Salt Lake City or San Francisco?

Neither city is a swimming destination, but San Francisco at least has a real coastline. Ocean Beach, Baker Beach below the Golden Gate Bridge and the small cove at China Beach are fine for walks, bonfires and sunsets. Almost nobody goes in, because the Pacific is cold and Ocean Beach has strong rip currents.

Salt Lake City has no shore of its own worth the name. Floating in the Great Salt Lake is a one-off novelty on a muddy, fly-prone shore. Proper lake swimming means driving up to Wasatch reservoirs such as Jordanelle or Pineview, which make a pleasant outing on a hot day but are not a reason to come.

San Francisco is by far the better city for eating. Northern California produce, bay seafood and Napa and Sonoma wines underpin everything from Mission burritos and sourdough to Dungeness crab, Chinatown dim sum and some of the best fine dining in the country. The Ferry Building market makes a good morning out.

Salt Lake City eats honestly but modestly. Fry sauce, fried scones and dirty sodas are fun to try, and the best meals come from the Mexican, Pacific Islander and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street. Under Utah's rules, wine and cocktails are harder to find.

San Francisco gives a visitor three or four days of sightseeing. There are world-famous images in the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and the cable cars, solid museums in SFMOMA, the de Young, the Legion of Honor and the Asian Art Museum, and neighbourhoods like Chinatown and the Castro with histories of their own.

Salt Lake City's sights centre on Temple Square and the pioneer faith that built it: the Tabernacle and its organ, Brigham Young's Beehive House and the Family History Library. Add the Capitol, the painted Cathedral of the Madeleine and the dinosaur halls, and two days is enough.

San Francisco offers far more after dark, spread across distinct districts. The Mission has mezcal and cocktail bars, North Beach has old saloons, the Castro has its well-known gay bars and SoMa has warehouse clubs. It is not an all-night city, though, since bars stop serving at 2am.

In Salt Lake City, a night out means a brewery or bar downtown or in the Granary District, a pub in Sugar House, or the long-standing gay bars. Liquor laws limit stronger drinks and late opening, so it suits a quiet drink after a day in the mountains.

Both cities have outstanding surroundings, but Salt Lake City's are bigger and wilder. Wasatch peaks over 3,000m rise right above town, and the Cottonwood Canyons hold famous ski resorts in winter and alpine lakes and meadows in summer. To the west are Antelope Island's bison and the white Bonneville Salt Flats.

San Francisco's nature is coastal and gentler. In the city there are the Lands End cliffs, Golden Gate Park and the Presidio, and across the bridge are the Marin Headlands, the redwoods of Muir Woods and Point Reyes. Sailing, kayaking and whale watching add the sea that Salt Lake City lacks, if you can live with the fog and wind.

San Francisco has much the richer choice of outings. Napa and Sonoma wine country is about an hour north, ferries cross to Sausalito and Tiburon, and Berkeley is a short train ride away. South along the coast are Santa Cruz's boardwalk and, further on, Monterey and Carmel.

From Salt Lake City, the best options are Park City's Victorian Main Street, the Swiss-flavoured village of Midway and Ogden's 25th Street, and the Golden Spike site appeals to railway enthusiasts. Utah's famous national parks are too far for a day and need a trip of their own.

Salt Lake City is slightly the better choice for families, largely because the whole city is geared to children. Restaurants expect them, the streets feel safe, and there are Hogle Zoo, the aquarium, Discovery Gateway and Lagoon's roller coasters, plus ski schools in winter. Most of it is spread out and needs a car.

San Francisco has stronger individual attractions in the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences, plus the cable cars and the sea lions at Fisherman's Wharf. Against that, the hills are hard work with a pushchair, the sea is too cold for paddling, some downtown streets are rough and there is no big theme park.

San Francisco is compact, about 11km across, and Muni, BART, the cable cars and the bay ferries make a car more trouble than it is worth. The hills, not the distances, are what tire you out.

Salt Lake City is the other way round. TRAX links downtown with the airport and the University, and the grid addresses are easy to follow. But the blocks are long, the valley sprawls, and the canyons, the zoo and the nearby towns all need a hire car.

San Francisco is the better city for browsing. There are flagships and department stores around Union Square, and more character in the Hayes Valley boutiques, the bookshops of Valencia Street and the vintage shops of Haight-Ashbury.

Salt Lake City has City Creek Center and Trolley Square for familiar brands and a few independents at 9th and 9th. Its one real speciality is outdoor gear: excellent ski, climbing and camping shops, many of them local.

Salt Lake City is much easier on the wallet. Downtown hotels are reasonably priced, Temple Square is free and light rail is cheap. A winter ski week is a different matter, with lift tickets, equipment hire and canyon lodging all expensive.

San Francisco is one of the most expensive American cities to visit. Hotel rates are high, and restaurant bills grow with tax, service charges and tips. Mission taquerias, Chinatown dim sum, the free parks and the walk across the bridge help, but a tight budget will still feel the strain.

San Francisco has the deeper programme. San Francisco Opera and the country's oldest professional ballet company perform at the War Memorial Opera House, and the symphony plays a full season at Davies Symphony Hall. There is also serious drama at the American Conservatory Theater, jazz at SFJAZZ and rock history at the Fillmore.

Salt Lake City has one highlight San Francisco cannot match: the Tabernacle Choir, whose rehearsals and broadcasts in the Tabernacle, often with the great organ, are open to the public. The Utah Symphony, Utah Opera and Ballet West make up a respectable season around it.

Neither city is a place to come for rest, and the difference is mainly in kind. Salt Lake City has a quiet, unhurried pace. Its most memorable soak is in warm mineral water inside the limestone dome of the Homestead Crater at Midway, and there are resort spas for after a day on the slopes.

San Francisco's centre feels more hectic. Instead it offers Japantown's communal bathhouse, quiet hours in the Japanese Tea Garden, and the mud baths and mineral pools of Calistoga at the top of Napa Valley.