Chattanooga or Clearwater?

These two are hardly in the same contest. In Chattanooga, swimming means fresh water: small swimming areas on Chickamauga Lake and at Harrison Bay, and cool creek pools on the plateau. They are good for a hot afternoon and no more.

Clearwater is built around its beach, a long strip of fine white sand on a barrier island with calm, clear water shallow enough to wade far out. If Pier 60 is too busy, there is quieter sand nearby at Sand Key, Honeymoon Island and the undeveloped shore of Caladesi Island.

Chattanooga has slightly more to offer at the table. Its Southern cooking, from meat-and-three plates and biscuits to smoked brisket and catfish, is backed by a cluster of chef-led restaurants and craft breweries on the Southside and along Main Street.

Clearwater eats more simply, with grouper sandwiches, shrimp baskets and stone crab at dockside grills, while much of the beachfront is chain restaurants. Its better meals often mean a drive to the Greek tavernas of Tarpon Springs or across the bay.

Chattanooga has enough history for two or three good days: the 1863 battlefields at Point Park and Missionary Ridge, the old Terminal Station, the Hunter Museum of American Art on its bluff above the river and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center.

Clearwater has a downtown with some early twentieth-century buildings and a restored theatre, and little else to plan a day around. For culture you go to the museums of St Petersburg and Tampa, both within an hour.

Neither is a place for a big night out, but evenings feel different in each. Chattanooga goes out to breweries, cocktail bars and music bars on the Southside, with Station Street the liveliest block and students filling it at weekends.

Clearwater's evening starts with the sunset crowd at Pier 60 and moves on to tiki decks and beach bars with cover bands, and it gets louder in spring. Clearwater also has Ybor City and downtown St Petersburg within reach for a proper night out.

For anyone who wants hills and rock, Chattanooga is the clear choice. The Tennessee River cuts through the Cumberland Plateau here, so climbing on sandstone bluffs, hang gliding from Lookout Mountain, trail riding and paddling in the river gorge all start close to town. The Ocoee whitewater and the rim trails of Cloudland Canyon are within an hour.

Clearwater's nature is gentler and almost entirely at sea level: mangrove channels for kayaking, dolphins in the harbour, ospreys on the state-park islands and manatees in winter. It is lovely in the mornings, but there are no hills anywhere.

Clearwater's surroundings are slightly richer and closer. St Petersburg's Dalí Museum, Tampa's Ybor City, the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs and the Ringling Museum in Sarasota are all within about an hour.

From Chattanooga, the biggest outings are Nashville and Atlanta, each about two hours away, which makes for a long day. Huntsville's Space and Rocket Center and the Jack Daniel's distillery at Lynchburg are easier trips. You need a car from either city.

Both work well with children, but Clearwater has the edge. Its lifeguarded beach has calm water where small children can paddle, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium cares for rescued dolphins and turtles, and Busch Gardens is within easy reach. Condos with pools and kitchens make longer stays simple.

Chattanooga comes a close second, with the Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum downtown, and Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline Railway on Lookout Mountain. It has no beach, though, and you have to drive up the mountain for those attractions.

Chattanooga's centre is easier to explore without a car. The riverfront, the aquarium, Bluff View and the Southside are all within walking distance, linked by the Walnut Street Bridge and a free downtown shuttle. In Clearwater you can manage on foot only along the beach strip, where a trolley runs down to Sand Key and a ferry crosses to downtown.

Beyond those centres, both cities spread out and almost everyone hires a car. In Clearwater, expect traffic jams on the causeway to the beach at weekends and in spring.

Neither city is worth visiting for the shopping; the difference is in what you take home. Chattanooga has the converted railway warehouses of Warehouse Row and the boutiques and outdoor-gear stores of Frazier Avenue, which are good for climbing and camping kit. Clearwater has mostly beachwear and souvenir shops, and natural sponges from Tarpon Springs are the most local thing to buy.

Neither is cheap. Both add tax and tips to every meal, and you will need a hire car for most plans. Chattanooga is a little easier on the budget, with free trails, parks and riverfront walks, although the aquarium and the Lookout Mountain attractions add up for a family.

Clearwater's beachfront hotels are expensive in the late-winter and spring peak. Staying on the mainland, renting a condo with a kitchen or going in the hot, stormy months keeps costs down, and the beaches are free apart from parking.

The two are evenly matched, and each has a restored 1920s theatre: the Tivoli in Chattanooga and the Capitol in Clearwater. The difference is in what is on stage. Chattanooga has its own symphony and opera company and bar bands that lean towards bluegrass and Americana.

Clearwater's Ruth Eckerd Hall brings in bigger touring rock, pop and Broadway shows, but there is no resident company. For more, music lovers in Chattanooga travel to the larger music cities in the region, and people in Clearwater drive to Tampa.

Clearwater is the better place to unwind. Neither city has a bathing tradition or spas worth travelling for. But Clearwater's resort routine of hotel pool, shaded balcony, long lunch and an evening by the marina makes slowing down easy, except during spring break and the worst of the summer heat.

Chattanooga is quiet and unhurried, with porches in Bluff View and afternoons on the riverfront, but people go there to be active rather than to rest.