Baltimore or Nashville?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Baltimore at least has salt water within reach. Sandy Point State Park, about forty minutes away, has a sandy strip on the Chesapeake that is fine for a family afternoon in high summer, though sea nettles and closures after rain spoil it at times. The Atlantic coast is a separate trip of about three hours.

Nashville is entirely inland. Its version is a swim area or a pontoon boat on Percy Priest or Old Hickory Lake, which is pleasant on a hot weekend and not much more.

The two are broadly level, and each is built around one regional dish. In Baltimore that is blue crab, steamed and cracked with mallets on paper-covered tables in summer, with crab cakes all year and old market halls such as Lexington Market for oysters and snacks.

Nashville's anchor is fiery hot chicken, backed by barbecue, biscuits and meat-and-three cafeterias, with a useful run of Kurdish, Vietnamese and Mexican cooking along Nolensville Pike. Baltimore's food is more seasonal and seafood-led, while Nashville's is spicier and more Southern.

Baltimore offers the broader sightseeing. The Cone Collection of Matisse at the Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters' antiquities are serious collections, Fort McHenry ties the city to the national anthem, and the brick streets of Fells Point and Mount Vernon carry real history.

Nashville's sights mostly tell the story of music, led by the Country Music Hall of Fame and a daytime tour of the Ryman. The Parthenon replica, the Frist and the Hermitage add variety, but the townscape is largely modern.

Nashville is far stronger after dark. Lower Broadway's multi-storey honky-tonks keep bands playing and doors open into the small hours, and the whole strip feels like one long weekend party, with East Nashville's dive bars and cocktail lounges as a quieter alternative.

Baltimore offers good bars rather than a destination night out. The old taverns around the Fells Point square, Federal Hill's rooftops after an Orioles game and the artier dives of Station North make for pleasant evenings, but last call is 2am and both cities have few clubs.

Both sit in mild, wooded country, and Baltimore has the edge because it has the water. Kayaking in the harbour, sailing from Annapolis on the Chesapeake and spotting ospreys and eagles in the marshes add something Nashville cannot match, alongside the river gorges of Patapsco Valley.

Nashville's outdoors is gentler: owls and deer at Radnor Lake, forest walks in the Warner Parks, an easy paddle on the Harpeth and drives or bike rides along the Natchez Trace.

This is Baltimore's strongest advantage. Washington's Smithsonian museums and Philadelphia's Independence Hall are each about an hour away by train, and Annapolis, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry and the Eastern Shore villages are easy drives.

Nashville's outings are smaller in scale: the preserved Main Street and battlefields of Franklin, the village of Leiper's Fork, and whiskey distilleries around Lynchburg. They are pleasant, but nothing on the list matches a day in the US capital.

Baltimore is the easier choice with children, mainly because its main attractions sit together. The aquarium with its shark ring and rainforest, the science centre and Port Discovery are all on the Inner Harbor, with ships to climb aboard and the zoo and train museum further out.

Nashville has good options in its zoo, the Adventure Science Center and the Lane Motor Museum, but they are a drive apart, and the busiest part of downtown is aimed at adults out drinking.

Neither city has much public transport, but Baltimore manages better. Its waterfront districts from the Inner Harbor to Fells Point link up along one walkable promenade, water taxis cross to Fort McHenry, and there is a metro line, a light rail line and fast trains to Washington and Philadelphia.

Nashville's walkable core is just Broadway, the Gulch and the riverfront. Beyond it there are only buses, so the Opry, the Hermitage and East Nashville mean ride-hailing or a hire car and heavy rush-hour traffic.

Nashville gives shoppers more to look for. Boot and hat shops line Broadway, the city is an outstanding place to browse guitars, and Hatch Show Print's letterpress posters make a souvenir with history, while 12 South adds independent boutiques.

Baltimore's best browsing is the vintage and kitsch along the Avenue in Hampden and the antique and record shops of Fells Point, enough for an afternoon. Neither city has a luxury street, so both send big-brand shoppers out to suburban malls.

Baltimore is the cheaper base, and many visitors to Washington stay there for that reason. Its two main art museums are free, although meals with tips and the taxis most visitors end up using still add up.

Nashville's downtown hotels cost more, especially on weekends when groups fill them. The balance is that the Broadway music has no cover charge, and staying midweek or eating at hot chicken counters makes a real difference.

Nashville is the clear winner, as music is the main reason to go. The Grand Ole Opry, the Ryman's famous acoustics, songwriter nights where the hit writers play their own songs, bluegrass and Americana rooms, and the Schermerhorn concert hall add up to a scene few cities can match.

Baltimore has a respectable programme in its symphony at the Meyerhoff, free Peabody concerts in Mount Vernon and touring shows at the Hippodrome, plus an indie and punk circuit in Station North. You would add it to a trip rather than plan a trip around it.

Neither city is somewhere to rest, so the real difference is where a calm hour comes from. In Baltimore it is built into the sightseeing: the waterfront is at its stillest early in the day, Druid Hill's parkland gives you old trees and open space, and the free galleries of the Walters are a peaceful break between busier stops. Anyone who wants more than an hour's peace crosses the bay to the slower villages of the Eastern Shore.

In Nashville, calm depends on where you sleep. The centre is loud from late morning until well after midnight, so a quieter stay means booking in the residential streets of Belmont or Hillsboro, where front porches and small parks set a slower pace. In both cities, pampering means hotel spas and a few day spas, with no bathing culture behind them.