Baltimore or Salem, Massachusetts?

Salem has the edge, though neither is a beach destination. Its own shores at Salem Willows and Winter Island are fine for paddling. More importantly, the North Shore puts proper sand within reach, with the long dunes of Crane Beach about forty minutes away. The catch is cold Atlantic water and a short season.

Baltimore's harbour is a working port where nobody swims. The nearest sand is Sandy Point on the Chesapeake, also about forty minutes out. The water there is warmer but brackish, with sea nettles in high summer, and the real ocean beaches are a three-hour drive.

Baltimore is the better place to eat. Blue crab is a ritual there, with brown-paper tables, mallets and Old Bay, and the historic market halls, Little Italy's red-sauce kitchens and the chef-led places in Hampden and Harbor East give you several neighbourhoods to work through.

Salem offers sound New England staples such as chowder, fried clams and lobster rolls, all within a short walk. But it has no market culture and little fine dining, so food lovers end up taking the train to Boston for their serious meals.

Baltimore offers the broader spread. Its two free art museums, the Baltimore Museum of Art with its Matisse holdings and the Walters, are joined by Fort McHenry, the B&O roundhouse and whole streets of marble-stooped rowhouses. Its history covers the anthem, the railways and the port.

Salem is less varied but tightly focused. You can follow the trials of 1692 from the memorial to the Witch House, then the maritime fortune that built Chestnut Street. The Peabody Essex Museum, with its rebuilt Chinese house, can hold its own with either of Baltimore's galleries.

Baltimore is a proper bar town, with cobbled Fells Point taverns, the game-night rooftops of Federal Hill and the artier dives of Station North, so you can try a different district each evening. Clubs are few there too.

Salem's evenings amount to a taproom or a cocktail and an early night. Even the costumed October crowds make it feel more like a festival than a late scene, and anyone wanting more takes the train to Boston.

There is little between them, but the scenery differs. Baltimore looks inland and onto sheltered water: the wooded river gorges of Patapsco Valley, trout streams in Gunpowder Falls, sailing on the Chesapeake, and the Blue Ridge about an hour and a half west for anyone wanting hills.

Salem's outdoors is the rocky coast. There are granite headlands on Cape Ann, sea kayaking among the harbour islands, birding on Plum Island and humpback whales off Stellwagen Bank, but no mountains within easy reach.

Both are excellent bases, so the choice comes down to where you want to go. From Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia are each about an hour by train, and a car opens up Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry and the Eastern Shore villages. That is two capitals of American history, plus Civil War ground.

Salem relies mainly on Boston, half an hour away by commuter train. The same line also runs up to Gloucester and Rockport, so more of its outings work without a car. Concord, Newburyport and Portsmouth add Revolutionary and colonial towns along the way.

Baltimore is far better set up for children. The National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center and Port Discovery stand within a short walk of each other on the harbour, and the zoo and the train museum are further out. Expect summer heat and taxis between areas.

Salem is small, flat and easy with a pushchair, and older children enjoy the replica tall ship and the arcade at Salem Willows. But little in the town is made for children, and the hanging-heavy witch museums are not for the youngest. Families usually go to Boston for an aquarium day.

Salem is the easier town to get around. Nearly every sight is within a twenty-minute walk, the commuter rail station is in the centre, and a car mostly gets in the way. You only need one for outlying beaches and forests.

Baltimore's harbour districts link up well on foot and by water taxi. Beyond them, a single metro line and a light rail line leave Hampden, the art museum and the zoo to buses, taxis or a car.

Neither is worth the trip for shopping, and both send serious shoppers elsewhere. What differs is the browsing. In Baltimore it is vintage, kitsch and local art along 36th Street in Hampden, plus records and antiques in Fells Point. Salem's Essex Street is full of crystals, tarot decks, spell books and Halloween souvenirs, an odd and very local speciality.

Baltimore is the cheaper stay. Its hotels cost less than Washington's, which is why many visitors to the capital sleep here, and its two big art museums are free. Meals with tip and frequent taxis still add up.

Salem has few rooms and charges Boston-area prices for them, and in October a reasonable rate is very hard to find. Walking everywhere, the cheap train and modest entry fees help, but not enough to close the gap.

Baltimore has a real performing arts calendar. The symphony plays a full season at the Meyerhoff, the Peabody Institute puts on frequent concerts, many of them free, Broadway tours come to the Hippodrome, and Station North keeps an indie and punk circuit going.

Salem offers a small theatre company, talks at the Peabody Essex and October re-enactments. For an orchestra or major theatre, you take the train to Boston and come back late.

Neither is a place to come for rest or treatments, and both have only a few day spas. Baltimore's quiet moments are a tree-shaded hour in Druid Hill Park or a morning on the harbour promenade, and real unwinding means a trip to the Eastern Shore. Salem leans towards crystal healers and meditation, and outside October its Federal streets are calm, though the Halloween season is anything but restful.