Atlanta or Houston?

Neither city is a beach destination, but only Houston has the sea within reach for a day. Galveston, an hour south-east, has miles of shallow, warm Gulf water that is cloudy and sometimes piled with seaweed, but fine for a relaxed family day. From Atlanta both coasts are four to five hours away, so swimming means the sandy edges of Lake Lanier or Lake Allatoona on a summer weekend.

Both cities eat best out along the highways, in strip malls where restaurants cook for immigrant communities: Buford Highway in Atlanta, Bellaire Boulevard and the south-west in Houston. Atlanta's own strength is Southern cooking at its source, from meat-and-three cafeterias and west-side soul food to a serious Sunday brunch.

Houston has more layers. Tex-Mex and smoked brisket are local cuisines, oysters and redfish come fresh from the Gulf, and Vietnamese-Cajun crawfish boils mark the spring. Nigerian, Pakistani and Salvadoran kitchens widen the range even further. In both cities you need a car to eat well.

On sights the two are about level, and neither has much old townscape: Atlanta burned in 1864, and Houston's historic fabric amounts to a few downtown blocks. Atlanta's weight is history. The King park on Auburn Avenue and the civil rights centre downtown are essential, with the High Museum and the Carter Library alongside.

Houston leans towards art and science instead. The Museum District, the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel in Montrose make it the better gallery trip. Mission control and the Saturn V rocket at Space Center Houston have no equivalent in Atlanta.

Atlanta's nights have more energy. As a home of Southern hip-hop and trap, it has big clubs with a national name, small packed dance floors on Edgewood Avenue, one of the South's largest LGBTQ scenes in Midtown and dressy lounges in Buckhead.

Houston is easier-going, with Montrose's long-established gay bars, Washington Avenue lounges and open-sided icehouses whose wide patios suit warm evenings. It is good company rather than a reason to travel. In both cities each district is its own pocket, and you need a ride to get between them.

Atlanta is far better for getting outdoors. Within half an hour you can reach Stone Mountain's bare granite dome, the Kennesaw battlefield trails and river floats under the Chattahoochee's wooded bluffs. Two hours north are Amicalola Falls, Tallulah Gorge and the southern end of the Appalachian Trail.

Houston's land is flat prairie, bayou and marsh. Buffalo Bayou and Memorial Park are good in town, and Brazos Bend has alligators along its lakes. Its standout is the spring bird migration on the coast, and the long hot season rules out much else.

Atlanta has more variety within a day's drive. There are Athens with its college streets and music history, Dahlonega's gold-rush square among the vineyards, Madison's antebellum houses and Chattanooga's riverfront below Lookout Mountain.

From Houston the main day out is Galveston, where the iron-fronted Strand, the East End's Victorian houses and the Bishop's Palace repay the trip. Beyond that are the San Jacinto battlefield and the wildflower back roads around Brenham and Round Top. Austin and San Antonio, like Savannah from Atlanta, need a night away.

Atlanta has the slightly longer list for children. There are the whale sharks and belugas at the Georgia Aquarium, Zoo Atlanta's gorillas, Fernbank's dinosaurs, puppet shows in Midtown and the roller coasters at Six Flags.

Houston's highlight is Space Center Houston with its real spacecraft. Hermann Park conveniently groups the zoo, a miniature train and the Children's Museum, and Galveston adds waterparks and a beach, which Atlanta cannot. Either way, expect long drives and summer heat.

Both cities were built for the car, but Atlanta is a little easier for a visitor without one. MARTA rail links the airport with downtown, Midtown and Buckhead, and the BeltLine's Eastside Trail connects walkable neighbourhoods.

Houston's light rail covers downtown, the Museum District and the medical centre. Beyond that the city spreads over a vast area, buses are slow, and heat and missing pavements make walking hard. Hiring a car is close to essential.

Both are mall cities, and Houston does it on a larger scale. Its Uptown centre, with a skating rink and the major luxury houses, is a destination in its own right. Rice Village and 19th Street in the Heights add walkable independent shops, and Western boots and hats are a local speciality to take home.

Atlanta's two Buckhead malls on Peachtree Road cover the big labels, and Little Five Points has good vintage and record shops. It has no local craft or style of its own.

For big American cities, both are fairly priced, with hotels away from convention weeks costing less than on the coasts. Houston edges ahead with free major museums and cheap taquerias and noodle shops, while Atlanta's King sites are free and Buford Highway feeds you well for little. In both, car hire, parking, tips and the big family attractions are what push the bill up.

Houston's Theater District is the more complete. Opera, ballet, the symphony and the long-established Alley Theatre are all within a few downtown blocks, Miller Outdoor Theatre puts on free summer shows, and smaller rooms carry country, blues and zydeco.

Atlanta answers with a symphony known for its choral work, the Alliance Theatre and the ornate 1920s Fox. It is stronger for big hip-hop, R&B and gospel tours and for mid-sized halls such as the Tabernacle.

Neither city is restful, but Atlanta has the better escape: large Korean bathhouses half an hour out, with hot and cold pools, sauna rooms and lounging halls, some open round the clock. Houston has a few similar places in the suburbs but no bathing tradition. Its calm comes instead from an hour in the Rothko Chapel, on the Menil lawns or under the oaks of Hermann Park early in the morning.