Salt Lake City or Seattle?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Seattle at least gives you sand and a swim. Alki Beach and Golden Gardens on Puget Sound are good for sunsets and bonfires, and the lifeguarded lake beaches on Lake Washington make a pleasant summer afternoon.

Salt Lake City offers the novelty of floating in the Great Salt Lake, with a muddy shore and brine flies, and otherwise a drive to mountain reservoirs such as Jordanelle or Pineview.

Salt Lake City's own dishes are homely: fry sauce, pastrami burgers, fried scones and the drive-through soda shops. Its better meals come from the Mexican, Pacific Islander and Vietnamese kitchens along State Street, and Utah's drinking rules keep the wine and cocktail scene thin.

Seattle has a real regional table built on oysters, Dungeness crab and wild salmon. Pike Place Market is a meal in itself, and the coffee roasters, Washington wines and Asian cooking in the International District give it far more range.

Seattle has a little more to see, and the two differ in kind. Salt Lake City's sights centre on one story, the faith that founded it, with the Temple, Tabernacle and Family History Library around Temple Square, plus the Capitol and the dinosaur halls of the Natural History Museum.

Seattle's sights are younger and more varied: the Space Needle and Chihuly glass at Seattle Center, the Museum of Pop Culture, the Burke's Northwest Coast collections and the vast Museum of Flight.

Seattle is the clear choice for going out. Pike and Pine streets on Capitol Hill have cocktail bars, dives and dance floors that fill at weekends, and Ballard, Belltown and Fremont each add a different crowd.

Salt Lake City manages a handful of bars and breweries downtown and in Sugar House, along with a long-standing gay scene. Liquor laws and early nights make it a place for one drink after a day outdoors.

Both cities have superb outdoors, and the difference lies in the landscape. Salt Lake City has high, dry mountain country right at the edge of town, with famous deep powder at Alta and Snowbird, summer peak hikes in the same canyons, and the salt flats and bison of Antelope Island to the west.

Seattle's outdoors is wetter and more varied by water: kayaking on Lake Union, ferries with orcas sometimes in view, Mount Rainier's glaciers and the Olympic rainforest. The big mountains are a longer drive, and the grey winters limit them.

Seattle has the better range of days out, and many begin on a ferry: Bainbridge Island in half an hour, Whidbey's farm villages and the Victorian seaport of Port Townsend. Woodinville's tasting rooms and Tacoma's glass museum are close by road.

From Salt Lake City, Park City's old mining Main Street and Ogden's 25th Street are good outings, but the choice runs out quickly. Utah's famous national parks need an overnight stay.

Salt Lake City has the edge with children. Families are everywhere, and alongside the zoo, aquarium and children's museum it has Lagoon's roller coasters, Thanksgiving Point's dinosaurs and ski schools in winter. Expect to drive between them.

Seattle does well with its zoo, Pacific Science Center and the Museum of Flight, and a ferry ride delights most children. There is no theme park, though, and the steep downtown streets and long rainy season are harder going.

Seattle is far easier without a car. Its centre runs walkably from Pike Place Market to Pioneer Square, and one card covers light rail, buses, the monorail and ferries, though hills and water stretch the distances.

Salt Lake City's centre is laid out on a grid that is easy to follow, but its very wide streets and long blocks make walking slow. TRAX helps, but the zoo, canyons and nearby towns really call for a hire car.

Both cities are excellent for outdoor gear. Beyond that, Seattle offers more browsing, with record and vintage shops on Capitol Hill, Fremont's Sunday market, Ballard's design shops and the makers' stalls at Pike Place.

Salt Lake City has the City Creek mall and the old streetcar barns of Trolley Square, with a few independents around 9th and 9th, but little worth planning a day around.

Salt Lake City is the cheaper trip. Downtown hotels are reasonable and Temple Square costs nothing, though a ski week with lift passes and canyon lodging changes that.

Seattle is expensive at almost every turn, from summer hotel rooms to high admission charges. Market counters, teriyaki shops and staying out along the light rail are the main ways to save.

Seattle offers the deeper stage and music scene. Pacific Northwest Ballet, the opera and the symphony keep a full season, and the city of Hendrix and grunge still has clubs with bands most nights.

Salt Lake City's highlight is unique: hearing the Tabernacle Choir and the great organ on Temple Square. Ballet West and the Utah Symphony fill out its calendar, but its club circuit is small.

Neither city is a place to come for rest and treatment, and their quiet comforts differ. From Salt Lake City you can soak in warm mineral water inside the Homestead Crater's limestone dome about an hour away, then add a resort spa after skiing. Seattle offers Korean-style bathhouses in the suburbs, the Japanese Garden and long rainy mornings in a coffee house.