Branson or Minneapolis?

Neither city has the sea, and both offer a summer of lake swimming that disappears in the cold months. The difference is in the setting. In Branson you drive out to the swim areas and coves of Table Rock Lake, often on a rented pontoon, and the water is warmer.

Minneapolis has small sandy beaches with lifeguards inside the city, at Lake Harriet, Bde Maka Ska and Lake Nokomis. You can reach them by bike for an after-work swim, but the water is a little cooler.

Branson cooks for coach parties, with buffets, fried chicken, barbecue and chain restaurants along Highway 76. Its Ozark specialities, such as skillet cooking, fudge and trout, are what you will remember.

Minneapolis is a much better place to eat. Its immigrant kitchens on Lake Street and Nicollet Avenue, the Midtown Global Market and the Hmong markets offer food that you would struggle to find in Branson at all. Chef-led restaurants and taprooms in Northeast and the North Loop add a second, more grown-up layer.

Branson's sights are mostly entertainment, including wax museums and novelty galleries along the strip. For real heritage you have to look to the frontier crafts at the 1880s-themed park and the Ralph Foster Museum.

Minneapolis has serious collections. The free, encyclopedic Institute of Art and the Walker's contemporary art are each worth a day. The Mill City Museum and the Stone Arch Bridge at St Anthony Falls tell the city's flour-milling story.

In Branson the evening is the show, and the town goes to bed when the curtain comes down. Minneapolis gives you a real night out across several districts: old bars and taprooms in Northeast, cocktail bars in North Loop warehouses, and weekend crowds in Uptown. It is a city of bars rather than clubs, but it is a world away from Branson's hotel lounges.

Both are good bases for time outdoors, but the landscapes are different. Branson is set among the forested ridges, limestone bluffs and caves of the Ozarks. There is hill walking at Hercules Glades, bass and trout fishing, and the Buffalo National River's bluffs within a drive.

Minneapolis keeps its nature inside the city limits. The Grand Rounds loop of parkways and paths links lakes, Minnehaha Falls and the Mississippi gorge for cycling and paddling, and in winter there are groomed cross-country ski trails. The land around it is flatter, however.

The two are evenly matched, and both need a car once you go beyond the nearest outing. Branson's excursions are more varied: Victorian Eureka Springs on its steep streets, Crystal Bridges' American art in Bentonville, and a Civil War battlefield near Springfield.

From Minneapolis the easiest trip is St Paul by light rail, for the Capitol and Summit Avenue's mansions. After that come the river towns, with Stillwater on the St Croix and Red Wing on the Mississippi.

Branson is the more child-centred of the two. A whole week can be filled with the hillside theme park, water parks, the aquarium, zip lines, mini golf and wholesome dinner shows. Summer heat and the drive between attractions are the costs.

Minneapolis does well too, especially indoors. The Mall of America's amusement park, the Science Museum and the Children's Museum in St Paul, and two zoos carry families through bad weather. But it is a city with family attractions rather than a town built for them.

Branson cannot be done without a car. Its theatres and hotels are spread along several hilly kilometres of Highway 76, the pavements are patchy and traffic crawls on show nights.

Minneapolis is far easier. Light rail links the airport, downtown, the Mall of America and St Paul, and skyways cover the centre in winter. Protected bike lanes and the Midtown Greenway take you to the lakes, although you still need a car for the river towns.

Shopping in Branson means souvenirs, outlet malls and the stores at Branson Landing. Its best buys are Ozark crafts such as blown glass, quilts and ironwork, often made in front of you.

Minneapolis has much more choice. The Mall of America is the main draw, helped by no sales tax on clothing, and the North Loop's independent boutiques and Northeast's makers' studios offer something more personal. Neither city is the place for luxury shopping.

Overall costs are much the same, but you spend the money in different places. In Branson, motels, lake cabins and buffets keep the basics cheap, but show tickets, park entry, boat hire and a hire car add up quickly.

Minneapolis hotels cost a little more. On the other hand, many of its best things are free or cheap, such as the Institute of Art, the Sculpture Garden, the lakes and the light rail.

Both cities put live performance first, but they mean very different things by it. Branson offers sheer quantity in a single style. Dozens of theatres stage country, gospel, tribute and variety shows morning, afternoon and evening, along with large biblical productions and a Christmas season that rivals summer.

Minneapolis covers the full range. There is the Guthrie Theater on the Mississippi, touring Broadway shows on Hennepin Avenue, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Minnesota Opera, and First Avenue's rock and indie stage where Prince made his name.

Neither city is a spa destination. Minneapolis has a little more to offer through its Nordic sauna tradition, especially the winter saunas on frozen lakes with a plunge into cold water, and through its unhurried pace and evening walks around a lake. In Branson, rest depends on staying at a lodge resort or cabin on Table Rock Lake, well away from the neon of the strip.