Baltimore or Stowe?

Neither is a beach destination, but Baltimore has the edge. Sandy Point State Park, about forty minutes away, has a real sandy strip on the Chesapeake with water near 27°C in August. Sea nettles and closures after rain can spoil it, though, and the Atlantic surf is a separate trip of about three hours.

Stowe's swimming is all fresh water: rocky holes in the mountain streams and small unguarded beaches on Waterbury Reservoir and Lake Elmore. The water is cooler at about 22°C and only worth it from late June to early September. It makes a good cool-off after a hike rather than a beach day.

Baltimore's food has more range and a stronger identity. There are steamed blue crabs with Old Bay, crab cakes made mostly of lump meat, old market halls such as Lexington Market, red-sauce Italian cooking in Little Italy and chef-led restaurants in Hampden and Harbor East.

Stowe is stronger on drink and local produce than on restaurants. Beer lovers seek out the hazy IPAs from breweries in and around town, and the cheddar, maple syrup and cider doughnuts are worth trying. Dining, though, runs to farm-to-table rooms, pub food and après-ski pizza along Mountain Road, and there is less choice in the quiet weeks.

This is the widest gap between the two. Baltimore has two free art museums: the Baltimore Museum of Art, with its Cone Collection of Matisse, and the Walters, which runs from Egyptian antiquities to Fabergé. Add Fort McHenry, the B&O roundhouse and the old streets of Fells Point and Mount Vernon, and there is enough for two or three full days.

Stowe's culture fits into an afternoon: the steepled village and covered bridges, a small ski museum and the von Trapp estate. People go there for the landscape, not the sights.

Baltimore is a proper bar town. There are taverns in old buildings around the cobbled square in Fells Point, rooftops and sports bars on Federal Hill that fill up after Orioles and Ravens games, and dive bars in Station North. There are few clubs, and some quieter streets call for a taxi after dark.

In Stowe the evening means après-ski in the base-lodge bars and brewery taprooms. It is lively in peak ski weeks, quiet the rest of the year, and very little stays open after midnight. For a real night out, people drive to Burlington.

Stowe is the clear choice for the outdoors. Mount Mansfield, Vermont's highest peak at 1,339m, has a major ski area and a cross-country network in winter. In summer there are the Long Trail, the boulder-strewn pass of Smugglers' Notch, waterfalls and mountain-bike trails, and the high point of the year is the foliage in early October.

Baltimore's green escapes are gentler. The wooded gorges of Patapsco Valley start at the city's edge, Gunpowder Falls has trout streams, and you can kayak on the harbour or sail from Annapolis past ospreys and eagles. These are good for half a day, but the real hills are an hour and a half to the west.

Baltimore is far better placed. Washington's Smithsonian museums and Philadelphia's Independence Hall are each about an hour away by train. Annapolis, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry and Eastern Shore villages such as St Michaels are all an easy drive.

Stowe's outings are smaller, and you need a car for all of them: Burlington on Lake Champlain, the Shelburne Museum with its folk art and lake steamboat, the gold-domed statehouse in Montpelier and the cider mills of Waterbury. They are good for a rainy day but will not shape a whole trip.

Both suit families, but in opposite ways. In Baltimore the entertainment is laid on around the Inner Harbor: the National Aquarium with its rainforest pyramid and shark ring, the Maryland Science Center, Port Discovery and the historic ships, all a short walk apart. The city beyond the harbour is uneven, though, and summers are sticky.

Stowe is for children who like being outside. There is ski school on the beginner slopes of Mansfield and Spruce Peak, a flat river path for bikes and pushchairs, and sugarhouses where children can watch maple syrup being made. The town is safe and relaxed but has no zoo or museum to fall back on, and every outing needs the car.

Baltimore is easier without a car, at least around the water. The Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Federal Hill and Little Italy are linked by a waterfront promenade, water taxis run out to Fort McHenry, and trains reach Washington and Philadelphia. Away from the harbour, the single metro and light rail lines are of limited use.

Stowe stretches about 11km along one valley road, so you really need a car for trailheads and neighbouring towns. The only alternatives are a free shuttle in ski season and the river path in the warmer months. Winter driving means snow tyres on steep, icy roads.

Neither city is worth a trip for shopping, but Baltimore has more to browse. You'll find vintage clothes, kitsch and local art along the Avenue in Hampden, antiques and records in Fells Point, and crab mallets and Old Bay souvenirs at the markets. Stowe has ski and outdoor stores, galleries and crafts such as pottery and wool, and maple syrup and cheddar are the obvious things to take home.

Baltimore is noticeably kinder to the budget. Hotels cost less than in Washington or New York, and the two main art museums are free. Restaurant meals with tip and the taxis you will probably take still add up.

Stowe is an expensive resort. Lodging, lift tickets, ski hire and resort dining are priced for a famous ski mountain, and they are highest at Christmas, during school vacations and in foliage season. Summer and the shoulder months of spring and November are cheaper, and valley motels and free trails help keep costs down.

Baltimore has a real season. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra plays at the Meyerhoff, the Peabody Institute holds frequent concerts that are often free, and touring Broadway shows come to the Hippodrome, alongside professional repertory theatre. Station North's small clubs host indie and experimental music, and Pennsylvania Avenue has a long jazz history.

Stowe's calendar is small and seasonal. The arts centre at Spruce Peak hosts touring acts, there is community theatre in summer, and outdoor concerts on the hillside lawns are tied to the von Trapp legacy. Outside summer and ski season there is little on.

Stowe is made for unwinding in a way Baltimore is not. Its larger resorts have full spas with saunas, steam rooms and heated outdoor pools where you can sit in hot water as snow falls. Quiet inns and wood fires do the rest, which is why couples from the cities come for spa weekends.

Baltimore offers only hotel spas and a few day spas and yoga studios in Harbor East and Hampden, and the pace is firmly urban. A morning on the harbour promenade or under the trees of Druid Hill Park is about as restful as it gets.