Scottsdale or Tucson?

Neither city is anywhere near the sea, and in both the hotel pool is where you swim. Scottsdale has slightly better freshwater options: Saguaro Lake and Canyon Lake, with their small sandy coves and boat hire, are within an hour, and in summer you can float down the Salt River on an inner tube. Tucson has only the shallow seasonal pools in Sabino Canyon, and the Gulf coast at Puerto Peñasco is a four-hour drive, so it needs a weekend.

Both cities eat Sonoran Mexican, but in Tucson it is the city's own cooking. You get carne asada grilled over mesquite, flour tortillas so thin you can almost see through them, and bacon-wrapped hot dogs from carts on the south side. Old family kitchens line South 12th Avenue, and desert ingredients such as tepary beans and prickly pear turn up on menus.

Scottsdale is more about comfort than character. Old Town and the resort corridors run to steakhouses, sushi, patio grills and long brunches. For its most interesting meals, people tend to drive into Phoenix.

Tucson has the deeper historic layer. Mission San Xavier del Bac, with its painted and gilded interior, is the finest single sight in either city. The adobe streets of Barrio Viejo and El Presidio trace the Spanish and Mexican settlement, and the Pima Air & Space Museum adds an unusual draw for anyone interested in aircraft.

Scottsdale's high point belongs to the 20th century: Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West, best seen on a guided tour. Around it are a western art museum, a small contemporary art museum and a strong gallery trade. The Heard Museum and the Musical Instrument Museum are a short drive away.

Scottsdale is the place to go out in earnest. Old Town's entertainment district packs dance clubs, rooftop lounges and sports bars into a few blocks, with dress codes, bottle service and bachelor and bachelorette groups filling them on weekends and in spring.

Tucson's nights are more casual and cost less. You get dive bars and cheap patio drinks on Fourth Avenue, then cocktails and the odd dance floor on Congress Street. Much of the crowd is from the university, so the city calms down noticeably once term ends.

Both cities have the Sonoran Desert at their edge. In Scottsdale that means the McDowell Sonoran Preserve's marked trails, steep climbs up Camelback Mountain and Pinnacle Peak, and the lakes and wild horses of the Tonto National Forest further out.

Tucson has more variety. Saguaro National Park sits on both sides of the city, and Sabino Canyon climbs into rocky gorges. Above all there is Mount Lemmon, where the road climbs from cactus to pine forest at about 2,800m, giving cooler hiking and climbing when the valley floor is too hot.

From Tucson there are more good drives in easy reach. Tombstone, the copper town of Bisbee, the artists' village of Tubac with the Tumacácori mission ruins, and the Sonoita wineries all lie between one and two hours to the south-east, and Biosphere 2 is under an hour north.

Scottsdale's best outing is a single, longer one: two hours north to Sedona's red rocks, with Montezuma Castle and Jerome on the way. Closer in there is little beyond the Goldfield ghost town and the Apache Trail.

Families do about equally well in either city, but the days take different shapes. In Scottsdale the resort pool is the centre of things: many resorts have lazy rivers, slides and kids' clubs, with the miniature railway park, the aquarium and the butterfly house as outings. Tucson's best family days are out among animals and machines, at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, the giant aircraft collection and the old western film set. In summer, Mount Lemmon gives Tucson families an escape from the heat.

You will want a hire car in either city. Each has only a small walkable core: Scottsdale's Old Town, linked to the shopping areas by a free trolley, and Tucson's downtown, Fourth Avenue and university, linked by the Sun Link streetcar. Scottsdale's sights are spread along wide arterial roads, while Tucson's main draws, from the national park to the mission, lie beyond the city edge. Driving and parking are easy in both.

Scottsdale is the real shopping destination of the two. It has a large luxury mall with the big fashion houses, open-air centres to the north and a serious gallery district on Main Street and Marshall Way. Nearby dealers sell top-quality Navajo and Hopi silver, Pueblo pottery and western boots.

Tucson has no luxury streets and no major department stores. Its appeal is regional: Tohono O'odham baskets, Mexican folk art and vintage shops on Fourth Avenue. The winter gem and mineral show is the one time it draws shoppers from around the world.

Tucson is the cheaper city. Its mid-range hotels cost less, and you can eat very cheaply at taquerías and Sonoran hot dog stands. Prices only jump during the winter season, and most of all during the gem show.

In Scottsdale, resort rooms, golf, spa days and Old Town dinners are all expensive in winter and spring, and resort parking adds to the cost of the car. In both cities you will need that car, and the resorts drop their rates sharply in the summer heat. Scottsdale's motels and its free desert preserve help a careful budget.

Neither city is a reason to travel for the stage, and the difference is where the programme comes from. Tucson has its own symphony and theatre company, shares Arizona Opera with Phoenix, and has the restored Fox Theatre, small desert-rock rooms on Congress Street and a deep mariachi tradition. Scottsdale has its Old Town arts centre and the world-music concerts at the Musical Instrument Museum, and looks to Phoenix, about half an hour away, for symphony, opera and ballet.

Scottsdale is the stronger choice for being looked after. It has an unusual concentration of large resort spas with desert-themed treatments, outdoor pools and steam rooms, and several take day guests. The pace of the place, built around golf, long lunches and early nights, suits a slow stay.

Tucson's strength is in a different kind of stay: it was one of the first homes of the American destination spa. Its retreats in the Catalina foothills build programmes around fitness, desert walks and meditation, more than pure pampering. Neither city has public baths.