Stay in Matsumoto or Nagano

I'm planning to visit Matsumoto Castle and the Monkey Park in Yamanouchi. Is it better to stay in Nagano and see both places as day trips or stay in Matsumoto for one night to spend the day there and then one night in Shibu Onsen to see the Monkey Park.

Onsen towns are a great place to stay, especially in a ryokan. Matsumoto also has some nice hotels and ryokans - the executive level of the Buena (sp???) Vista hotel is excellent and the Richmond there is very nice as well (personally I think the Buena Vista is better because the restaurants there are so good, but the vistas from the rooms arent particularly beuna unless you go to the restaurant at the top).

So I'd take the Matsumoto/onsen town option every time.

I also agree and recommend Matsumoto and onsen area.

Nagano is great for travel links and western amenities, but it does lack a must see site such as Matsumoto castle. Staying in Matsumoto is probably going to be a little bit more authentic compared to staying in Nagano which is a bit more of a large city....

Matsumoto, by far. There is a lot more to see and do in Matsumoto.

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I think I'll definitely stay in Matsumoto and Shibu Onsen. Would anyone happen to have recommendations for a ryokan in Shibu Onsen?

i found 歴史の宿金具屋 (http://www.kanaguya.com) quite fine... it is very nice building and has some kinda unique indoor onsen. (google pictures, you will see what i mean)
food was typical ryokan kaiseki, so nothing super-special nor unique.
location is good next to 渋大湯.

Nagano has a nice shrine complex, and little else. You could go to Obuse which is nice.

Matsumoto is imho nicer. With two nights there you could do a super- cheap night in somewhere like the super hotel and balance it out with a nice night in Asama Onsen. We’ve just done exactly that and we loved it. (We then went on to Besshoonsen and really splurged on a really nice ryokan. That was very nice.)

@Wintervisitor: Bessho!!! I love this town and it's small temples!
And also onsens there are great (try the small one on the mini river! It is just 4*4 square meters)

(Did you drive from Matsumoto there? This small road through the mountains has a lot of great views and i love going through the small villages there before Bessho)... :-)

We loved Bessho too.
It was a bit sleepy (mid-week), but lovely to stroll around the various temples in the afternoon.
We stayed at Hanaya Ruokan and it was so lovely that once we’d checked in we relaxed there for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
We drove there from Matsumoto, stopping at Daio wasabi farm en route and it was a lovely drive with some snowy mountains in the distance.