Atlanta or St. Petersburg, Florida?

There is no real contest here. Atlanta sits far inland, and its swimming means the sandy shores of Lake Lanier or Lake Allatoona, pleasant for a hot weekend but nothing like a seaside trip.

St. Petersburg has the Gulf barrier islands on its doorstep: the fine white sand of St. Pete Beach and Pass-a-Grille, the wilder shore at Fort De Soto and the ferry-only beaches of Caladesi Island. The water is calm and shallow, though summer storms and the odd bout of red tide can interrupt a day.

Atlanta is the better place to eat. Fried chicken, collards and barbecue in meat-and-three cafeterias and west-side soul food kitchens give it a cuisine with real roots, and Buford Highway adds miles of Korean, Vietnamese, Mexican and Ethiopian cooking aimed at the communities themselves.

St. Petersburg is easygoing rather than ambitious: grouper sandwiches, smoked fish spread and stone crab at waterfront shacks, with good brewery taprooms along Central Avenue. It is enjoyable, but a food-focused traveller will find more to seek out in Atlanta.

The two are fairly even, but the sightseeing is of a different kind. Atlanta's weight lies in history, above all Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth home and Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue and the civil rights centre downtown, with the High Museum and the Atlanta History Center adding art and the story of the South.

St. Petersburg is a museum town on the waterfront, led by the Dalí Museum's large collection, with fine art, glass and Arts and Crafts collections close by and 1920s Mediterranean Revival buildings such as the pink Don CeSar. Each fills two or three days rather than a week.

Atlanta offers a much bigger night out. As a home of Southern hip-hop and trap, its clubs have a national name, Edgewood Avenue packs dive bars and small dance floors together, Midtown has one of the South's largest LGBTQ scenes and Buckhead does bottle service. The drawback is that each area needs a ride to reach.

St. Petersburg is quieter and more walkable: cocktail bars, rooftops and taprooms along Central Avenue, then tiki bars at sunset on the beaches. Anyone wanting to dance late usually crosses to Ybor City in Tampa.

Both give good time outdoors, but in opposite landscapes. Atlanta is wooded and hilly, with Stone Mountain's granite dome, Kennesaw's battlefield trails and the Chattahoochee close by, and the Blue Ridge foothills and the start of the Appalachian Trail within about two hours for real hiking.

St. Petersburg is flat and all about water. Paddling through the mangroves at Weedon Island or Shell Key brings dolphins, rays and winter manatees, and the Pinellas Trail suits cyclists, but there are no hills at all.

Neither has famous excursions on its doorstep, so the choice is about mood. From Atlanta the drives lead to small-town Georgia, from the college town of Athens to the gold-rush square of Dahlonega and the antebellum houses of Madison, with Chattanooga's riverfront about two hours away.

St. Petersburg offers more variety of setting: Ybor City's cigar-factory streets in Tampa, the Ringling estate in Sarasota and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs. Orlando's theme parks sit at the outer edge of a day.

Atlanta keeps children busy with big city attractions: whale sharks and beluga whales at the Georgia Aquarium, gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, dinosaur skeletons at Fernbank and shows and workshops at the Center for Puppetry Arts. On the edges of the city are Six Flags' roller coasters and the summit cable car at Stone Mountain.

St. Petersburg builds the family vacation around the sand. The gentle surf and shallow Gulf water suit small children, and the beach resorts are set up for families. On days away from the beach there are Busch Gardens and the Florida Aquarium across the bay, or a long day at Orlando's theme parks. In either city expect plenty of driving, and plan the busiest outings for the cooler months rather than the middle of a summer day.

Both are car cities, and a hire car or ride-hailing will do most of the work in either. In Atlanta the MARTA rail line is the one real asset, linking the airport, downtown, Midtown and Buckhead, while the BeltLine trail ties together a few walkable neighbourhoods.

St. Petersburg has a compact downtown where the pier, museums and Central Avenue are all close on foot, a trolley loop and a rapid bus to St. Pete Beach. Beyond those, buses are slow and visitors drive.

Atlanta has more to offer the shopper. The facing malls on Peachtree Road and the designer boutiques of Buckhead Village cover department stores and luxury labels, and Little Five Points adds vintage clothing and records.

St. Petersburg is small-scale and independent, with vintage shops, local galleries selling glass and prints along Central Avenue and a Saturday market in winter. For brand names, visitors drive to the malls in Tampa.

Neither is cheap, and the costs are much the same American extras: tax and tips on meals, car hire and parking. Atlanta's hotels are reasonable away from Buckhead and convention weeks, Buford Highway eats well for little, and the King sites are free, though the big family attractions charge heavily.

In St. Petersburg the beaches and parks cost nothing, but beachfront hotels peak from February to April. Summer and early autumn, or a room downtown instead of on the sand, bring the bill down.

Atlanta's stage is much fuller. The Atlanta Symphony at the Woodruff Arts Center, the Alliance Theatre, full opera and ballet seasons and touring shows at the 1920s Fox Theatre sit beside a steady flow of major hip-hop, R&B and gospel tours and mid-sized halls such as the Tabernacle.

St. Petersburg relies on the Mahaffey Theater, shared by the Florida Orchestra, plus a regional theatre company and small concert venues. Opera, ballet and big Broadway tours mean crossing to Tampa.

St. Petersburg is the more restful choice, less for its spas than for its pace: nightly sunsets on the beaches, sleepy Pass-a-Grille and shaded waterfront parks, best enjoyed in the mild, dry winter.

Atlanta's best card is unexpected, the large Korean-style bathhouses in the northeastern suburbs with hot and cold pools and sauna rooms. Otherwise traffic, sprawl and humid summers make it a hard city to slow down in.