Chattanooga or Fort Lauderdale?

On the beach, Fort Lauderdale wins easily. It has a broad, lifeguarded stretch of sand along the A1A promenade, sea warm enough to swim in at any time of year, quieter beaches to the north and a reef close enough to snorkel from shore. You could base a whole trip on it.

Chattanooga is a river city a long way from the coast. Swimming there means a small roped area at Chickamauga Lake or Harrison Bay, or a cold plateau creek on a hot afternoon. That is fine for an hour, but it is not a beach vacation.

The two eat at much the same level, but the food itself is different. Chattanooga is Southern comfort cooking: meat-and-three plates, barbecue, biscuits and catfish, with brewery taprooms around the Southside.

Fort Lauderdale's best food is seafood eaten on a dock by the Intracoastal, along with stone crab in winter and Caribbean and Cuban cooking in the inland suburbs. Neither place is a serious food destination, and Fort Lauderdale has the advantage of Miami close by for a bigger night out.

Chattanooga has more to see. Point Park and Missionary Ridge mark the 1863 battles, and the old Terminal Station recalls the railway era. The Hunter Museum stands above the river, and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center tells the story of the city's African American community. Together they fill two or three days.

Fort Lauderdale is a young city, and its sights take about a day: the gardens of the Bonnet House, the pioneer Stranahan House and the NSU Art Museum. After that, the waterfront is the attraction.

Fort Lauderdale has the bigger night out. Beachfront bars on A1A fill up from late afternoon, Himmarshee Street keeps a young crowd out late, and Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors is one of the country's best-known gay strips, with drag shows.

Evenings in Chattanooga are quieter: craft beer, cocktails and patio conversation on the Southside, with Station Street as the busiest block. Most of it winds down early.

Chattanooga is the stronger outdoor base. Its ridges rise straight from the river, its sandstone makes it a climbing centre for the eastern United States, and Cloudland Canyon, the Ocoee and Fall Creek Falls are all within reach for a day. It is landscape with real height to it, although the hills are wooded rather than alpine.

Fort Lauderdale is flat, and its outdoor life is on the water: canal kayaking, wreck and reef diving, sport fishing, plus Everglades marsh and alligators less than an hour inland.

Fort Lauderdale has slightly better day trips, mostly because Miami is less than an hour away by car or fast train. That puts Art Deco South Beach, Wynwood and Little Havana within easy reach. Palm Beach, Delray Beach and, if you push it, Key Largo round out the list.

From Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta are around two hours each way, which makes for long days. The Huntsville rocket centre, Sewanee and the Chickamauga battlefield are good options closer in, and every one of these needs a car.

Both cities work well for children, in very different ways. Chattanooga is built around attractions: the two-building Tennessee Aquarium, Ruby Falls, Rock City, the Incline Railway and the carousel in Coolidge Park.

Fort Lauderdale is built around the sea, with gentle, lifeguarded water, a hands-on science museum downtown and an airboat ride to see alligators. In both places summer heat and car journeys need some planning.

Getting around is much the same in both cities: a walkable core, then a car for everything else. In Chattanooga the core is the riverfront, Bluff View and the Southside, joined across the Walnut Street Bridge and served by a free shuttle.

Fort Lauderdale's walkable area runs between the beach, Las Olas and the New River, and it adds canal water taxis and trains to Miami and the Palm Beaches. Lookout Mountain and the Everglades both need wheels.

Fort Lauderdale is better for shopping. Las Olas Boulevard is pleasant for an afternoon among resort-wear boutiques and galleries. The huge outlet mall at Sunrise attracts serious bargain hunters, and Palm Beach and Miami are close for luxury.

Chattanooga has Warehouse Row and the small shops on Frazier Avenue. Its one real specialty is outdoor gear, which suits its climbers and paddlers.

Chattanooga is the more affordable of the two, although neither is cheap. Its hotels cost less than those in the big cities, and its trails, riverfront walks and downtown shuttle are free. You will still pay for a hire car and for full admission at the aquarium and the Lookout Mountain attractions.

Fort Lauderdale's beachfront hotel rates rise steeply in the winter high season. Other costs stay high all year: cocktails at the beach bars add up quickly, and parking near the sand is seldom free. To keep costs down, go in the summer low season or take a self-catering apartment a few blocks back from the beach.

Fort Lauderdale has a little more on stage. The Broward Center brings touring Broadway shows, ballet and concerts, and Miami's arts centre is close enough for anything bigger.

Chattanooga has something Fort Lauderdale lacks: its own symphony and opera company, performing in the gilded 1920s Tivoli Theatre. Its bar stages also favour bluegrass and Americana, while Fort Lauderdale's beach bars lean towards cover bands.

Fort Lauderdale is the better place to slow down. It has beachfront resort spas, sunrise yoga on the sand and long, easy mornings on the promenade in the dry winter months.

Chattanooga offers only a few day spas and the quiet of a Bluff View porch. Visitors there tend to come for active days, not for rest.