San Diego or Taos?

This is no contest. San Diego has around 110km of coast, from Coronado's broad strand and the Mission Beach boardwalk to the gentle surf at La Jolla Shores and the cliff-backed beaches of Encinitas, though the Pacific stays cool outside late summer.

Taos sits on a high plateau far from any sea. The Rio Grande is for rafting rather than swimming, so a hotel pool or a hot spring is the nearest thing it has to a beach day.

San Diego eats better and more widely. Baja-style fish tacos, California burritos, the Asian kitchens along Convoy Street and one of the country's densest craft-beer scenes give a week plenty of range.

Taos does one thing in real depth: northern New Mexican cooking, with red or green chile on enchiladas, posole and carne adovada, and horno bread from the Pueblo. Beyond that regional kitchen the choice is thin, and a week covers most of it.

The two are evenly matched but very different in character. San Diego's culture is gathered in the exposition buildings of Balboa Park, with museums of art, natural history and flight. The USS Midway, the adobes of Old Town and California's first mission add history.

Taos has one sight of world standing in Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO site lived in for around a thousand years, plus the buttressed church at Ranchos de Taos that O'Keeffe painted. Around them are small art-colony museums and historic homes, which suit slow, reflective days more than they suit anyone hoping for big collections.

San Diego has a proper night out, though not a famous one. There are rooftop bars and clubs in the Gaslamp Quarter, a rowdy beach bar strip in Pacific Beach, and cocktail bars and taprooms in North Park and Hillcrest, which is also the centre of the city's gay nightlife.

Taos has no clubs at all. An evening there means a margarita in an adobe hotel bar or a band in a saloon, and most nights end soon after dinner.

Both are outdoor places, but Taos has the grander landscape. Wheeler Peak at 4,013m, alpine lakes above the ski valley, whitewater in the Taos Box and walks along the rim of the Rio Grande gorge make for bigger, wilder days, at an altitude that needs some respect.

San Diego's outdoors are gentler and mostly by the sea: the bluffs of Torrey Pines, sea lions and kayak caves at La Jolla Cove, tide pools at Cabrillo and surf breaks all along the coast. Inland, the Cuyamaca mountains and the Anza-Borrego desert add some range.

Both have good outings, but of different kinds. From San Diego the border is the novelty, with Tijuana reached by trolley and the vineyards of the Valle de Guadalupe further south. Temecula's wine country, apple-pie Julian in the hills and the beach towns up the coast by train fill out the list.

From Taos the trips are about heritage and landscape. You can reach Santa Fe by the High Road through Truchas, Las Trampas and Chimayó, or visit O'Keeffe country at Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch and the cliff dwellings of Bandelier. All of these need a car, whereas San Diego's coastal train covers a few of its outings.

San Diego is one of the easiest cities anywhere to bring children to. It has the zoo and its Safari Park, SeaWorld, Legoland, the Birch Aquarium and the lawns of Balboa Park, all in a climate that rarely spoils a day out.

Taos welcomes children but has nothing built for them. Families who ski, or who enjoy float trips, horse riding and gorge walks, will be happy. There is no zoo or theme park, though, and the altitude can tire younger children for the first few days.

Neither is easy without a car, but San Diego is less work. Downtown, Little Italy and the Gaslamp are walkable, the trolley reaches Old Town and the border, and trains run up the coast, although La Jolla and the big parks still mean driving or ride-hailing.

In Taos only the few streets around the plaza work on foot. The Pueblo, the ski valley, the gorge and the villages are spread across a wide valley, and the drive from Albuquerque airport takes about two and a half hours, so a hire car comes with the trip.

Neither is a shopping destination, and what they sell is quite different. San Diego offers malls and browsing: luxury brands at Fashion Valley, an outlet centre by the border, vintage and design shops in North Park and galleries in La Jolla.

Taos is narrower and more personal. It has galleries around the plaza and Kit Carson Road, turquoise and silver jewellery, Rio Grande weaving and carved santos, and micaceous pottery you can buy from the makers at the Pueblo. Collectors will enjoy it far more than anyone shopping for clothes.

Taos is the easier of the two on the budget, though neither is cheap. Simple motels and family-run New Mexican diners are fairly priced, and spring and late autumn, between the ski and summer seasons, are the cheapest times to go.

San Diego is costly almost everywhere. Beach and downtown hotels are expensive, the zoo, SeaWorld and Legoland charge high admission, and the hire car adds parking. Free beaches, taco shops and the gardens of Balboa Park soften the bill without making it a budget trip.

San Diego has the stronger stage. The Old Globe in Balboa Park and the La Jolla Playhouse are producing theatres that have sent shows on to Broadway, and the symphony plays summer concerts on the bay.

Taos offers rare moments rather than a programme. There are the Pueblo's feast-day dances, watched quietly and without cameras, a summer chamber music festival and local bands in hotel lounges, and beyond those there is little to book.

Taos is the better place to unwind. Ojo Caliente's outdoor mineral pools, the primitive hot springs down in the Rio Grande gorge and the stillness of the plateau give it a bathing side that San Diego lacks, and there are also yoga studios and retreat centres.

San Diego relaxes through its pace instead: resort spas in La Jolla, Coronado and Carlsbad, the long-standing yoga culture of Encinitas and sunset walks on the sand, as long as you keep away from downtown and Pacific Beach.