Cape May or Chattanooga?

Here the two are far apart. Cape May has a proper Atlantic beach: an unbroken line of sand in front of the promenade, lifeguards, gentle surf, quieter stretches at the Point, and Sunset Beach on the bay where people hunt for Cape May diamonds. The season is short, from mid-June to mid-September, but within it the beach shapes the whole trip.

Chattanooga is a long way inland. Swimming there means the small roped-off areas on Chickamauga Lake and at Harrison Bay, or the cold creek pools on the plateau. These are fine for a hot afternoon, but a beach vacation is out of the question, and a hotel pool fills the gap.

The two eat about equally well, in very different ways. Cape May is a working fishing port, so meals revolve around scallops, flounder and local oysters, served everywhere from dockside shacks to dining rooms in Victorian houses. Outside the seafood it falls back on fudge and taffy, and many kitchens slow down in winter.

Chattanooga cooks Southern comfort food: meat-and-three plates, barbecue, biscuits, and catfish with grits. Its chef-led restaurants and craft breweries are clustered on the Southside and Main Street. If you are not keen on fish, Chattanooga has more to offer you, though neither town has much international cooking.

Both towns cover their sights in a couple of days, but the history is quite different. In Cape May the whole townscape is the attraction: a landmark district of gingerbread cottages and porch-lined hotels, with the Physick Estate and the lighthouse climb as the main stops.

Chattanooga has more individual sights. Civil War battlefields line Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, the Hunter Museum of American Art stands on its bluff, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center covers African American history, and the Walnut Street Bridge crosses the river.

Neither town is a place for a big night, but Chattanooga has more life after dark. Breweries, cocktail bars and the short bar strip on Station Street draw students and young locals at weekends, with patios full on warm evenings. In Cape May the evening means a pub or hotel bar with a cover band, full of families and wedding parties, and the town is mostly quiet by midnight. Anyone after something louder ends up driving to the Wildwoods.

Chattanooga's landscape is far bigger. Mountains rise straight out of town, the river cuts a wooded gorge, and the sandstone bluffs attract climbers from across the East. Mountain-bike trails, the Ocoee whitewater and the canyon rim at Cloudland Canyon are all within about an hour.

Cape May's nature is flat and coastal, but it is outstanding for one thing: bird migration. In autumn hawks, songbirds and monarch butterflies pour through the Point, and dolphins are almost guaranteed from summer boats. If you want to watch wildlife, it holds its own. If you want physical adventure, Chattanooga is the place.

Chattanooga has the bigger list. Nashville and Atlanta are each about two hours away, and Huntsville's Space and Rocket Center, the Jack Daniel's distillery town of Lynchburg and the Chickamauga battlefield are closer still. That gives a mix of music, museums and history, all by car.

Cape May's best outing is the ferry across Delaware Bay to colonial Lewes. The Wildwoods' boardwalk is just up the road, and Atlantic City is about an hour away. Philadelphia can be done in a day, but it makes a long one.

Both work well with children, but the days look different. In Cape May the beach comes first, with surrey bikes on the promenade, crabbing on the bay, dolphin boats and a free county zoo, plus the Wildwoods' amusement piers nearby. One catch is that some B&Bs in the historic district do not take small children.

Chattanooga relies on purpose-built attractions. The Tennessee Aquarium, the Creative Discovery Museum, the Incline Railway, Ruby Falls and Rock City fill several days. You will be driving between them, and in summer the heat needs planning around.

Once you are in Cape May, it is the easier of the two. The historic district, the promenade and the Washington Street Mall are a short, flat walk or bike ride apart, and a summer trolley helps. The hard part is getting there, with no passenger rail and few buses.

Chattanooga's downtown is walkable, and a free shuttle and the Walnut Street Bridge tie it to the North Shore. Beyond that the city sprawls. Lookout Mountain, the trails and every day trip need a car.

In both towns shopping is something to do on a spare afternoon, not a reason to visit. Cape May has three pedestrian blocks of boutiques, bookshops, antiques and taffy, which is good for a rainy hour. Chattanooga has the converted rail warehouses of Warehouse Row, small shops on Frazier Avenue and a large mall outside town, and outdoor gear is the one thing worth seeking out there.

Chattanooga is the easier on your wallet. Hotels and casual meals cost less, and many trails, parks and riverfront walks are free, though car hire and the paid family attractions add up.

Cape May in summer is expensive. B&Bs and oceanfront hotels set minimum stays and charge premium rates, and beach tags and parking cost extra. Going in spring or autumn, or staying in the Wildwoods, brings the cost down.

Chattanooga has a little more on. The gilded 1920s Tivoli Theatre hosts touring shows and a small symphony and opera company, there is a year-round community theatre, and the Southside bars put on country, bluegrass and Americana bands.

Cape May's programme centres on theatre, with professional plays in a converted church and a long-running spring chamber music festival. In summer there are concerts in Convention Hall. Outside the season there is very little.

Cape May has the edge, mainly because the sea does much of the work. The sound of the surf, slow rides along the shady streets and evenings watching the sun go down over Delaware Bay are restful without any planning. A handful of hotels and guesthouses offer massages and treatments if you want more. The exception is a summer weekend, when the town is full and feels busy rather than calm.

Chattanooga's quiet is that of a small inland city rather than a seaside town. Think of an evening stroll across the Walnut Street Bridge or a slow hour among the galleries of the Bluff View Art District. Its spas offer about the same as Cape May's, but the humid summers make long, idle afternoons outdoors hard going. Neither town has thermal baths or any tradition of bathing.