Puebla or Zihuatanejo?

This is where the two are furthest apart. Puebla is on a high plateau and the Gulf coast is several hours' drive away, so swimming there means a hotel pool or one of the spring-fed balnearios on the edge of the city.

Zihuatanejo is built around a deep, sheltered bay. La Ropa is a long, calm crescent of sand, Las Gatas has a stone reef that keeps the water flat for snorkelling, and Ixtapa adds open beaches up the coast, although some of them have strong surf.

Puebla is the stronger food city by some way. Mole poblano was born in its convent kitchens, and chiles en nogada appear in late summer. Street eating is just as distinctive: cemitas, chalupas and the tacos árabes brought by Lebanese immigrants, with convent sweets on the Calle de los Dulces to finish.

Zihuatanejo's cooking is good but narrower. It is mostly the morning's catch, served as lime-cured tiritas or grilled a la talla at palapas on the sand, plus Guerrero's Thursday pozole. It's a pleasure to eat there, but you wouldn't travel for it the way you would for Puebla.

Puebla has enough to fill several slow days. The cathedral's towers rise over the zócalo, the Capilla del Rosario is covered in gilded Baroque stucco, and the Biblioteca Palafoxiana is often called the oldest public library in the Americas. There's also the Museo Amparo, the Baroque museum and the forts of the 1862 battle.

Zihuatanejo offers the small Museo Arqueológico de la Costa Grande and a whitewashed fishing town with its pier. You can see both in one morning.

Neither is a party city, but Puebla has more to do after dark. There are mezcal bars and cantinas around the Callejón de los Sapos, rooftop terraces facing the cathedral, and lively student bars in nearby Cholula from Thursday to Saturday.

In Zihuatanejo the evening usually means a sunset drink and a long dinner. The louder beach bars and the few clubs are in Ixtapa, and they fill up mainly in the winter high season.

The two are fairly evenly matched here, but the outdoors means different things. Puebla's nature is high and dry: snow-capped Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl on the skyline, a long forest climb up La Malinche and trails in the Izta-Popo park, with most outings needing a car or an early bus.

Zihuatanejo's outdoors happens on the water. There's diving and snorkelling off Las Gatas, humpback whales in winter, nesting turtles, and herons and spoonbills in the Barra de Potosí lagoon. The summer heat makes hiking hard going.

Puebla is a good base for day trips. Cholula's huge pyramid is half an hour away, the tiled village churches of Tonantzintla and Acatepec are nearby, and the Huejotzingo convent is close too. Tlaxcala and the Cacaxtla murals make another good day out, and even Mexico City is within reach.

From Zihuatanejo the outings are small: a beach day at Troncones, lunch at Barra de Potosí, or the ball court at Xihuacan. Bigger places are too far away to manage in a day.

Both work for families, for different reasons. Puebla's best family outing is the drive-through Africam Safari, along with the observation wheel and the tunnels inside Cholula's pyramid. Altitude, traffic and all the churches can tire young children, though.

Zihuatanejo is simpler for a beach-based family vacation. Small children can paddle in the calm, warm water at La Ropa and Las Gatas, and there are boat rides and turtle releases. Strong sun and rough surf on the open beaches need care.

Getting around is equally manageable in both, and in both you'll be walking in the centre and taking taxis further out. Puebla's flat colonial grid puts almost every sight within twenty minutes' walk of the zócalo, while Angelópolis, Cholula and Africam need a taxi or ride-hailing app.

Zihuatanejo's town and waterfront path are easy to walk. To reach La Ropa and Ixtapa you take colectivos and taxis, and Las Gatas and Isla Ixtapa by boat. The steep hill roads make it impractical to walk between the beaches.

Puebla has the more rewarding shopping, mainly because of Talavera pottery. You can watch it being painted in long-established workshops, and there's onyx at El Parián and weekend antiques on the Callejón de los Sapos. Big brands are in the Angelópolis malls.

Zihuatanejo's artisans' market is good for souvenirs from around Guerrero, such as Taxco silver, Olinalá lacquerware and hammocks. Beyond that there are only a few resort-wear boutiques.

Puebla is the cheaper of the two. Market lunches and taxis cost very little, and a room in a restored colonial house near the zócalo is far cheaper than in the capital.

Zihuatanejo is affordable if you stay in town and eat at taquerías and palapas. Costs rise in the hillside boutique hotels above La Ropa and the Ixtapa resorts, and especially in the winter high season.

Puebla has more on stage, though it is still a minor reason to visit. The historic Teatro Principal and the university's cultural complex put on plays, dance and orchestral evenings, and the 5 de Mayo festivities bring folk dance into the streets.

Zihuatanejo has no theatre or regular concert life. Its yearly international guitar festival is the highlight, and otherwise there are trova and mariachi sets in restaurants during high season.

Zihuatanejo is the more restful place, because the heat sets a slow pace and there are no sights to rush between. Days are for swimming, reading in the shade and the occasional hotel massage or yoga class.

Puebla has temazcal sweat lodges around Cholula, the sulphur pools at the Agua Azul balneario and quiet courtyards in the old town. Outside the centre, though, the traffic breaks the calm.