Chattanooga or Detroit?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Detroit has slightly better swimming. Belle Isle has its own patch of sand inside the city, and Lake St. Clair Metropark has a long beach with shallow, calm water, though only from about July to early September.

In Chattanooga, all the swimming is in fresh water and on a small scale: designated areas on Chickamauga Lake and at Harrison Bay, or a creek hole on the plateau on a hot afternoon. The water stays warm for longer there, from June to September, but in both cities this means a dip of an hour or two, not a day on the beach.

Detroit has the more distinctive and wider range of food. Its own dishes, the chilli-topped Coney dog and square Detroit-style pizza, are joined by Eastern Market on a Saturday and, above all, by the Arab American bakeries and grills of Dearborn, Mexicantown, and the Polish bakeries of Hamtramck.

Chattanooga eats well within a narrower Southern range: meat-and-three, barbecue, fried chicken, catfish and grits, with chef-led restaurants and breweries on the Southside. It has none of Detroit's immigrant cooking or market life, so a few days of meals will satisfy but rarely surprise.

Detroit has far more to see. The Detroit Institute of Arts with Rivera's Detroit Industry murals, the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, the Motown Museum and the Charles H. Wright Museum could fill several days. The Art Deco Guardian Building and the gilded Fisher Building add architecture on top, although the sights are scattered across an uneven city.

Chattanooga's story is narrower and spends more time outdoors: Civil War battlefields at Point Park and Missionary Ridge, the old Terminal Station, the Hunter Museum on its bluff and the Walnut Street Bridge. That makes two or three pleasant days, where Detroit rewards a longer stay.

Detroit is the place for a proper night out. As the home of techno it has warehouse parties, small serious clubs and after-hours events, as well as dive and cocktail bars in Corktown and Midtown. These are spread out, though, so a night usually involves taxis between neighbourhoods.

Chattanooga's evenings are gentler and easier to manage: breweries and patios on the Southside and Main Street, with Station Street as the one lively block. Most places wind down well before the small hours.

Here Chattanooga is in a different league. Lookout, Signal and Raccoon mountains rise straight above town, and the sandstone bluffs draw climbers from across the eastern United States. Within about an hour you can reach the Ocoee whitewater, the Tennessee River Gorge for paddling and the waterfalls of Cloudland Canyon.

Detroit's outdoors are flat and gentle. There is Olmsted's Belle Isle, the RiverWalk for cycling, kayaking and sailing on the river and Lake St. Clair, and birdwatching in the metroparks. These make good afternoons out, but with no hills and long grey winters they are not a reason to go.

Chattanooga has the somewhat stronger list, mainly because two major cities are within reach: Nashville for music and Atlanta for museums, each about two hours away. Huntsville's Space and Rocket Center and Lynchburg, the small town of the Jack Daniel's distillery, make shorter outings.

Detroit's choices are closer but smaller: leafy Ann Arbor, the Bavarian-style town of Frankenmuth, Toledo's excellent art museum, and Windsor across the border if you have a passport. In both cities you need a car for nearly all of these.

Chattanooga is the easier base for a family. The Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum are a few blocks apart. Lookout Mountain puts the Incline Railway, Ruby Falls and Rock City into one day aimed at children, and Coolidge Park's carousel and splash fountains are good for downtime.

Detroit has some strong attractions of its own, especially the large Detroit Zoo with its polar bear tunnel and the steam trains of Greenfield Village. They are spread across the metro area, though, so you drive between them, and winter takes away most of the outdoor options.

Both cities have a centre you can walk and then spread out, so most visitors to either one hire a car. The difference is in how the centre is linked. Chattanooga's is smaller, joined to the North Shore by the Walnut Street Bridge and served by a free electric shuttle. Detroit's centre is larger and has rail: the elevated People Mover loops downtown, and the QLine streetcar runs up Woodward Avenue to the museums of Midtown.

Detroit has a little more to browse, mostly goods made in the city: watches, leather and prints from the makers of Midtown and Corktown, vintage shops, and Eastern Market's crafts on market days. Chattanooga has Warehouse Row and the boutiques of Frazier Avenue, and its real speciality is outdoor gear. Neither city has a shopping street that fills an afternoon.

Detroit is the cheaper of the two by American standards. Hotel rooms cost well below big-city levels, and Coney dogs, pizza and Middle Eastern meals are good value. Downtown hotels on game and concert nights are the exception.

Chattanooga is moderate rather than cheap. Its trails and riverfront are free, but the aquarium and the Lookout Mountain attractions charge full admission, so a family doing all of them spends steadily. In both cities you also pay for tipping, sales tax and a hire car.

Detroit is a serious music city, and Chattanooga is not. Detroit has its symphony in the much-admired Orchestra Hall, opera in a restored downtown opera house, touring Broadway shows at the Fisher Theatre, long-established jazz clubs and the free Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day weekend, plus soul, rock and gospel bands most nights.

Chattanooga's ornate Tivoli Theatre is a lovely setting for a touring show or for the small local symphony and opera company. The Southside bars lean towards bluegrass and Americana. Together they make an evening or two, not a reason to come.

Neither city is a place to unwind, and both offer only hotel spas and day spas. Chattanooga has the edge in pace: it is a small, quiet city where a porch in Bluff View or an afternoon on the riverfront feels unhurried. Detroit's rhythm is set by work, sport and music, and its calm comes down to a stroll on the RiverWalk or a few hours on Belle Isle.