Asheville or Milwaukee?

Neither city is a beach destination, but only Milwaukee has real sand on open water. Asheville's swimming is all mountain water: waterfall pools in Pisgah, the natural rock slide at Sliding Rock, tubing on the French Broad and the small beach at Lake Lure, and all of it stays cold even in midsummer.

Milwaukee has Bradford Beach below the East Side bluffs, with volleyball and a crowd on summer weekends, plus McKinley and South Shore along the same lakefront. Lake Michigan is freshwater and unpredictable, and only warm enough for a swim in high summer, so expect an afternoon of sand and paddling rather than a seaside vacation.

Beer matters in both cities, but Asheville has the more interesting table. Its cooking draws on Appalachian farms, with trout, heirloom corn, ramps and biscuits served in chef-led dining rooms, and alongside the taprooms of the South Slope and West Asheville there is cider, mead and distilling.

Milwaukee eats in the German and Polish tradition of the Upper Midwest: the Friday fish fry, bratwurst, cheese curds, frozen custard and a supper-club evening with a brandy old fashioned. It is hearty and full of character, and the South Side adds good Mexican cooking, but the cooking is less ambitious overall.

Each city fills two or three days, but with different things. Asheville is dominated by one great house, the Biltmore Estate with its Olmsted gardens, and by a downtown of Art Deco and Beaux-Arts buildings that survived intact because of the slump after the 1920s.

Milwaukee's draw is its museums: the Milwaukee Art Museum in Calatrava's winged pavilion on the lakefront, and the Harley-Davidson Museum. The Pabst Mansion and the Basilica of St Josaphat show off the city's brewing-era wealth.

Milwaukee offers the longer and more varied night out. The corner tavern, with its pool table and regulars, is the local institution. Water Street draws a loud sports and student crowd, bars stay open until about 2am, and in summer the beer gardens and game nights add more.

Asheville's evenings are gentler: taprooms and cocktail bars downtown and on the South Slope, Haywood Road for a local crowd, and most places winding down around midnight. It suits a sociable beer rather than a late finish.

This is the widest gap between the two. Asheville sits among the Southern Appalachians, with the Blue Ridge Parkway, Pisgah National Forest, Mount Mitchell and the Great Smokies all within about an hour. That means ridge hikes over grassy balds, some of the country's best mountain biking and whitewater rafting.

Milwaukee's outdoors is gentler and centred on Lake Michigan: Olmsted's Lake Park, flat cycling on the Oak Leaf Trail and kayaking on the river through town. The glacial hills of the Kettle Moraine are the best escape inland, pleasant but no match for the mountains.

Milwaukee has the stronger day out, because Chicago is about an hour and a half away by train. Madison, Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings in Racine, the stone mills of Cedarburg and the company village of Kohler add variety without a long drive.

From Asheville, most outings go into the landscape or to small towns: Hendersonville, Black Mountain, Brevard's waterfall country and the Cherokee museum to the west. Greenville is the only sizeable city within easy reach, and every trip needs a car.

Both cities are relaxed with children, but they suit different families. Milwaukee has the classic city attractions: a large zoo, the aquariums at Discovery World, a children's museum and the Mitchell Park Domes for cold days, plus the beach and a baseball game in summer.

Asheville is better for active children: the bears and red wolves at the Nature Center, Sliding Rock, river tubing and zip lines. It has no zoo or theme park, and much of the day goes on driving between sights.

Neither city works well without a car, but Milwaukee is a little easier. Its compact centre is linked by the Riverwalk and The Hop streetcar, buses reach the zoo and the East Side, and parking is simple.

In Asheville, the walkable downtown and South Slope are only the start. Reaching Biltmore, the Parkway and the trailheads means slow, winding mountain roads, which fill with traffic on October weekends.

Asheville gives you more reason to shop, and what it sells is handmade. Pottery, glass, weaving and woodwork fill the River Arts District studios and the downtown galleries, the Folk Art Center shows off the regional craft guild, and the Grove Arcade adds boutiques and bookshops.

In Milwaukee, browsing is mostly in the warehouse boutiques of the Third Ward and the vintage and record shops of Brady Street. Most visitors take home cheese, local beer or Harley-Davidson gear rather than anything crafted.

Milwaukee is easier on the budget. Its hotels are well below coastal prices, tavern beer and the fish fry are cheap by American standards, and the lakefront and many festivals cost little, although big summer weekends push room rates up.

Asheville is priced as a popular weekend escape, with expensive inns, a costly Biltmore ticket and a hire car you can hardly do without. Its trails and the Parkway are free, though, and midweek or winter stays cost noticeably less.

The two are evenly matched, but the music is different. Asheville's strength is Appalachian tradition: bluegrass and old-time jams, fiddling and clogging at Shindig on the Green, and the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival, held since 1928. Its formal arts are small.

Milwaukee has the fuller set of resident companies, including the symphony, the Florentine Opera, the ballet and the Rep, along with the ornate Pabst Theater. Its peak is Summerfest on the lakefront, with hundreds of acts over several weeks.

Asheville is by far the better place to unwind. People have come to its mountain air for their health since the nineteenth century, and today that means yoga studios, retreats, large resort spas and the riverside mineral tubs at Hot Springs, about forty minutes away.

Milwaukee offers hotel and day spas and a calming walk along the lakefront or the Riverwalk. For a proper spa day, visitors drive an hour north to Kohler.