Charleston or Newport, Rhode Island?

Charleston has much the stronger beaches. Its barrier islands range from surfy Folly Beach to the quiet dunes of Sullivan's Island and the long, empty sands of Kiawah, and the sea is warm enough to swim in from late spring into autumn. The water is tidal and greenish rather than clear, and you need a car to get there.

Newport's beaches are closer, a few minutes from the harbour, and sheltered Third Beach and the small Gooseberry cove have calm water. But the Atlantic stays cool here and swimming is squeezed into high summer, so the beaches suit a quick dip more than a beach vacation.

Charleston is a serious eating town for its size. Its Lowcountry cooking, from shrimp and grits to Carolina Gold rice and winter oyster roasts, has Gullah Geechee and West African roots that give it real character. Tables in the restored townhouses book up well ahead, and there is little choice beyond Southern cooking.

Newport does New England seafood well, with lobster rolls, clam cakes and clear-broth chowder on the Thames Street wharves. Once you have tried those, though, the choice narrows, and many places cut back in winter. Food lovers staying several days often end up driving to Providence.

The two are evenly matched for history, and each needs two or three days. Where they differ is in the story they tell. Charleston's peninsula is Georgian and antebellum streets, and its house museums, Fort Sumter and the International African American Museum deal directly with slavery and the Civil War.

Newport tells the story of colonial New England and Gilded Age money. There are the Vanderbilt-era palaces on Bellevue Avenue, which you can also see from the Cliff Walk, and the colonial houses of the Point around Touro Synagogue, the oldest standing synagogue in the United States. Choose by the period of history that interests you, not by how much there is to see.

Neither is a nightlife town, but Charleston gives you the fuller evening. Upper King Street packs rooftop bars, cocktail rooms and oyster bars into a few blocks, with wine bars and old taverns in the French Quarter if you want something calmer.

Newport's Thames Street pubs and waterfront decks are loud on a July Saturday, then shrink to a few local pubs out of season. Anyone wanting a bigger night drives to Providence.

Both are flat coastal places and roughly equal for the outdoors, but the landscapes could hardly be more different. Charleston's is soft and warm: spartina marsh, tidal creeks and live oaks. It is best seen from a kayak, often with dolphins nearby, and there are alligators in the ACE Basin.

Newport's coast is rocky and bracing, with the 5km Cliff Walk above the surf, wave-cut ledges at Brenton Point and seabirds at Sachuest Point. Its water is for sailing and autumn surfing rather than marsh paddling. The drawbacks also differ: in Newport the winters are raw, while Charleston's summers bring mosquitoes.

Both have a good spread of outings, and both need a car. From Charleston they mostly lead into the plantation South: the Ashley River houses and gardens, Savannah's squares two hours away, and Gullah culture on the sea islands around Beaufort.

From Newport the outings lead to cities and maritime New England: Providence within the hour, Boston a little further, New Bedford's whaling museum, Mystic, and the ferry to Block Island. Newport is the better base if you want a big-city day out.

Charleston is the easier place to bring children. The South Carolina Aquarium and the Children's Museum on the waterfront, the aircraft carrier at Patriots Point and the boat to Fort Sumter fill several good days, and the beaches have warm water and gentle surf.

Newport works for a summer day or two, with the carousel at Easton's Beach, calm water at Third Beach, the ramparts of Fort Adams and Save The Bay's touch tanks. But its main sights are long mansion tours, and peak-season traffic wears everyone out.

Newport is the easier of the two to manage without a car once you are there. The harbour, Thames Street and the colonial streets are close together, and local buses, a summer trolley and a harbour ferry reach the mansions and the nearer beaches. The slow part is getting on and off the island in summer traffic.

Charleston's old peninsula is just as pleasant on foot, with pedicabs and a free shuttle. Beyond it, though, buses barely reach the beaches or plantations, so most visitors drive or use ride-hailing every day, and the summer heat cuts walks short.

Charleston has the better shopping, nearly all of it along King Street. The street runs from antiques and galleries through national brands to independent boutiques, and the sweetgrass baskets woven by Gullah artisans at the City Market are a souvenir worth taking home.

Newport is smaller and more seasonal: preppy sailing clothes, galleries and gifts on the wharves, antiques on Spring and Franklin Streets, and shorter shop hours in winter. Neither town has much at the luxury end.

Both are expensive, but Newport costs more. Summer room rates in town are high, there are few budget beds in the centre, and mansion tickets and parking add up quickly. The real savings come from going in late autumn or winter, or staying in Middletown.

Charleston is costly too, with peninsula hotels priced like a big city's. But its best things are free, among them the old streets, the Battery and the beaches, and Mount Pleasant has cheaper beds across the bridge.

Charleston has the fuller calendar of the two. Spoleto Festival USA takes over the city for more than two weeks each late spring with opera, chamber music, dance, theatre and jazz, a wider spread than any single Newport festival, and Piccolo Spoleto runs alongside it. There is also something on for the rest of the year: plays at the historic Dock Street Theatre, the Charleston Symphony at the Gaillard Center, and Gullah storytelling and song.

Newport's offer is narrower but famous. The Jazz and Folk Festivals at Fort Adams, with the harbour behind the stage, hold a real place in American music history, and in July chamber concerts move into the mansion ballrooms. Outside those summer weeks there is little beyond bar bands, and anyone wanting an orchestra or a full theatre programme goes to Providence or Boston.

Neither has a bathing tradition, and both offer hotel spas rather than a reason to come. What differs is how they help you slow down. In Charleston it is the shaded gardens, quiet church courtyards and evenings at White Point Garden, best outside the summer heat. In Newport it is the sea air and an empty Cliff Walk in late spring or early autumn, after or before the summer crowds.