Atlanta or Atlantic City?

On beaches the order is decisively reversed. Atlanta sits inland on the Piedmont plateau, and the coast is four or five hours' drive away. Locals swim at Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona instead, which make pleasant reservoir days but are no seaside.

Atlantic City is built around its beach: pale, free sand along Absecon Island, quieter stretches in Ventnor, Margate and Brigantine, and real Atlantic surf, so swim between the flags. The drawback is the short season, which runs from about mid-June to September.

Atlanta is the more rewarding place to eat. It serves Southern cooking where it comes from, in meat-and-three cafeterias and west-side soul food kitchens. It also has the long immigrant strip of Buford Highway, though you will need a car to reach much of it.

Atlantic City eats well but rarely surprises: casino steakhouses and buffets, the Italian-American dining rooms of Ducktown, subs on soft rolls and crab shacks on the back bays. Boardwalk saltwater taffy is its most local taste.

Atlanta gives you more to see, although neither city has an old townscape to wander. Its main draw is civil rights history on Auburn Avenue and downtown. The High Museum, the Atlanta History Center and the Carter Library add to it, enough for two or three days.

Atlantic City's interest is the story of the American seaside resort: the first boardwalk, the street names used on the Monopoly board, the giant organ in Boardwalk Hall and Lucy the Elephant. It is charming, and you can see it all in a day.

Both cities stay up late, in different ways. Atlanta has the stronger scene: hip-hop clubs with a national name, dive bars on Edgewood Avenue, a large LGBTQ scene in Midtown and dressier lounges in Buckhead. Each is a separate pocket, and you need a ride to get between them.

In Atlantic City the nights happen indoors at the casinos, which never close, with pool parties and beach bars added in summer. There is little bar life on the streets, and midweek or in winter it goes quiet.

Atlanta has more to offer outdoors. In town there is the tall tree canopy, Piedmont Park and the BeltLine trail. Stone Mountain's granite dome and the Chattahoochee River are within half an hour, and the Blue Ridge foothills and the start of the Appalachian Trail are about two hours north.

Atlantic City is flat country of marsh and dunes. Birdwatching at the Forsythe refuge, kayaking on the back bays and canoeing in the Pine Barrens all make good half-days, but there are no hills to climb.

Atlantic City has the better day outings, and some don't need a car. Philadelphia, with Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, is about an hour and a half away by train. Cape May's Victorian streets are an hour south, and Batsto and Smithville are closer still.

From Atlanta every trip needs a car, and the places are pleasant rather than famous: Athens and its music history, Dahlonega's gold-rush square, Madison's pre-Civil War houses and Chattanooga two hours north. Savannah is too far for a day.

Atlanta is much the easier choice with children. The Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta's gorillas, Fernbank's dinosaurs, the Center for Puppetry Arts and Six Flags are enough for several varied days, though the driving and the summer heat wear on everyone.

Atlantic City has the beach, the Steel Pier rides and Lucy the Elephant, but the city itself is built for adults. Many families stay in Ocean City instead, a short drive south.

Neither city is easy without a car, but Atlantic City is simpler for a visitor. Its main sights line up along the Boardwalk, which you can walk, and jitneys run along Pacific Avenue round the clock. Trains also go to Philadelphia. The wildlife refuge and the other shore towns need a car, and the side streets are unpleasant at night.

In Atlanta, MARTA trains are only useful on the corridor from the airport through downtown and Midtown to Buckhead. Much of the best eating and everything out of town means driving through heavy traffic.

Atlanta has the wider range. It centres on the Buckhead malls on Peachtree Road and the designer boutiques nearby, with vintage clothes and records in Little Five Points and local makers in the BeltLine markets. Atlantic City has outlet stores near the Boardwalk, shopping arcades in the casinos and souvenir stands, and its taffy and fudge are the one local thing to take home. Neither city is worth the trip for shopping alone.

Costs are close, and Atlantic City comes out a little cheaper if you choose your dates. Casino hotels discount their rooms heavily midweek and out of season, and the beach and Boardwalk cost nothing. Summer weekends bring steep rates, and resort fees come on top.

Atlanta's costs vary less through the year. Hotels are cheaper than on the coasts, and the cooking on Buford Highway is fair value. Car hire, parking and the big family attractions push the bill up, while the King sites are free.

Atlanta has resident companies that Atlantic City lacks: the Atlanta Symphony at the Woodruff Arts Center, the Alliance Theatre, opera and ballet seasons, and touring Broadway shows at the Fox. As a centre of hip-hop, R&B and gospel, it also draws major tours and fills mid-sized halls such as the Tabernacle.

In Atlantic City the draw is headliners in casino showrooms and Boardwalk Hall, plus free beach concerts in summer. It suits a weekend planned around one show.

Neither city is made for unwinding, and they are about level, but the options are different. Atlanta's most interesting choice is the big Korean bathhouses in the northeastern suburbs, with hot and cold pools and long lounging halls, plus day spas in Buckhead and Midtown.

Atlantic City relies on the spas inside its casino hotels. Its calmest hours come in winter, walking an empty Boardwalk beside the grey sea.