Atlantic City or Baltimore?

This is Atlantic City's strongest card and Baltimore's weakest. Atlantic City has miles of pale, free sand right below the Boardwalk, continuing south through Ventnor and Margate, with real Atlantic surf that is warm enough for swimming in late summer. You only need to swim between the flags.

Baltimore's waterfront is a working harbour. For a swim you have to drive about 40 minutes to Sandy Point on the brackish Chesapeake, where sea nettles can appear in high summer, and the ocean beaches are a separate trip.

Baltimore eats with more character. Steamed blue crabs with Old Bay, lump crab cakes and the old market halls such as Lexington Market give it a cuisine of its own, and Little Italy, Hampden and Harbor East add depth.

Atlantic City has its own Italian-American tradition in Ducktown, plus subs, boardwalk pizza and crab shacks around Gardner's Basin. Much of its dining, though, happens in casino steakhouses and buffets that could be in any gambling town.

Baltimore has far more to see. The free Baltimore Museum of Art and Walters Art Museum, Fort McHenry, the B&O Railroad Museum and the historic ships in the Inner Harbor easily fill two or three days, and the brick streets of Fells Point and Mount Vernon reward a walk.

Atlantic City's culture is seaside Americana: the original Boardwalk of 1870, the Monopoly street names, the huge organ in Boardwalk Hall and Lucy the Elephant down in Margate. These are memorable, but a single day covers them.

Evenings are equally lively in both cities, but they feel very different. Atlantic City's nights happen inside the casinos, which never close, and summer weekends bring resort nightclubs and pool parties. Baltimore is a bar town, with old taverns around the cobbled square in Fells Point, rooftops in Federal Hill and dive bars in Station North, and last call comes at 2am.

In both cities the streets away from the main areas are best crossed by taxi at night. Atlantic City is also much quieter midweek and in winter.

Baltimore has more green space within easy reach. Patapsco Valley's wooded gorges start at the city's edge, Gunpowder Falls has trout streams and a rail trail, there's sailing out of Annapolis, and the Blue Ridge hills are an hour and a half west.

Atlantic City's landscape is flat barrier island and salt marsh. Its highlights are the birdlife on the Forsythe refuge loop, crabbing and kayaking in the back bays, and canoe rivers in the Pine Barrens. These are pleasant extras, not a reason to come.

Baltimore sits between two major cities. Washington's Smithsonian and Philadelphia's old city are each about an hour away by train, and Annapolis, Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry are all easy drives.

From Atlantic City, Philadelphia takes about an hour and a half. The best local outing is Victorian Cape May, along with the boardwalk towns of Ocean City and Wildwood and the colonial village of Smithville. These are good shore trips, but there are fewer of them.

With children, Atlantic City is a fine-weather place. On a hot July day, the free sand with lifeguards and a few rides out over the water make for an easy, happy day. Once the swimming season ends, though, there is little left for a child to do, and the resort towers behind the beach are built for grown-ups. Many families find the quieter boardwalk towns a short drive down the shore, Ocean City above all, a more comfortable base.

Baltimore doesn't depend on the weather in the same way. Most of what children come for is indoors and grouped along one stretch of waterfront, so a rainy afternoon or a sticky August day still works, and nobody needs a car to get between sights. The zoo in Druid Hill Park and the ramparts of Fort McHenry fill the next days, though the city between them is uneven and most families take a taxi.

Both cities are easy at the centre and harder beyond it, though the layouts differ. Atlantic City is a single line: walk the Boardwalk or ride the jitneys along Pacific Avenue. Baltimore's core is a cluster of harbour districts joined by a waterfront promenade and water taxis.

In both cities you need a car or taxi to go much further, though Baltimore's fast trains to Washington and Philadelphia give it the edge for trips beyond town.

Neither city is a shopping destination, but they offer different kinds of browsing. Atlantic City has brand outlets, casino arcades and boardwalk taffy. Baltimore has vintage and kitsch shops on 36th Street in Hampden, antiques and records in Fells Point, and Old Bay souvenirs from the market halls, which is more fun for a browsing afternoon.

Both cities have typical American prices, but Atlantic City can be slightly cheaper if you go at the right time. Casino hotels cut rates sharply midweek and outside summer, and the beach is free. A summer weekend there, though, costs far more, and resort fees and parking add up.

Baltimore costs about the same all year. Hotels are cheaper than in Washington, and the main art museums are free, but taxis and crab feasts add to the daily cost.

Baltimore has a real arts calendar of its own. There's the symphony at the Meyerhoff, frequent free concerts at the Peabody Institute, touring Broadway shows at the Hippodrome, repertory theatre, and small indie and punk clubs around Station North.

Atlantic City's live entertainment is the arena show: touring headliners, comedians and boxing in the casino venues and Boardwalk Hall, plus free beach concerts and fireworks in summer.

Neither city is restful, but Atlantic City offers a little more. Several of its casino resorts have large spas with saunas and indoor pools, and an empty winter Boardwalk by the sea can be very calm.

Baltimore has a few hotel and neighbourhood day spas, and its quiet moments come under the trees of Druid Hill Park or in the galleries of the Walters.