Boca Raton or Fort Lauderdale?

Both cities face the same warm Atlantic, but Fort Lauderdale has the stronger beach. One long, wide strip runs the length of the barrier island behind the palm-lined A1A promenade, with lifeguard towers all along it. North of the centre there is shore snorkelling at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and to the south Hollywood's Broadwalk has a more local, family feel.

Boca Raton's shore is split into separate beach parks reached over bridges. They feel calmer and greener, with dunes, sea grape, little high-rise building and a snorkelling reef just off the sand at Red Reef Park. It suits swimmers and early walkers better than people who want a beach scene.

Neither city is a food destination, and both send serious eaters to Miami. Boca Raton eats in a polished, plaza-based way, with steakhouses, sushi and brunch around Mizner Park, and its deli and bagel tradition is its most local trait.

Fort Lauderdale is more casual and more varied. You can eat grouper on a dock beside the boats, and inland the Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban kitchens offer jerk chicken, oxtail and Cuban baking that Boca cannot match.

Both cities are young and have little to see. Boca Raton's appeal is architectural: Addison Mizner's 1920s Mediterranean Revival stucco and arcades, the Old Town Hall history museum and the art museum in Mizner Park. Just north, the Morikami Japanese Gardens make the best single cultural visit on either side.

Fort Lauderdale's sights are a handful of historic houses instead. The eccentric Bonnet House and its gardens, the Stranahan House trading post on the New River and the NSU Art Museum fill a day.

Fort Lauderdale has much more to offer after dark. Beach bars on A1A fill from late afternoon, Himmarshee Street runs late for a young crowd and Las Olas has wine bars for a quieter evening. Wilton Manors, with its bars and drag shows along Wilton Drive, is one of the best-known gay neighbourhoods in the country.

In Boca Raton a night out usually means dinner and a cocktail around Mizner Park, and the city is quiet before midnight. Anyone wanting more drives fifteen minutes to Delray Beach's Atlantic Avenue. Neither city has much of a club scene, so a big night out means Miami.

Both landscapes are flat and the outdoors centres on water, but Fort Lauderdale has more of it. Its network of canals and the Intracoastal are good for kayaking, the offshore reefs and deliberately sunk wrecks make good dive sites, and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park keeps a strip of hammock and lagoon in the middle of the city. Airboats go into the Everglades less than an hour west.

Boca Raton's version is quieter: paddling through mangroves, boardwalks and night-time turtle walks at Gumbo Limbo, and alligators and wading birds at the Loxahatchee refuge about half an hour inland.

The two cities share most of the same outings, since they are only about half an hour apart on the same coast. Boca Raton sits nearer the middle, so Palm Beach's Flagler Museum and Worth Avenue are closer, and Delray Beach is right next door.

Fort Lauderdale is better placed for the south. Miami's Art Deco district, Wynwood and Little Havana are under an hour away, and Key Largo is just within reach for a long day.

Both are safe and easy with children, and Fort Lauderdale has a slight lead thanks to its broad beach with lifeguards and its downtown Museum of Discovery and Science, which has an aquarium. Everglades airboat rides and a large butterfly aviary round out the list.

Boca Raton is better for gentle first experiences. Red Reef Park's shallow reef makes an easy first snorkel, children can see the sea turtles at Gumbo Limbo, and Sugar Sand Park has playgrounds. In both cities, outings need a car and summer days need planning around the heat.

Fort Lauderdale is easier without a car. The beachfront, Las Olas and downtown on the New River form a walkable triangle, linked by water taxis on the canals and free trolleys, so visitors staying there can manage without driving.

In Boca Raton only the blocks around Mizner Park are pleasant to walk. The beaches lie across bridges and everything else is spread along wide roads, so a hire car or ride-hailing is almost essential. Both cities have stations on the Tri-Rail and Brightline lines, which makes car-free trips along the coast easy.

Both offer about as much shopping, but at opposite ends of the market. Boca Raton is for luxury: its large enclosed mall is one of Florida's most upscale, and Mizner Park and Royal Palm Place add open-air streets of boutiques and galleries.

Fort Lauderdale is better for bargains. The huge outlet mall in Sunrise and a long-running flea market draw shoppers, while Las Olas covers swimwear and resort fashion. Neither has much in the way of local crafts or independent design.

Neither city is a budget destination, but Fort Lauderdale is easier on the wallet. The beach and promenade cost nothing, and older motels and self-catering apartments a few blocks back from the sand bring a stay within reach.

Boca Raton is priced for one of the wealthiest communities on the coast. Its restaurants are aimed at well-off locals, its winter resort rates are high and visitors pay to park at the beach parks. In both cities, summer brings much lower room rates in exchange for heat and storms.

Fort Lauderdale has the busier stage. The Broward Center on the New River runs touring Broadway shows, ballet, comedy and concerts all year, the Parker Playhouse adds to the programme, and there are downtown rock venues and live bands in the beach bars.

Boca Raton's calendar is smaller and mostly confined to winter. There are open-air concerts and the Festival of the Arts at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, and the Lynn University conservatory adds classical recitals, which Fort Lauderdale largely lacks.

The two are evenly matched here. Neither has a bathing tradition, and both rely on resort spas, day spas and yoga studios. The difference is in the setting: Boca Raton is quiet all the way through, with pool time, massages and early nights.

Fort Lauderdale relaxes outdoors, with sunrise yoga on the sand and long morning walks along the promenade. It is easygoing except on spring weekends, when the beachfront gets livelier.