum, and the coast and Hood River add variety, though a car is needed.

From Salt Lake City, Park City's silver-mining Main Street is the standout, with Midway and Ogden's 25th Street close behind. After that the choice runs out, and Utah's famous national parks are too far for a day.

Salt Lake City is the stronger family destination. Restaurants and public spaces expect children, and the zoo, aquarium, Discovery Gateway, Clark Planetarium and Lagoon amusement park add up to a full week, with ski schools in winter.

Portland is relaxed with children, with OMSI's submarine, the Oregon Zoo and Oaks Amusement Park, plus summer fountains. Its wet winters and visible homelessness downtown make it a less easy choice.

Portland is the easier city without a car. Short blocks make downtown pleasant on foot, the MAX light rail runs from the airport, the streetcar crosses the river, and the flat riverside and bridges suit cycling.

Salt Lake City's wide streets and long blocks stretch even short walks, and beyond the TRAX core the valley sprawls. Both need a car for the countryside, but in Salt Lake City you will want one for the zoo and canyons too.

Portland is the better place to browse. Powell's City of Books fills a whole block, vintage, record and maker shops line Mississippi, Alberta and Hawthorne, and the absence of sales tax helps.

Salt Lake City is practical, with City Creek Center for familiar brands and Trolley Square in old streetcar barns. Its real strength is ski and climbing gear, something Portland shares in outdoor clothing, but neither has a luxury street.

Costs are much the same in both, and neither is cheap. In Portland the savings come from food carts, low transit fares and free parks.

In Salt Lake City, Temple Square and casual food keep a summer visit modest, but a winter ski week with lift tickets and canyon lodging gets expensive. A hire car adds to the bill in both.

The two are evenly matched, with symphony, opera and ballet companies in both. Portland's own flavour is its indie rock and folk club circuit, with bands in small east-side rooms and the sprung floor of the Crystal Ballroom.

Salt Lake City has something Portland cannot match: the Tabernacle Choir and the great organ at Temple Square, open to the public. Its club scene is small, though.

Portland slows you down through the city itself: forest trails, long café mornings and a few soaking houses with saunas and cold plunges tucked into residential neighbourhoods. The natural hot springs of the Cascades are about two hours away and need a car.

Salt Lake City has the more memorable single soak, in warm mineral water inside the beehive-shaped limestone dome of Homestead Crater near Midway, about an hour away. Beyond that, rest means the Park City resort spas after a day on the slopes and the city's early, quiet evenings. In both cities, relaxation is a pleasant extra to a trip rather than the reason for it.