Boston or Detroit?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Boston gives the occasional swimmer more choice. Revere Beach is on the Blue Line, and Crane Beach and Singing Beach on the North Shore are proper Atlantic sand, backed by dunes at Crane. The water stays cold even in August.

Detroit has a small beach on Belle Isle and the grassy shore of Lake St. Clair Metropark. The lake is calmer and warmer, which suits small children, but the season is short and the setting is a park rather than a coast.

Both cities eat well for their size, but the food is very different. Boston's strength is seafood: oysters, fried clams, chowder and lobster rolls. It adds the cannoli and espresso bars of the North End and ambitious cooking in Cambridge and the South End.

Detroit's food is cheaper and more rooted in its communities. There are Coney dogs at diner counters, square pizza and Saturday stalls at Eastern Market, and above all the Arab American bakeries and grills of Dearborn. You often need to drive for the best meals, while Boston's best tables are mostly within walking distance.

Boston has the deeper and more concentrated set of sights. Its colonial and Revolutionary history runs without a break along the Freedom Trail, and Beacon Hill and Back Bay are intact nineteenth-century neighbourhoods. On top of that come the Museum of Fine Arts, the Gardner Museum and Harvard's collections across the river.

Detroit has fewer highlights, but some are outstanding: the Detroit Institute of Arts with Rivera's murals, the Motown Museum, and a full day on American industry at the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. Its Art Deco towers are worth a look, but the stretches between sights are long and uneven.

Detroit has the more interesting nights, mostly because of its music. As the birthplace of techno it still has warehouse parties, serious small clubs and after-hours events, alongside dive bars and cocktail bars in Corktown and Midtown. The drawback is taking taxis between neighbourhoods that are spread out.

Boston is a pub city. Irish bars near Faneuil Hall, sports crowds around Fenway and students in Allston and Cambridge keep weeknights busy. But bars close at 2am and the subway stops soon after midnight, so for late nights Detroit is the better bet.

Boston's outdoors is richer and more varied. Olmsted's Emerald Necklace, sailing on the Charles, ferries to the Harbor Islands and whale-watching at Stellwagen Bank are all close at hand. Cape Ann's rocky coast and Walden Pond are under an hour away.

Detroit shares the Olmsted connection through Belle Isle and has an easy RiverWalk, but beyond that it is flat parkland, wetlands and lake water. That is fine for a bike ride or birdwatching, but not for scenery.

Here the gap is wide. From Boston you can reach Salem and Concord by commuter rail. Lexington, Plymouth, the North Shore fishing towns and the mansions of Newport make a long list, rich in early American history.

Detroit has fewer choices, and nearly all need a car: Ann Arbor's university town, Bavarian-style Frankenmuth, Toledo's art museum and a quick trip to Windsor with a passport. Roller-coaster fans can stretch to Cedar Point, the one outing Boston cannot match.

Boston is the easier city with children, mainly because its big attractions sit close together in a flat, safe centre. The aquarium, the Museum of Science and the Children's Museum, plus the swan boats and the paddling pool on the Common, can fill several days without a car.

Detroit has some good attractions, especially the large zoo in Royal Oak and Greenfield Village's steam trains. They are spread across the metro area, though, and most need a drive. Both cities lose much of their outdoor appeal in winter.

This is the sharpest difference between the two. Boston's historic core is made for walking. The T is old and slow in places, but it still reaches Cambridge, Fenway, the airport and Revere Beach, and ferries cross the harbour. A car here is more trouble than it is worth.

In Detroit, the People Mover and the QLine on Woodward cover downtown, Midtown and New Center, and little else. Dearborn, the zoo and the suburbs mean a hire car or ride-hailing, so most visitors end up driving.

Boston has the proper shopping street that Detroit lacks. Newbury Street's boutiques in old brownstones, the Copley Place and Prudential Center malls and the antique shops of Charles Street make an easy afternoon on foot.

Detroit is better for small finds: Detroit-made watches and leather goods in Midtown and Corktown, crafts at Eastern Market and sweets in Dearborn. For big brands you have to drive to a suburban mall.

Detroit is much the cheaper of the two. Hotel rooms cost far less than in Boston except on big event nights, and everyday food such as Coney dogs and Middle Eastern meals is good value. Costs creep back in through the hire car and parking.

Boston is expensive at every turn, from rooms that peak in the foliage season to seafood and drinks. Its free sights and walkable centre save you taxi fares, but they do not close the gap.

Both are real music cities, with Boston slightly ahead overall. The Boston Symphony Orchestra in Symphony Hall, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Ballet and serious drama at the A.R.T. give it more depth in classical music and theatre.

Detroit is stronger where Boston is thin. It has a full opera season, the Motown, soul and gospel tradition, and long-established jazz clubs, topped by the free Detroit Jazz Festival. Go to Boston for the concert hall and the stage, and to Detroit for live bands and jazz.

Neither city is built for unwinding, but Boston offers a little more calm. The Public Garden, the Esplanade and the Arnold Arboretum are quiet places to slow down, and inns on Cape Ann or Cape Cod are close enough for a proper rest.

In Detroit, the quiet moments come from a walk on the RiverWalk or an afternoon on Belle Isle, and the only spas are in hotels or out in the suburbs.