Cape May or Milwaukee?

This is where Cape May is strongest. It has a continuous strip of ocean sand with lifeguards and gentle surf, and the Atlantic is warm enough in August for long swims. The quieter beaches at Cape May Point and the pebble hunt for "Cape May diamonds" on the bay side add variety.

Milwaukee's beaches are on freshwater Lake Michigan. Bradford Beach has volleyball courts and cabanas and draws a sociable weekend crowd, but the water rarely gets truly warm and can turn cold overnight. Go for a summer afternoon on the sand, not a week of swimming.

Milwaukee gives you more to eat. Its cooking comes from German, Polish and Serbian immigrants: the Friday fish fry, bratwurst, cheese curds, frozen custard and old-fashioned supper clubs. Add a long brewing tradition, the Public Market and strong Mexican cooking on the South Side.

Cape May's strength is narrower but fresh. Its working fishing port supplies scallops, flounder and oysters to both dockside shacks and Victorian dining rooms, and breakfast on a veranda is part of the pleasure. Beyond seafood and sweets there is little choice, and in winter many kitchens cut their hours or close.

Milwaukee has more to see. The Milwaukee Art Museum, in its winged lakefront pavilion, and the Harley-Davidson Museum are real attractions. The Pabst Mansion, the Basilica of St Josaphat and the brick warehouses of the Third Ward show off the city's brewing-era wealth, and together they fill two or three days.

In Cape May the whole town is the exhibit: a National Historic Landmark district of gingerbread cottages and porched hotels, best seen on a walking or trolley tour. Add the Emlen Physick Estate and a climb up the lighthouse, and a day or two covers it.

Milwaukee wins easily. The neighbourhood tavern with its old brewery signs is the classic night out, and it goes on from there: the loud Water Street strip, dive and cocktail bars on Brady Street, and taprooms and LGBTQ bars in Walker's Point. Summer patios and game nights make it livelier still.

Cape May has a handful of pubs and hotel bars, often with a cover band, and the town winds down well before midnight. Anyone after more noise drives up to the Wildwoods.

Cape May has the edge because of where it sits. Autumn hawks, songbirds and monarch butterflies funnel through Cape May Point State Park and Higbee Beach, making it one of the great birding sites in North America. Dolphin boats in summer and whale-watching in the cooler months add wildlife you won't find on a lake.

Milwaukee's outdoors is more of a city park experience. There is Olmsted's Lake Park on the bluffs, long flat cycling on the Oak Leaf Trail, and kayaking on the river through downtown. For real hiking you drive about an hour to the glacial hills of Kettle Moraine, which have more relief than anything on the flat cape.

Milwaukee has better options. Chicago is about an hour and a half away by train and walkable from the station. Madison, Frank Lloyd Wright's buildings in Racine, the stone mills of Cedarburg and the mansions of Lake Geneva are all easy outings.

From Cape May, the best trip is the ferry across Delaware Bay to colonial Lewes. The Wildwoods and Atlantic City are close by on the same coast, and Philadelphia is a long, tiring day by car.

Cape May is slightly the better choice with small children. A beach day here combines easily with surrey rides on the promenade, crabbing on the bay, dolphin boats and the free county zoo. The only catch is that some historic-district B&Bs don't accept young guests.

Milwaukee does well with indoor attractions: a large zoo, Discovery World's aquariums and the glass Mitchell Park Domes, which are welcome in cold weather. Summer brings baseball and lakeside festivals. From November to March, though, the cold cuts back what families will want to do outside.

Cape May is easier once you arrive. The historic district, the promenade and the Washington Street Mall are a short flat walk apart, and bikes cover everything else. Getting there is harder: there is no rail and few buses, so most people drive.

Milwaukee's centre is walkable along the Riverwalk and served by The Hop streetcar. Beyond downtown it spreads out, so the zoo or the Harley-Davidson Museum usually means a car or ride-hailing, although parking is easy.

Neither city is a reason to travel for shopping, but what you bring home differs. Cape May's three-block pedestrian mall sells fudge, taffy, books and boutique clothing, and there are antique dealers around the Victorian streets. Milwaukee's Third Ward warehouses hold design shops and galleries, and the souvenirs are Wisconsin cheese, local beer and Harley-Davidson gear.

Milwaukee costs clearly less. Its hotels are cheaper than on the coasts, fish fries and tavern beer are cheap, and much of the lakefront and its festivals costs little or nothing. Big festival or game weekends are the exception, when room rates jump.

In peak season Cape May is one of the pricier places on the shore. Victorian B&Bs come with minimum stays, dinners are priced like a big city's, and you pay extra for beach tags and parking. Spring, autumn or a rental house for a group helps a lot.

Milwaukee has far more on stage. It has its own symphony, opera, ballet and repertory theatre, touring acts play the ornate 1895 Pabst Theater, and Summerfest brings hundreds of bands to the lakefront every summer.

Cape May offers a good evening out rather than a programme to plan around: plays in a converted church, historic American drama, a long-running chamber music festival in spring and summer concerts in Convention Hall. Out of season there is little on.

Neither has a bathing culture, but Cape May is the more restful place. Rocking chairs on porches, afternoon tea in guesthouse parlours and sunsets over the bay suit a slow weekend, and spring and autumn are quieter than busy summer weekends. Milwaukee offers a calm walk along the lake or the Riverwalk, hotel spas, and a serious spa day only if you drive to Kohler.