Baltimore or Ocean City, Maryland?

This is where the two part company most sharply. Ocean City is built around about 16km of soft Atlantic sand, watched by lifeguards and reached from the end of almost every street, with Assateague's undeveloped dune beaches just to the south.

Baltimore's water is a working harbour. The closest swimming is at Sandy Point on the bay, a drive away, where sea nettles and closures after heavy rain are part of the deal, and Ocean City's coast is roughly three hours from the city.

Both towns share the blue crab ritual of brown paper, Old Bay, mallets and beer, but Baltimore goes further. It adds historic market halls such as Lexington Market, red-sauce Italian cooking in Little Italy, pit beef, and chef-led restaurants in Hampden and Harbor East.

Ocean City's strengths are the crab feast and boardwalk classics such as vinegar fries, caramel popcorn and frozen custard. Beyond those it relies on diners, chains and bar food, and many kitchens close or scale back outside summer.

Baltimore has far more to see. There are free museums with world-class Matisse and Fabergé holdings, Fort McHenry where the national anthem was born, the B&O roundhouse, and whole districts of historic brick and marble-stooped rowhouses in Fells Point and Mount Vernon.

Ocean City's heritage is its boardwalk, an old carousel and a small life-saving museum, which together fill a morning at most.

They are about equal, but the scenes are different. Baltimore spreads its bars across neighbourhoods that stay open all year, from centuries-old taverns in Fells Point to the rooftops of Federal Hill and the arty dives of Station North.

Ocean City is a seasonal party town. It has open-air bayside bars with sand floors, dance bars along the highway and a loud, young crowd on summer weekends, and most of it closes from October to May.

Baltimore's green escapes are wooded and hilly. There are river gorges and mountain-bike trails in Patapsco Valley, trout streams along the Gunpowder Falls, sailing on the Chesapeake from Annapolis, and the Blue Ridge within reach to the west for proper hiking.

Ocean City's outdoors are flat and watery, all barrier island, marsh and open sky. Its draws are Assateague's wild ponies and kayak routes, calm back bays for paddleboarding, and offshore fishing for marlin, but there is nothing to climb.

Baltimore is far better placed. Washington and Philadelphia are each about an hour by train, and Annapolis, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry and the Eastern Shore villages are all reachable by car.

From Ocean City the outings are small and gentle. You can visit Berlin's main street, the ponies at Chincoteague, livelier Rehoboth Beach, or take the ferry from Lewes to Cape May, but no big city is within comfortable range.

Ocean City has been a family resort for over a century, and it shows. Lifeguarded sand, two boardwalk amusement parks, water parks, go-karts and mini-golf all sit within a short walk of condos with kitchens, though early June brings graduating teenagers and much of it shuts out of season.

Baltimore gives families a strong couple of days around the Inner Harbor, with the National Aquarium, the science centre and Port Discovery, plus the zoo and the trains at the B&O. Away from the water, though, it needs a car or taxis.

Baltimore is a little easier without a car. Its harbour neighbourhoods are linked by a waterfront promenade and water taxis, and trains run to Washington and Philadelphia, though Hampden, the art museum and the zoo need a bus or taxi.

Ocean City is a long strip along a busy highway with no train. The boardwalk and the old inlet downtown are walkable, and a summer bus runs the length of the island, but most visitors drive in and keep the car.

Neither is a shopping destination, but Baltimore has more character. Hampden's Avenue has vintage clothing, kitsch and local art, and Fells Point adds antiques and record stores.

Ocean City's shopping is mostly T-shirts, surf gear and taffy on the boardwalk, plus an outlet centre for mainstream brands across the bridge.

In Baltimore, the biggest saving is the hotel room, which is cheaper than in nearby Washington, and the two great art museums cost nothing to enter. The bill creeps up through restaurant meals with tax and tip, and through the taxis most visitors end up using.

Ocean City's sand is free, and a condo shared by a group spreads the rent, but oceanfront rooms on summer weekends are dear. Late May and September bring the gentlest rates while the sea is still usable. Over a whole trip, the two come out much alike.

Baltimore is far ahead. You can hear the symphony at the Meyerhoff, take in frequent and often free concerts by the Peabody conservatory, see touring Broadway shows at the Hippodrome and resident theatre companies, and catch indie and punk acts in small Station North clubs.

Ocean City offers comedians and tribute bands at its convention centre, summer bandstand concerts and cover bands in bars.

Neither is a place for a restful retreat, and both offer only a few hotel and day spas. Baltimore's calm moments are urban, such as a morning on the harbour promenade, shade in Druid Hill Park or a quiet hour in the Walters.

In Ocean City the peace comes from timing. An early walk on an empty beach at the northern end, or a visit in the shoulder months, avoids the summer noise.