Atlanta or Wisconsin Dells?

Neither city has a sea, but Wisconsin Dells makes better use of its lakes. Devil's Lake, half an hour away, has sandy beaches at both ends under quartzite bluffs, and Mirror Lake and Lake Delton are right on the doorstep. Add the outdoor waterparks and swimming becomes part of every summer day.

In Atlanta, swimming means a drive of about an hour to Lake Lanier or Lake Allatoona, or a hotel pool. Atlanta's lake water is warmer, but the Dells puts its water much closer to hand.

Atlanta is a real eating destination. You can have shrimp and grits and peach cobbler in meat-and-three cafeterias and west-side soul food kitchens, then Korean, Vietnamese or Ethiopian cooking in the strip malls of Buford Highway, and chef-led restaurants in Inman Park.

Wisconsin Dells mostly feeds families between attractions. Its one real local touch is the Wisconsin tradition of supper clubs, the Friday fish fry and fresh cheese curds, and that is worth trying once. Anyone who travels to eat will be happier in Atlanta.

Atlanta has heritage that matters. The King birth home and Ebenezer Baptist Church on Auburn Avenue, together with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, make it one of the key places to understand the civil rights movement. The High Museum, the Atlanta History Center and the Carter Presidential Library fill out two or three solid days.

Wisconsin Dells offers the H.H. Bennett Studio, which tells how photographs of the gorges first brought tourists here, and some exhibits on the Ho-Chunk Nation. The rest of Broadway is upside-down houses and oddity museums, which children enjoy but which are not history.

Atlanta has a nightlife with a national name. There are big hip-hop and trap clubs, dive bars packed along Edgewood Avenue, one of the South's largest LGBTQ scenes in Midtown and dressy lounges in Buckhead. Each area is its own pocket, though, so plan on a ride between them.

Wisconsin Dells goes quiet once the waterparks close. You get a few taverns, brewery taprooms, a post-dinner cocktail at a supper club and a casino near Baraboo, and the locals drive to Madison for a proper night out.

These two are about equal outdoors, but the landscapes are very different. Wisconsin Dells is built around its scenery: sandstone canyons along the Wisconsin River that you explore by boat or kayak, and the quartzite bluffs and climbing routes of Devil's Lake. In winter it adds cross-country skiing.

Atlanta's version is a leafy city canopy, the granite dome of Stone Mountain and floating trips on the Chattahoochee. The real hiking is two hours north on the Blue Ridge and the start of the Appalachian Trail. The Dells keeps its best scenery close, while Atlanta gives you higher ground if you are willing to drive.

Both have a modest list of day trips, all by car, and the difference is in what you visit. From Atlanta the drives lead to Southern small towns: the music history and college streets of Athens, the gold-rush square at Dahlonega among the North Georgia vineyards, and the small Georgia town of Madison with its pre-Civil War houses. Chattanooga's riverfront and Lookout Mountain are about two hours north.

From Wisconsin Dells, the best day out is Madison, Wisconsin's lakeside state capital, with its domed Capitol and university campus. Beyond that there are Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin at Spring Green and the circus museum at Baraboo, which suit visitors with an interest in architecture and odd Americana.

Wisconsin Dells is the more complete family destination. The whole town is designed for children, with indoor waterpark resorts open all winter, outdoor parks in summer, and rides only minutes apart. Little ones barely need to leave the hotel.

Atlanta has excellent single attractions instead. The Georgia Aquarium's whale sharks, the gorillas at Zoo Atlanta, the dinosaurs at Fernbank and the Center for Puppetry Arts all suit curious children, and teenagers who would tire of the Dells' water rides will find more to do. The cost is long drives and summer heat.

Both need a car, but Atlanta gives you a bit more without one. MARTA rail runs from the airport through downtown and Midtown to Buckhead, and the BeltLine's Eastside Trail links several neighbourhoods on foot.

Wisconsin Dells has no useful public transport, and its highways are not safe to walk along. Only a few blocks of Broadway work on foot. Drives there are short, though, while Atlanta's rush-hour motorways can eat up a large part of the day.

Atlanta offers American retail at full scale. Buckhead's facing malls on Peachtree Road and the boutiques of Buckhead Village cover luxury and department stores, and Little Five Points adds vintage clothes and record shops.

Wisconsin Dells has souvenir strips selling T-shirts, taffy and Wisconsin cheese, plus an outlet centre that is handy on a wet afternoon. Neither is worth the trip for shopping, but only Atlanta can fill a day with it.

Overall costs are similar, but they build up in different ways. In Atlanta the big expenses are car hire, parking, and tax and tips on every meal. Hotels are cheaper than on the coasts, Buford Highway is good value and the King park sites are free.

In Wisconsin Dells the bill depends on timing. Summer weekends at the waterpark resorts, with tickets and extras, get expensive fast for a family. Older motels outside the peak season, together with the free state parks, keep a trip there moderate.

Atlanta has a full cultural calendar. The symphony is known for its choral recordings, the Alliance Theatre stages new work, there are resident opera and ballet companies, and the 1920s Fox Theatre hosts touring Broadway shows. Venues from the arenas down to the Tabernacle and the small rooms in East Atlanta bring a steady flow of hip-hop, R&B and gospel.

In Wisconsin Dells the stage means magic shows, dinner shows and tribute bands. Fans of serious theatre drive to Spring Green for its summer outdoor classical theatre.

Neither is a place to unwind, and the ways to relax are quite different. Atlanta's most memorable option is the large Korean bathhouses in the northeastern suburbs, with hot and cold pools and lounging halls, some of them open round the clock.

Wisconsin Dells offers resort spas and an adults-only retreat in the woods where parents can get away. Its calmest moments are early mornings on the river or the empty lakes and pine woods out of season.