Asheville or Branson?

Neither town has a sea, but Branson has the better swimming. By midsummer Table Rock Lake is warm and clear. You swim from public beaches of brought-in sand or straight off a rented pontoon in a quiet cove, and that makes a lazy lake day possible all summer.

Asheville's water is mountain water: plunge pools under waterfalls in Pisgah, the rock slide at Sliding Rock, floats on the French Broad and a small beach at Lake Lure. It is fun and bracing, but cool even in July, and you won't spend a whole day there.

Asheville is the far better place to eat and drink. Dozens of breweries sit across downtown, the South Slope and West Asheville, and the kitchens cook with Appalachian trout, heirloom beans, ramps and sorghum, as the farmers' markets show. Its weak spots are a thin international range and weekend tables that book up early.

Branson's food is about large portions and convenience: buffets, fried chicken, catfish, chains along Highway 76 and set dinners at the dinner theatres. Lake trout, cinnamon bread and fudge are the local treats, but no one plans a trip around them.

Asheville has real heritage. The Biltmore Estate fills a whole day, and its downtown of 1920s Art Deco and Beaux-Arts buildings, from the domed City Hall to the Grove Arcade, makes good walking. The Thomas Wolfe Memorial and the Folk Art Center add a little more.

Branson's sights are built for fun, not history: wax museums and a museum shaped like a ship's bow. Its best cultural moments are the frontier craft demonstrations at the theme park and the odd collection at the Ralph Foster Museum.

Neither town is made for late nights, but Asheville at least has an evening out. Taprooms, cocktail bars and dive bars sit within walking distance of each other downtown and on the South Slope, West Asheville has a local strip on Haywood Road, and there is a small LGBTQ scene. Most places wind down around midnight.

In Branson the evening is the show itself. Afterwards there are only a few brewpubs by the lakefront and some hotel lounges, and they are full of families and older couples heading to bed.

Both towns sit in old, wooded uplands, but Asheville's are bigger and more varied. The Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains are all close, and Mount Mitchell rises to 2,037m. You can walk over grassy balds on Max Patch, ride some of the country's best mountain-bike trails or raft the Nantahala and Pigeon rivers.

Branson's Ozarks are gentler and centre on water: kayaking and bass fishing on Table Rock Lake, trout in cold Lake Taneycomo, the glades of Hercules Glades Wilderness and show caves to visit. Its finest scenery, the bluffs of the Buffalo National River, is about two hours away.

Asheville has the slightly wider choice of outings, though most of them are drives into the landscape. Cherokee offers the region's deepest look at its original people. Brevard leads into waterfall country, and Greenville's riverside downtown and the Yadkin Valley vineyards give you a change of scene.

Branson has fewer outings, but they are good ones. Victorian Eureka Springs, stacked up its steep hillsides, is the best day out, and Crystal Bridges in Bentonville is a major art museum that nothing near Asheville matches. Beyond those two, it is mostly battlefields and small historic homes.

Branson is built for children in a way Asheville is not. A large Ozarks theme park with roller coasters is the centrepiece, and water parks, an aquarium, a paddlewheel showboat, go-karts and mini golf are all nearby. Hotels and restaurants expect children, and the shows are wholesome by design.

Asheville works best for active children: black bears and red wolves at the Nature Center, Sliding Rock, river tubing and zip lines, and the farmyard at Biltmore. There are no rides in town, and the nearest theme park is Dollywood, two hours away.

You will want a car in both towns, but Asheville gives you more on foot. Its compact, hilly downtown links up easily with the South Slope and the River Arts District, so a day or two without driving is possible. The Parkway, the trailheads and Biltmore still need a car.

Branson's theatres and hotels are strung out for several kilometres along Highway 76, with patchy pavements and slow traffic in the evenings. Only the lakefront shopping district and the small old downtown are walkable, so you drive almost everywhere.

Both towns sell regional crafts, but Asheville does it better and on a larger scale. Pottery, glass, weaving and woodwork fill the downtown galleries and the working studios of the River Arts District. The Grove Arcade and Lexington Avenue add bookshops, vintage clothes and outdoor gear.

Branson's shopping is more mainstream. Branson Landing has national chains on the lakeshore, and the outlet malls sell discounted brands. The Ozark glass, quilts and ironwork made in the theme park workshops are its best buys.

Branson is the cheaper place to stay. Plenty of motels, condos and lake cabins keep rooms good value outside summer and Christmas, and family restaurants are modest. The catch is that nearly everything you came for is ticketed, from shows to water parks, so a busy week costs more than the room rate suggests.

Asheville's inns near downtown and Biltmore are expensive and climb further on October weekends. Biltmore is a costly day out, but the trails, waterfalls and the Parkway are free, and midweek or winter stays are noticeably cheaper.

Branson wins on sheer number of shows. Dozens of theatres put on country, gospel, tribute acts, magic and large biblical productions with live animals from morning to evening. The range is narrow, though: no opera, little classical music and no serious drama.

Asheville's music is smaller in scale but less staged. You will find old-time jams in pubs, buskers downtown, the free summer fiddling and clogging at Shindig on the Green, and the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, which has run since 1928. Touring indie and Americana bands fill a couple of venues.

Asheville is the easier place to rest. A tradition of coming for the mountain air dates back to the nineteenth century and lives on in its retreats, yoga studios and resort spas. Hot Springs, about forty minutes away, has outdoor tubs of mineral water beside the river.

In Branson, how restful your stay is depends on where you sleep. A lodge spa or a cabin on a quiet cove of Table Rock Lake is peaceful, while the neon and traffic of the strip between shows are the opposite.