Cape May or Gatlinburg?

This is Cape May's clearest advantage. A continuous strip of sand runs along the promenade, with lifeguards, mostly gentle surf and water warm enough for long summer swims. The Point offers quieter sand, and at Sunset Beach on the bay you can hunt for Cape May diamonds.

Gatlinburg is deep in the mountains and has no beach. On hot days people go tubing on the Little River or swim at Douglas Lake, but the river pools stay cold and run fast after rain. For most visitors, a cabin hot tub or a hotel pool is as close as it gets to a swim.

Cape May eats noticeably better, because its fishing fleet lands scallops, flounder and oysters that turn up everywhere from dockside shacks to dining rooms in Victorian buildings. A long breakfast on a porch is one of the pleasures of a stay.

Gatlinburg cooks for crowds. Pancake houses, barbecue and Southern comfort food line the Parkway, and moonshine tasting rooms take the place of a wine list. Good Appalachian trout and biscuits exist but take some finding. Both towns are full of fudge and taffy shops.

Cape May has far more to look at. The whole town is a National Historic Landmark district of gingerbread cottages and porch-fronted hotels, and you can add the Emlen Physick Estate, trolley tours and a climb up the lighthouse. Allow a day or two.

Gatlinburg's main street is a strip of attractions and observation towers rather than historic buildings. Its heritage lies elsewhere: in the working studios of the Arts and Crafts Community, and in the log cabins and mills at Cades Cove and along the Roaring Fork, which are drives into the park.

Neither town is a place for a big night out, and both are quiet by midnight. In Cape May the evening means a pub or hotel bar near the pedestrian mall, often with a cover band playing to wedding parties and families. In Gatlinburg it means walking the lit-up Parkway, moonshine tastings and a brewery terrace, followed by the cabin hot tub. For anything louder, Cape May visitors drive to the Wildwoods' boardwalk bars, and Gatlinburg has no real equivalent nearby.

Gatlinburg wins on scale. The national park begins at the edge of town, with hardwood forest, waterfall trails, the climb up Mount LeConte and the drive to Clingmans Dome. Black bears are a common sight, deer graze Cades Cove, and elk live in the quieter valleys on the park's far eastern side. Rafting and horseback riding are nearby. The catch is weekend and leaf-season traffic on the park roads.

Cape May's nature is flat. As one of North America's great migration points, it draws hawks, songbirds and monarch butterflies through the Point every autumn. Dolphin boats in summer, marsh kayaking and easy dune boardwalks make up the rest.

Gatlinburg has the better choice of outings. Asheville and the Biltmore Estate are about an hour and a half away. Over Newfound Gap, Cherokee has its museum and the Oconaluftee village, and the heritage railway at Bryson City is close by. Knoxville is about an hour away.

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

Gatlinburg is built around children. The Parkway has an aquarium, alpine coasters, mini golf and gondola rides to treetop bridges, and Dollywood is a short drive away. Big cabins with games rooms let several families share. The downsides are queues and crawling traffic in high season.

Cape May suits younger children who are happy with simpler days. Lifeguarded beaches, surrey rides on the promenade, crabbing, dolphin boats and the free county zoo fill the time well. For rides you have to drive to the Wildwoods, and some historic B&Bs don't accept small children.

Cape May is easier once you have arrived. The historic district, the promenade and the Washington Street Mall are all a short, flat walk apart, and a bike covers the rest. Getting there is harder, with no passenger rail and few buses.

Gatlinburg's downtown strip is walkable, and a trolley runs out to Pigeon Forge. Most cabins, though, sit up steep, winding roads, and the park and trailheads really need a car. In October the traffic can stall for long stretches.

Cape May is the place for a browse, while around Gatlinburg you go to the makers. In Cape May that means the Washington Street Mall, with independent boutiques, bookshops and kitchen stores, plus antique dealers and galleries in the historic district.

Around Gatlinburg the thing to buy is handmade craft, such as quilts, pottery and brooms sold from the artisans' own studios on the Arts and Crafts Community loop. For branded goods, the outlet malls in Pigeon Forge are close by. Neither town has luxury labels.

Gatlinburg costs noticeably less. A large cabin shared by a group, a midweek or winter stay and days in the national park all keep the bill reasonable. The expense comes from paid attractions and Dollywood tickets, and rates jump in October's leaf season, at Thanksgiving and over Christmas and New Year.

A summer stay in Cape May is expensive. B&Bs and oceanfront hotels charge peak rates and often set minimum stays, and beach tags and parking add more. Spring and autumn are kinder, and many budget-minded visitors stay in the Wildwoods and come down for the day.

Both towns offer a pleasant evening's entertainment rather than a reason to visit, and the kind of show is different. Cape May leans towards theatre: a professional company in a converted church, historic American drama and a long-running chamber music festival in early summer. Around Gatlinburg it is mountain music and family shows, with bluegrass in the tasting rooms and dinner shows, gospel and comedy in Pigeon Forge's theatres.

A Victorian porch and a hillside cabin offer two different kinds of rest. In Cape May it means rocking chairs, afternoon tea in a guesthouse parlour and sunsets over the bay, and the town is at its calmest in spring and autumn. In Gatlinburg it means a secluded cabin with a hot tub on the deck and mist over the ridges, provided you stay above the noisy Parkway rather than on it. Neither has thermal baths, and each has only a few day spas.