Atlanta or Miami?

Atlanta sits inland on the Piedmont plateau, with both coasts four to five hours away by road. Swimming means Lake Lanier or Lake Allatoona on a summer weekend, or the hotel pool. These are lake days with sandy shores, not a beach trip.

Miami is built around its shore. The sand runs from the Art Deco stretch of South Beach up to the quieter, family-friendly end at North Beach and Surfside, and Crandon Park on Key Biscayne has shallower, calmer water. The setting is flat and built-up, and seaweed can wash in during summer, but you can swim in the warm Atlantic in any month.

Both cities eat well, and what differs is the cooking. Atlanta is the place for Southern food on home ground: fried chicken, collards, smoked barbecue and shrimp and grits in meat-and-three cafeterias and soul food kitchens. Its other strength is the Korean, Vietnamese and Ethiopian cooking along Buford Highway, though reaching most of it needs a car.

Miami's food comes from the Caribbean and Latin America. Cafecito from a ventanita window and Cuban sandwiches on Calle Ocho are the backbone, with Haitian, Venezuelan and Peruvian cooking around them. Seafood such as winter stone crab and grouper sandwiches is something Atlanta cannot offer. Steer clear of the tourist tables on South Beach's main strips.

Neither city has much old townscape, so the sightseeing in each fills a few days rather than a week. Atlanta, largely burned in 1864, is about history and museums: the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights make it essential for understanding the civil rights movement, and the High Museum is the stronger art collection of the two cities.

Miami's culture is mostly out on the street. The pastel 1930s hotels of the Art Deco district are best seen on a walk along Ocean Drive, and Vizcaya's villa and bayside gardens are the other must-see. Wynwood's murals and Little Havana's exile history add colour to museums that are good rather than great.

Miami is the bigger, later night out. South Beach clubs with international DJs and bottle tables, and downtown rooms open until dawn, make it a destination in its own right. Wynwood's warehouse bars and the salsa nights on Calle Ocho give you looser options, though all of it rewards a deep wallet.

Atlanta has a national name of its own as the home of Southern hip-hop and trap, with dive bars on Edgewood Avenue, a large LGBTQ scene in Midtown and dressier lounges in Buckhead. Each area is a separate pocket, though, and a ride between them stops a night from flowing the way a Miami night can.

The outdoors is roughly as good in both, but the landscapes could hardly be more different. Atlanta has hills and forest: a tall tree canopy over the city, the granite dome of Stone Mountain within half an hour, and the Blue Ridge foothills, Amicalola Falls and the start of the Appalachian Trail about two hours north. Spring and autumn are the seasons for it.

Miami is flat and wet. The Everglades lie within an hour, with alligators and wading birds along the Anhinga Trail, and there is snorkelling on the reefs of Biscayne National Park and Key Largo, plus kitesurfing and paddleboarding on the bay. Winter is the time to go, as summer brings heat, mosquitoes and storms.

Atlanta has more towns within reach, though none is famous. Athens has its college-town music history, Dahlonega its gold-rush square and vineyards, and Madison its pre-Civil War houses. Chattanooga, two hours north, makes the fullest day out.

From Miami there are fewer choices. You can visit Fort Lauderdale's canals, the Gilded Age mansions of Palm Beach or the seafood shacks of Key Largo and Islamorada. The most tempting targets, Key West for Miami and Savannah for Atlanta, are both too far for a day trip and need a night away.

Atlanta has more attractions built for children. The Georgia Aquarium with its whale sharks, the gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, the dinosaurs at Fernbank and the Center for Puppetry Arts fill several days, and Six Flags is on the edge of town. Spring and autumn spare you the summer heat.

Miami's trump card is the beach itself, with calm water at Key Biscayne and North Beach, and Zoo Miami and the Frost Science Museum add variety. The big theme parks, though, are a long drive away in Orlando, and South Beach's party side is not where most parents want to stay.

Both cities are built around the car, but Miami is slightly easier on foot. If you stay on the beach you can walk or cycle around flat South Beach, and the free Metromover links downtown with Brickell. You still need a ride for Wynwood or Little Havana and a hire car for the Everglades.

In Atlanta, MARTA rail is useful on one line, from the airport through downtown and Midtown to Buckhead, and the BeltLine joins a few walkable neighbourhoods. Most restaurants, Stone Mountain and everything out of town need a car, and rush-hour traffic is notoriously heavy.

Miami is the stronger shopping destination by some distance. The Design District gathers the major fashion houses in architect-designed buildings, Bal Harbour is one of the country's most exclusive malls, and Aventura and the western outlets cover the rest of the range.

Atlanta's best shopping is concentrated in Buckhead, with two big malls on Peachtree Road and boutiques nearby. Little Five Points adds vintage clothes and record shops. Neither city has much local craft to bring home, although Miami at least has guayabera makers and cigar shops in Little Havana.

Atlanta is the cheaper trip. Hotels away from Buckhead and convention weeks are reasonable, Southern diners and the Buford Highway restaurants are fair value, and the civil rights sites cost nothing. The big family attractions, car hire and tax and tips on every meal are what push the bill up.

Miami costs more at nearly every step. Beachfront hotels charge high winter rates plus resort fees and parking, and South Beach club drinks are notoriously expensive. To keep costs down, eat at Cuban lunch counters, ride the free Metromover, stay on the mainland or come in summer, accepting the heat and storm risk.

Atlanta has the fuller calendar. The Atlanta Symphony, known for its choral work, and the Alliance Theatre share the Woodruff Arts Center, opera and ballet run full seasons, and the 1920s Fox Theatre hosts touring shows. As a centre of hip-hop, R&B and gospel, the city also draws major tours, and venues like the Tabernacle give you mid-sized gigs.

Miami's highlights are Miami City Ballet and the New World Symphony in its Frank Gehry hall, with concerts screened on the lawn outside, and the Arsht Center is the main stage. The live salsa and Afro-Cuban bands are the most local thing to hear, but the season is concentrated in winter and jazz and theatre are modest.

Miami is the easier place to unwind, at least away from South Beach. The resort spas on Miami Beach and Key Biscayne come with ocean views, there is yoga on the sand at sunrise, and a long-established banya offers steam rooms and cold plunges. Surfside and Key Biscayne are calm enough for slow pool days.

Atlanta's one real draw is unusual: the big Korean bathhouses in the northeastern suburbs, some open round the clock, with hot and cold pools and lounging halls. Apart from these and the hotel spas, the sprawl, traffic and humidity keep the city far from restful.