Branson or Houston?

Neither city is a beach destination, and the swimming they offer is very different. Branson's is freshwater: clear, warm Table Rock Lake in summer, small public swim areas on brought-in sand, or a dip from a rented pontoon in a quiet cove.

Houston's sea is an hour's drive away on Galveston Island, where the sand runs for miles along the seawall and the West End. The Gulf is warm and shallow but cloudy with sediment, and seaweed can pile up in some summers. Choose Branson for clear water and Houston for open sand and a seaside day out.

This is where the two are furthest apart. Branson feeds people before a show: fried chicken, catfish, buffets and chain restaurants along Highway 76, with fudge, cinnamon bread and lake trout as the local flavours.

Houston is a city to plan meals around. Tex-Mex, brisket and Gulf seafood are only the start. Bellaire Boulevard's Asiatown, the Nigerian and Pakistani restaurants of the south-west and the chef-led places in Montrose and the Heights give it a range that Branson does not come close to.

Houston has the stronger offer by some way, almost all of it inside museums. The Museum of Fine Arts, the natural science museum, the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel would fill several days, and Space Center Houston adds mission control and a Saturn V.

Branson's sights are entertainment: wax museums, a museum shaped like an ocean liner's bow and novelty galleries. Its real heritage is Ozarks folk craft at the 1880s-themed park and the Ralph Foster Museum. Neither city has much historic architecture to walk through.

Branson's evenings end when the theatre lets out, with a few brewpubs and hotel lounges by the lakefront and little open late. Houston has a real night out, spread across Montrose's gay bars, the crowded lounges of Midtown and Washington Avenue, and the bars near the ballpark in EaDo, with open-sided icehouses for warm evenings. It is not a city people visit for its nights, but against Branson it is in another league.

Branson has the better outdoors. The Ozarks give it forested ridges, limestone bluffs, caves and two contrasting lakes, with walking in Hercules Glades and Table Rock State Park, and the Buffalo National River two hours south.

Houston's landscape is flat prairie, bayou and marsh. Buffalo Bayou Park and Memorial Park are good for a run or a paddle, Brazos Bend has alligators, and spring brings migrating birds to the coast. It rewards birders more than hikers.

The two are broadly level, and in both cases you will need a car. From Branson the best outings head into the hills: Victorian Eureka Springs on its steep streets, and Crystal Bridges' American art in the woods at Bentonville.

Houston's day trips are more about Texas history and the coast. Galveston's iron-fronted Strand and East End mansions, the San Jacinto battlefield and the wildflower lanes around Brenham and Round Top make good outings, while Austin and San Antonio are better left for a night away.

Branson is the more natural family choice because the whole town is built around children. The Ozarks theme park, water parks, a showboat, zip lines, go-karts, caves and dinner shows with horses sit close together, and every hotel expects children.

Houston has fewer but bigger highlights: Space Center Houston, the zoo and Children's Museum in Hermann Park, and the dinosaur hall at the natural science museum. Between them there is a lot of freeway driving, which tires children more than Branson's short hops do.

Both are car towns, and a hire car is close to essential in either. Branson's distances are short, a few hilly kilometres along Highway 76 and the bypass roads, but the strip crawls on show nights and only the lakefront shopping district and the small old downtown are pleasant on foot.

Houston works on a much bigger scale, with its sights many kilometres apart across a web of freeways. For visitors, one METRORail light rail line is the useful one, linking downtown, Midtown and the Museum District, and the bayou trails are good by bike. Most other journeys still mean a car or ride-hailing, and you should plan around rush hour.

Houston is the stronger shopping city. Uptown's huge mall has the luxury houses under one roof, River Oaks has upmarket boutiques, and the Heights and Rice Village add vintage and independent shops, with Western boots and hats as the local buy.

Branson offers outlets and the mainstream stores of Branson Landing, but its best purchases are handmade: glass, quilts, pottery and ironwork, often made in front of you. That craft side is something Houston lacks.

Overall they cost about the same, but the money goes in different places. In Branson the motels and lake cabins are cheap, while show tickets, theme park entry and boat hire add up.

In Houston, free museums, bayou parks and cheap taquerias and noodle shops keep the days modest, but the city's sheer size means more spent on fuel, parking and rides between districts.

Both cities are serious about live performance, but the styles could hardly be more different. Branson's dozens of theatres run country, gospel, variety and tribute shows from morning to night for most of the year, and the Christmas shows are a draw of their own.

Houston's Theater District has the Grand Opera, the Ballet, the Symphony and the Alley Theatre, with a season from autumn to spring and summer shows in Hermann Park. Its small venues add blues, zydeco and local hip-hop. Go to Branson for polished country revues and to Houston for opera, ballet and drama.

Branson is the easier place to unwind, as long as you stay by the lake. A cabin on a wooded cove or a lodge resort with a spa on Table Rock Lake is genuinely quiet, though the neon strip is not. Houston's calm comes in short spells, in hotel spas, suburban Korean bathhouses or an hour in the Rothko Chapel, between long drives.