Atlantic City or Charleston?

Atlantic City's beach is the easier one to reach: a wide strip of free, pale sand directly below the Boardwalk, which you can walk to from your hotel, with lifeguards all summer. The water only warms properly in July and August, though, and the season ends quickly.

Charleston comes out slightly ahead because of choice and warmth. Folly Beach for surf, Sullivan's Island for dunes and quiet, and Isle of Palms for a resort feel are all within half an hour, and the sea there stays swimmable into October. The trade-off is greenish, tidal water and a drive to get there.

Charleston is the far stronger place to eat. Lowcountry cooking, with shrimp and grits, she-crab soup and Carolina Gold rice shaped by Gullah Geechee traditions, is served everywhere from restored townhouse dining rooms to whole-hog barbecue pits, mostly around upper King Street and the French Quarter.

In Atlantic City, the casino steakhouses and buffets could be anywhere. The more personal food is in Ducktown's Italian-American restaurants, the giant subs, and the crab shacks at Gardner's Basin. It is filling and fun, but rarely a reason to come.

Atlantic City's sights tell the story of the American seaside resort: the original Boardwalk, the Monopoly street names, the vast pipe organ in Art Deco Boardwalk Hall and the wooden Lucy the Elephant in Margate. Casino towers have replaced most of the old grandeur, and a day covers it.

Charleston gives you far more to see. Its streets of Georgian and antebellum houses south of Broad are a sight in themselves, and the Nathaniel Russell and Aiken-Rhett houses, Fort Sumter and the International African American Museum deal seriously with war and slavery.

Atlantic City wins on sheer stamina. The casinos never close, and on summer weekends the big resorts run nightclubs and pool parties that draw crowds from Philadelphia and New York. Midweek and in winter it goes flat, and the streets between resorts are not places to wander at night.

Charleston is a bar town, not a club town. Rooftop bars, cocktail rooms and oyster bars fill upper King Street on weekends, and most places close around 2am. It suits a relaxed evening better than a late one.

Both sit on flat Atlantic coast, but Charleston's surroundings are richer and wilder. Kayaking through spartina marsh creeks often brings dolphins alongside, and the Francis Marion National Forest and ACE Basin add alligators, live oaks and quiet trails.

Atlantic City's best outdoor half-day is the wildlife loop at the Forsythe refuge for herons and shorebirds, with canoeing in the Pine Barrens about an hour away. It makes a pleasant extra rather than a reason to choose the city.

The two are about equal here, and the choice comes down to what you want from a day out. From Atlantic City the big prize is Philadelphia, reachable by train, with Independence Hall and major museums, while Cape May offers Victorian gingerbread houses an hour south.

From Charleston the outings are about the old South: Ashley River plantations such as Middleton Place and Drayton Hall within half an hour, Savannah's squares for a full day, and Beaufort for Gullah culture. All of them need a car.

Charleston is much easier with children. The aquarium and children's museum are on the downtown waterfront, Patriots Point lets them clamber over an aircraft carrier, and the boat to Fort Sumter makes a good outing for school-age children. Summer afternoons are tiring, however.

In Atlantic City the beach and the Steel Pier rides do most of the work, but the town is built around adult gaming, and under-21s are kept off the casino floors. Many families prefer to stay in Ocean City or near Wildwood's piers instead.

In Atlantic City, almost everything you'll want lies along one line, the Boardwalk. Jitneys run up and down Pacific Avenue day and night, and a rail link goes to Philadelphia. Away from that line the streets are dull and not pleasant to walk.

Charleston's historic peninsula is compact and flat, and attractive in every direction. Most of the old town lies within about 3km, and a free shuttle and pedicabs cover the gaps, so it is the easier of the two to explore on foot, though midsummer heat cuts walks short. Both cities need a car for anything beyond the centre.

Atlantic City's shopping is mostly an outlet district of familiar American brands, the casino arcades and the T-shirt stands on the Boardwalk. The one truly local thing to take home is a box of saltwater taffy.

King Street gives Charleston far more to browse. It runs from antiques dealers and galleries through national brands to independent boutiques and design shops. At City Market, Gullah artisans weave sweetgrass baskets, a craft you won't find anywhere else, and a souvenir worth carrying home.

Atlantic City is the cheaper of the two, as long as you avoid summer weekends. Casino hotels discount rooms heavily midweek and off-season to fill them, and boardwalk food is cheap, though resort fees and parking add up.

Charleston is expensive almost all the time. Peninsula inns and well-known restaurants charge big-city prices, and house and plantation tours cost extra. Staying in Mount Pleasant is cheaper but means driving in every day.

The two are about level, but the shows are very different. Atlantic City is built around arena headliners, with touring pop and rock acts, comedians and boxing in the casino showrooms and at Boardwalk Hall, plus free beach concerts in summer.

Charleston leans towards the arts. Spoleto Festival USA brings two weeks of opera, chamber music, dance and theatre in late spring, and the Dock Street Theatre, the symphony and Gullah storytelling fill the rest of the year on a smaller scale.

Atlantic City's flashing, sleepless gaming floors work against any real calm, even though several casino hotels have sizeable spas with saunas and indoor pools. Its most peaceful moments are winter mornings on an empty Boardwalk beside a grey sea.

In Charleston the slow pace does most of the work. Shaded gardens, quiet church courtyards and long evenings at White Point Garden make it the easier place to unwind, and Kiawah Island adds resort spas. Neither city has a bathing tradition of its own.