Asheville or Baltimore?

Neither city works for a beach trip. Asheville's swimming is mountain water that stays cool even in July: waterfall pools in Pisgah, the rock slide at Sliding Rock, floats on the French Broad and the small sandy beach on Lake Lure.

Baltimore comes a little closer. Sandy Point on the Chesapeake, about forty minutes' drive away, has real sand and bay water near 27°C in August. The water is brackish, though, and sea nettles drift in during high summer. The Atlantic surf is about three hours from Baltimore and further still from the mountains.

Both cities cook with strong regional character rather than range, and Asheville has the slight edge. Its strengths are beer, with dozens of taprooms across downtown, the South Slope and West Asheville, and Appalachian farm cooking: trout, heirloom beans, ramps, barbecue and biscuits.

Baltimore's food comes from the Chesapeake. In summer and early autumn, steamed blue crabs dusted with Old Bay are piled onto brown paper. Lump crab cakes are served all year, and Lexington Market sells oysters and coddies. Little Italy and the chef-led restaurants of Hampden and Harbor East add some variety, but neither city strays far from its own region.

Asheville's sightseeing rests on one great house and one handsome downtown. The Biltmore Estate fills a day, and the Art Deco City Hall, the Grove Arcade and the Basilica of St Lawrence fill a morning. Beyond those, the list is short.

Baltimore has more depth and variety. The Matisse works of the Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art are a serious draw, and so is the Walters, which runs from Egyptian antiquities to Fabergé. Fort McHenry tells the story of the national anthem. The B&O roundhouse, the USS Constellation and the cobbles of Fells Point keep the city's history in its streets.

Both are bar towns rather than club towns, and Baltimore offers a little more of a night out. In Asheville the evening means taprooms and cocktail bars a short walk apart downtown and on the South Slope, a friendly crowd, and most places quiet by midnight.

Baltimore's bars are spread across distinct districts. There are centuries-old taverns around the square in Fells Point, rooftops and sports bars on Federal Hill after Orioles and Ravens games, and dive bars in Station North. Bars stay open until 2am, but some streets between the districts are best crossed by taxi late at night.

This is Asheville's clearest advantage. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, Mount Mitchell and the Great Smokies are all within about an hour. The choice runs from ridge hikes over grassy balds and waterfall walks to some of the country's best mountain biking and whitewater on the Nantahala and Pigeon rivers.

Baltimore's outdoors are gentler: wooded gorges in Patapsco Valley, trout streams along the Gunpowder, and paddling or sailing on the Chesapeake with ospreys and eagles overhead. The Appalachian hills that surround Asheville are an hour and a half west of Baltimore.

From Asheville, most excursions are into the landscape, and the list of towns is short: Hendersonville and the Carl Sandburg Home, the waterfall country around Brevard, and Cherokee. Cherokee's museum and the Oconaluftee village make the strongest cultural outing.

Baltimore sits on one of the country's busiest corridors. Washington's Smithsonian museums and Philadelphia's Independence Hall are each about an hour away by train. By car you can reach Annapolis and the Naval Academy, the Gettysburg battlefield, Harpers Ferry and the villages of the Eastern Shore. That is a great deal of American history within a day's reach.

Asheville suits active children. There are black bears and red wolves at the Nature Center, Sliding Rock, river tubing, zip lines and the Biltmore farmyard. There is no zoo, aquarium or theme park in town, though, and a lot of the day goes on driving between sights.

Baltimore keeps its big draws close together around the Inner Harbor. The National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center and Port Discovery are a short walk apart, with paddle boats to fill the gaps. The Maryland Zoo and the B&O locomotives add more, which makes Baltimore the easier choice with younger children, although its summers are hot and humid.

Neither city is easy without a car, but Baltimore depends on one less. In Asheville, only downtown, the South Slope and the River Arts District can be done on foot. Biltmore, the Parkway and every trailhead mean driving on slow, winding mountain roads.

Baltimore's waterfront neighbourhoods are linked by a harbour promenade, and water taxis run across to Fort McHenry. Trains reach Washington and Philadelphia with no driving at all. The metro and light rail cover little, so Hampden and the zoo still need a bus or a taxi.

Asheville is the better place to buy something worth taking home, because it is where Appalachian craft is sold. Pottery, glass, woodwork and weaving fill the River Arts District studios, the downtown galleries and the Folk Art Center. The Grove Arcade and the streets around Lexington Avenue add independent boutiques and bookshops.

Baltimore's browsing is quirkier and thinner: vintage and kitsch on the Avenue in Hampden, antiques and records in Fells Point, and Old Bay souvenirs in the market halls. Neither city has a luxury street or a department store.

Neither city is cheap, and the costs land in different places. In Asheville the expense is the room and the car. Inns downtown and near Biltmore are pricey and climb on autumn weekends, and a hire car is close to essential. The trails, waterfalls and Parkway, on the other hand, cost nothing.

Baltimore's hotels are cheaper than Washington's, and its two great art museums are free. Crab feasts, taxis and ride-hailing add up over a stay, though.

The two are evenly matched but sound very different. Asheville's strength is Appalachian music on home ground: bluegrass and old-time jams, fiddle and clogging at Shindig on the Green, and the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, which has run since 1928. Touring Americana acts play downtown.

Baltimore has the formal stage that Asheville lacks. The symphony plays a full season at the Meyerhoff, the Peabody holds frequent concerts, many of them free, Broadway tours come to the Hippodrome, and Center Stage and Everyman put on repertory theatre. On top of that, Station North has a circuit of indie and punk clubs.

Asheville has been a place to rest since the nineteenth century, when people came for the mountain air. Resort-hotel spas, yoga and retreats, and the riverside mineral tubs at Hot Springs, about forty minutes away, make a restful stay easy. The cool evenings and quiet inn porches help.

Baltimore has hotel spas and a few day spas in Harbor East and Hampden, but its pace is urban. The calm moments are a walk along the harbour or an hour in Druid Hill Park, and people who want to unwind tend to leave town for the Eastern Shore.