Baltimore or Wilmington?

This is where the two cities are furthest apart. From Wilmington you can reach Wrightsville Beach's wide pale sand, Carolina Beach's boardwalk or quiet Kure Beach in about half an hour, and the Atlantic is comfortable from late May into October. The main hazards are rip currents and parking on summer weekends.

Baltimore's harbour is for working ships, not swimmers. Sandy Point on the Chesapeake makes a pleasant family afternoon, but the water is brackish, sea nettles turn up and the ocean beaches are three hours away.

Baltimore gives you more to eat. Steamed blue crabs with Old Bay, lump crab cakes, historic market halls such as Lexington Market and the cooking of Little Italy, Fells Point and Hampden make each neighbourhood taste a little different.

Wilmington's table is coastal and Southern: local shrimp and flounder, raw bars on the waterfront, vinegar-sauced whole-hog barbecue and a good spread of craft breweries. Beyond fried seafood and a few modern Southern rooms, though, the range runs out sooner.

Baltimore has much the deeper sightseeing. The Baltimore Museum of Art has the Cone Matisses and the Walters runs from Egypt to Fabergé, both free. Add Fort McHenry, the B&O roundhouse and the historic ships in the Inner Harbor, and there are two or three full days of serious museum-going.

Wilmington's strength is atmosphere more than collections. Its large historic district of antebellum houses and live oaks, the Bellamy Mansion and the Battleship North Carolina across the river are rewarding, but the list is short.

Both are bar towns with a 2am last call and little club culture, but Baltimore has more to choose from. Taverns in the old buildings of Fells Point, rooftops and sports bars on Federal Hill, and Station North's dive bars give you a different crowd each night.

Wilmington's evenings centre on Front Street downtown, lively with students at weekends, plus casual beach bars in summer. Out of season, weeknights are very quiet.

The two are fairly close here, but the outdoors is different in each. Around Wilmington it is all water and marsh: kayaking to undeveloped Masonboro Island, surfing and paddleboarding off Wrightsville, and pine savanna where the Venus flytrap grows wild. That is something Baltimore cannot match, and all of it sits close to the beaches.

Baltimore has the relief Wilmington lacks. You get wooded gorges in Patapsco Valley, trout streams along the Gunpowder and the Blue Ridge and Appalachian Trail about an hour and a half west, plus sailing on the Chesapeake from Annapolis.

Baltimore wins clearly. Washington and Philadelphia are each about an hour away by train, and Annapolis, Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry and the Eastern Shore villages are easy drives. You could fill a week of outings without repeating yourself.

Wilmington's outings are small-town and coastal: Southport and the ferry to car-free Bald Head Island, Fort Fisher's earthworks and, further off, New Bern and Beaufort. They are pleasant days out but no match for Baltimore's choice.

Both work well with children, in different ways. Baltimore keeps its attractions together around the Inner Harbor: the National Aquarium's rainforest and shark ring, the science centre, Port Discovery and paddle boats, all within walking distance of each other.

Wilmington is a summer beach trip, with the Carolina Beach boardwalk rides, the aquarium at Fort Fisher and the battleship decks for rainy days. Beach rental houses make it easy to settle in, but every outing means getting in the car.

Baltimore is the easier place to manage without a car. Its waterfront promenade links the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Federal Hill and Little Italy on foot, water taxis cross between the piers and fast trains run to Washington and Philadelphia.

Wilmington's downtown and riverwalk are flat and walkable, but the beaches are 15km or more away and buses are rarely useful, so a hire car is close to essential.

Neither city is much of a shopping destination, and both send locals to suburban malls for mainstream brands. Baltimore's best browsing is the vintage and kitsch of Hampden's Avenue and the record and antique shops of Fells Point. Wilmington offers independent boutiques and galleries along Front Street and in the Cotton Exchange, with surf wear in the beach towns.

The costs are similar but come from different places. Baltimore's free museums help, and its hotels are cheaper than Washington's, but taxis and restaurant bills add up quickly.

In Wilmington the season decides the cost. Off-season rooms and casual seafood are fair value, while summer beachfront rentals climb steeply, and the hire car is an extra cost most visitors cannot avoid.

Baltimore has the fuller calendar. A full symphony season plays at the Meyerhoff, the Peabody Institute holds frequent concerts, many of them free, and touring Broadway comes to the Hippodrome. Professional repertory theatre and an indie and punk club circuit around Station North round it out.

Wilmington's highlight is Thalian Hall, a restored 19th-century opera house. Summer brings outdoor stages by Greenfield Lake and jazz and blues festivals, which you can fit around beach days.

Neither city has a bathing tradition or a proper spa retreat, so rest comes from finding the quiet hours. In Baltimore you have to go looking for them: an early walk along the harbour promenade before the day gets going, the shade of the old trees in Druid Hill Park, or a near-empty gallery at the Walters. Outside those pockets the city stays urban and rarely lets you unwind for long.

Wilmington makes rest easier to find, if you choose your dates. On summer weekends the beach roads and car parks fill and the coast feels busy. The rest of the year, the town is easy to settle into without any planning, and day spas and yoga studios downtown cover the pampering.