Atlanta or Fort Myers?

There is no contest here. Atlanta is four to five hours from either coast, so swimming means a reservoir beach such as Lake Lanier on a hot weekend, or a hotel pool.

Fort Myers has real beaches within an hour's drive. Fort Myers Beach is a long, wide strip of fine sand, Lovers Key and Bonita Beach are quieter, and Sanibel and Captiva are known for their shells along the tideline. The Gulf is shallow and gentle, though the odd seaweed or algae bloom can spoil the water for a while.

Atlanta is by far the better place to eat. It has Southern cooking in meat-and-three cafeterias and west-side soul food kitchens, the immigrant restaurants of Buford Highway, the BeltLine food halls and chef-led restaurants in Inman Park.

Fort Myers does one thing simply and well: grouper sandwiches, peel-and-eat shrimp and stone crab on a deck at sunset. Beyond a small cluster of restaurants in the River District, much of the eating is at chains along the highways, and keen eaters will run out of options quickly.

Atlanta gives you two or three full days of sightseeing with real weight. The main draw is the civil rights story, told at the King park on Auburn Avenue and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, and the High Museum and the Carter library add more.

Fort Myers takes a day by comparison. The Edison and Ford Winter Estates on palm-lined McGregor Boulevard are worth half a day, and the River District's brick streets and small local museums fill the rest.

Atlanta's nightlife has a national reputation. Big clubs play the hip-hop and trap the city exports, Edgewood Avenue has dive bars, Midtown has one of the South's largest LGBTQ scenes and Buckhead has dressier lounges. These areas are far apart, so plan on a ride between them.

Evenings in Fort Myers centre on the sunset. A few pubs and rooftop bars downtown, beach bars around the pier and the monthly art walk make up most of it. Outside the spring-break crowds of March, things wind down well before the small hours.

The two are evenly matched outdoors, but the landscapes are very different. Atlanta has trees and hills: Piedmont Park and the BeltLine in town, the granite dome of Stone Mountain and the Chattahoochee bluffs close by, and the Blue Ridge foothills and the southern end of the Appalachian Trail about two hours north.

Fort Myers is flat and wet, and its draw is wildlife. Roseate spoonbills at Ding Darling on Sanibel, the cypress boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp, kayaking through mangrove tunnels and the manatees in winter make it better for birdwatchers and paddlers than for hikers.

In both places every outing needs a car, and neither has a famous town close by. From Atlanta you can drive to the college town of Athens, the antebellum houses of Madison, the old gold-rush town of Dahlonega among the vineyards, or Chattanooga's riverfront and Lookout Mountain.

Trips from Fort Myers lean towards the coast: polished Naples, the island villages of Sanibel, Captiva and Boca Grande, the Ringling museum in Sarasota and the Ten Thousand Islands from Everglades City. Atlanta is better for small historic towns and hills, Fort Myers for waterfronts and islands.

Atlanta has more to fill days with children. There are the Georgia Aquarium's whale sharks, the gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, the dinosaurs at Fernbank, the Center for Puppetry Arts and the roller coasters at Six Flags. The price is long drives in heavy traffic.

Fort Myers makes for a simpler beach vacation, with shallow, calm water, shell hunting on Sanibel and dolphin-spotting boat trips. It has no zoo, aquarium or big theme park, though, so a rainy day means the science centre or the Shell Factory.

Neither city is easy without a car, but Atlanta at least has one useful rail line. MARTA runs from the airport through downtown and Midtown to Buckhead, so if you stay along it you can reach the main museums and Piedmont Park, and the BeltLine's Eastside Trail links several neighbourhoods on foot.

Fort Myers has nothing like that. Buses are too sparse to rely on, and the beach trolley and the walkable River District only cover short distances. In winter, traffic over the bridges to the beaches and Sanibel means you need to set off early.

Atlanta has more and more varied shopping: the two luxury malls facing each other on Peachtree Road, the boutiques of Buckhead Village, and vintage clothing and record shops in Little Five Points. Fort Myers is mostly open-air shopping centres and an outlet mall towards Estero, and the nicest browsing is in the shell shops and galleries along Sanibel's Periwinkle Way. Neither has a local craft or market tradition worth travelling for.

Overall costs are similar, but they fall in different places. Atlanta's hotels are cheaper than on either coast and the Buford Highway restaurants are fair value. Car hire, parking and the steep entry charges at the big family attractions add up, while the King sites are free.

In Fort Myers, timing matters most. Beachfront rooms on Sanibel and Fort Myers Beach are expensive in the winter season, but staying inland or coming in summer brings the cost down sharply, and the beaches and nature reserves cost little.

Atlanta's arts calendar has real depth. The Atlanta Symphony and the Alliance Theatre perform at the Woodruff Arts Center, the opera and ballet run full seasons and the Fox hosts touring Broadway shows. Major hip-hop, R&B and gospel acts come through regularly, playing the arenas and halls such as the Tabernacle.

Fort Myers has a decent winter season. Touring shows play the Barbara B. Mann hall, a repertory company performs in a restored 1908 theatre and a regional orchestra gives concerts. In summer the programme largely stops, and live music means bands in bars.

Neither city is a spa destination, but they offer different ways to rest. Atlanta's best option is the Korean bathhouses in the north-eastern suburbs, with hot and cold pools and sauna rooms, though the city around them is fast-paced and spread out.

Fort Myers has no bathing tradition and its spas are inside resort hotels, but the place itself is slower. Sanibel and Captiva have bike paths and low buildings, and most of the rest comes from a pool and long walks by the water.