Atlanta or Sarasota?

There is no contest here. Atlanta sits inland on the Piedmont plateau, hours from either coast. Swimming means a hotel pool or the sandy shore of Lake Lanier, which is fine for a hot weekend but nothing more.

Sarasota is built around its beaches. Siesta Key's powdery quartz sand stays cool underfoot, the water is calm and shallow enough for small children, and Lido Key is minutes from downtown. Check for red tide before a beach day, and expect cool water in midwinter.

Atlanta is the place to plan meals around. The fried chicken, shrimp and grits and barbecue served in meat-and-three cafeterias and west side soul food kitchens are the real thing. Buford Highway adds miles of Korean, Vietnamese and Ethiopian cooking aimed at the communities that live there.

Sarasota eats well enough on Gulf seafood, with grouper sandwiches and stone crab by the water, and the Amish pie in Pinecraft is a pleasant curiosity. Beyond that it offers bistros and brunch, which are enjoyable but rarely worth a special journey.

Atlanta has more to see, and its sights carry more weight. The Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park and the civil rights centre downtown are major pieces of American history. The High Museum and the Atlanta History Center fill another day or two.

Sarasota's culture rests largely on one estate, the Ringling, with its Rubens canvases, the Ca' d'Zan mansion and the circus museum. The mid-century modernist buildings of the Sarasota School add a rewarding detour for architecture lovers. Neither city has an old quarter to wander.

Atlanta is far stronger after dark. Its big clubs play the hip-hop and trap the city is known for, Edgewood Avenue is packed with dive bars, and Midtown has one of the largest LGBTQ scenes in the South. Each area needs its own ride, though.

Sarasota winds down early. A night out means wine bars on Main Street or sunset drinks at the beach bars of Siesta Key Village. Anyone who wants a club drives to Tampa.

The two are close here, but their outdoors look nothing alike. Atlanta has hills and forest: a tall tree canopy, the granite dome of Stone Mountain and river floats on the Chattahoochee. Two hours north are the Blue Ridge and the start of the Appalachian Trail.

Sarasota is flat and watery. Alligators in Myakka River State Park, mangrove tunnels to kayak off Lido Key, and dolphins and manatees in the bay make it better for wildlife and paddling than for hiking. Its outdoor season runs through winter, not spring and autumn.

Neither city has a famous neighbour within easy reach, and both need a car. From Atlanta the drives lead into small-town Georgia: Athens for its music history, the gold rush square in Dahlonega, the antebellum houses of Madison, or Chattanooga two hours north.

Sarasota's day trips lead to the coast and the cities, with the Dalí Museum in St Petersburg across the Sunshine Skyway, the cigar-making heritage of Ybor City in Tampa and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs. Savannah is too far for a day from Atlanta, and so is Orlando from Sarasota.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Atlanta has the longer list of attractions: the Georgia Aquarium with its whale sharks, the gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, the dinosaurs at Fernbank, the puppetry centre and Six Flags for roller coasters.

Sarasota keeps things simpler, with calm, shallow sea for small swimmers, the aquarium at Mote Marine and rental houses with pools. There is no theme park nearby, but the beach does most of the work. In both cities, summer heat and long drives are the main strain.

Both are built for the car, and most visitors hire one either way. Atlanta at least has MARTA rail along one corridor, from the airport through downtown and Midtown to Buckhead, and the BeltLine trail for walking. But its distances and rush-hour motorways are on a big-city scale.

Sarasota is small, so the drives are short, and Downtown, St Armands Circle and Siesta Key Village are each easy to walk. The jams there come with the season, on the bridges to the keys in winter.

Atlanta has more range. The two big malls facing each other on Peachtree Road in Buckhead hold the department stores and luxury labels, and Little Five Points adds vintage clothes and record shops for a scruffier afternoon.

In Sarasota, shopping is a resort stroll around St Armands Circle for resort wear, jewellery and galleries, plus the boutiques on Main Street and Palm Avenue. Neither city has a local craft worth travelling for.

Atlanta is the easier city on a budget. Hotels away from Buckhead cost less than on the coasts, Buford Highway and the Southern diners are fair value, and the civil rights sites are free. Car hire and tickets for the family attractions add up.

Sarasota charges resort prices, above all for beachfront stays on Siesta Key and Longboat Key from January to April. Summer is cheaper, and the public beaches and state parks cost little or nothing.

Both have full classical seasons, which is unusual for a city of Sarasota's size. Atlanta adds the reach of a big city: the Symphony at the Woodruff Arts Center, Broadway tours at the Fox Theatre, and a steady stream of hip-hop, R&B and gospel acts through its arenas and halls such as the Tabernacle.

Sarasota's strength is theatre and dance. It has the Asolo Rep on the Ringling grounds, an opera company in a restored 1920s theatre and a ballet known for its Ashton repertoire. Most of it runs from autumn to spring, and live popular music is thin.

Sarasota is the place to slow down. The whole town keeps an easy pace, with spas on the keys, yoga on the sand at sunrise and the warm spring-fed pool of Warm Mineral Springs to the south.

Atlanta's best offer is an unusual one: the Korean bathhouses in the northeastern suburbs, with hot and cold pools and sauna rooms. Around them, though, the traffic and humid summers make the city tiring rather than restful.