Telluride or Aspen?

Neither town is anywhere near a coast, and both are equally poor for swimming. Aspen at least has alpine lakes and small reservoirs close by, plus rafting on the Roaring Fork. Telluride's nearest swimming area is the reservoir near Ridgway, about an hour's drive away. In both, a heated hotel pool is the realistic option.

Aspen gives you more choice at the top end. Its downtown grid has sushi and steak counters, Italian dining rooms and wine lists aimed at wealthy winter guests. The June Food & Wine Classic brings in visiting chefs, and in summer there is a Saturday farmers' market.

Telluride's few serious kitchens on Colorado Avenue and in Mountain Village cook with more of a regional accent, using Colorado lamb, elk and trout. It also has more casual places, such as taquerias, bakeries and burger joints, which Aspen largely lacks. Over a week, though, you will run through its small circle of restaurants sooner.

Both are old silver towns where an afternoon's walk covers the sights. Aspen mixes Victorian brick around the Wheeler Opera House with modern touches, such as the timber-latticed Aspen Art Museum and Herbert Bayer's Bauhaus campus at the Aspen Institute.

Telluride's appeal is that it survives as a whole: the entire district is a National Historic Landmark. Its museum, in the old miners' hospital, covers the labour wars, and ruined mills hang on the canyon walls above town.

Aspen has a real night scene in winter. Après-ski moves from the slopeside decks into downtown lounges, hotel bars and a few small clubs, and around New Year and the X Games they stay busy late with a well-dressed crowd.

Telluride's evenings are simpler, mostly old wooden saloons on Colorado Avenue full of skiers and seasonal workers. With no clubs, the main street only stays up late on peak weeks and festival weekends. In the shoulder seasons both towns go quiet.

Both are superb mountain bases, and they differ in shape rather than quality. Aspen's valley, ringed by the Elk Mountains, spreads its skiing across four separate mountains, from gentle to steep. In summer you have the Maroon Bells, wilderness routes up to high passes, and the Roaring Fork for fishing and rafting.

Telluride is closed in by cliffs on three sides, so the scenery rises straight above the streets. Bridal Veil Falls, Bear Creek Falls and Blue Lake are all within walking reach, and there is a via ferrata on the canyon wall and four-wheel-drive roads over Imogene Pass. Its single ski area spreads over the town and Mountain Village and has the more dramatic views.

The day trips are about as good from either town, and mostly lead to small mountain towns. From Aspen you can reach Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, Marble and Redstone down the valleys, plus Leadville once Independence Pass opens in summer, and some of it works by valley bus.

From Telluride you can reach Ouray, Ridgway and Silverton, and at a stretch the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde, the one site of real stature within reach of either town. Every trip from Telluride needs a car.

Aspen does more for children. Buttermilk and Snowmass are built for learners and have dedicated kids' areas. In summer, the lifts lead to alpine coasters and ropes courses, and the environmental centre runs nature programmes.

Telluride suits active families who are happy with simple pleasures, such as the free gondola, waterfall walks, fishing and a good ski school. There is very little to do indoors on a wet day, though. The town also sits almost 300m higher, so young children may feel the altitude more.

Inside town, the two are equally easy. Each has a flat, walkable grid, and you will rarely need a car.

Aspen has the advantage once you look further. Its free buses link all four mountains, a valley line runs down to Glenwood Springs, and the airport is minutes away. In Telluride, the free gondola connects the town with Mountain Village, but the larger airports are one to two hours by road, and anything beyond the canyon means driving.

Aspen is the place for shopping. A few downtown blocks hold international luxury labels, high-end ski wear, jewellers and furriers, and an evening walk through the pedestrian malls makes window-shopping part of the night out.

Telluride's Colorado Avenue is a quieter browse among galleries, Western clothing, bookshops and outdoor gear, with a few resort boutiques up in Mountain Village. It is pleasant, but nobody goes there to shop.

Both towns are very expensive, and neither suits a tight budget. In either one, rooms, lift tickets and meals are priced for very wealthy visitors.

The difference is how you can save. From Aspen, you can stay in Glenwood Springs or Carbondale and use the valley bus line instead of driving. In Telluride, the cheaper beds are in Ridgway, which means a daily mountain drive, and the festival weekends push prices higher still.

Aspen offers more music, spread over a longer season. For about eight weeks each summer, the Aspen Music Festival fills the Benedict Music Tent with orchestral, chamber and opera performances, and you can listen for free from the lawn outside. The Aspen Santa Fe Ballet and the Wheeler Opera House add more through the year.

Telluride packs its programme into festival weekends, above all the long-running Bluegrass Festival in Town Park and the Labor Day film festival. Between festivals, the Sheridan Opera House has only a few shows a week.

The two are fairly level here: both have resort spas and quiet shoulder seasons, and both have hot springs about an hour away. Aspen's nearest are the large mineral pools and cave vapour baths at Glenwood Springs, and Conundrum Hot Springs makes a goal for a long wilderness hike.

From Telluride, you drive to the public pool in Ouray or the springs near Ridgway. Telluride's higher altitude also makes the first nights more restless for some visitors.