Chattanooga or Pittsburgh?

Neither city is a place to swim, and the difference lies in where you go to cool off. In Chattanooga you swim at the small lake areas of Chickamauga and Harrison Bay, or in the cold creek pools on the plateau above town. These are good for an hour on a hot afternoon.

Pittsburgh's rivers are for kayaking rather than swimming. The nearest proper sand is at Lake Arthur, about 45 minutes away, and Presque Isle on Lake Erie is a two-hour drive.

Pittsburgh has more to explore. The Strip District is a real market street of Italian grocers, fishmongers and Asian shops. Its Central European heritage puts pierogies and haluski on diner menus, and Lawrenceville and East Liberty add serious modern kitchens.

Chattanooga eats well in a narrower Southern register, with meat-and-three, barbecue, catfish and grits. Most of its chef-led places are around the Southside and Main Street. It has no market hall, and you will find little international cooking.

Pittsburgh has much more to see, thanks to the money of Carnegie, Frick and Heinz. Its highlights are the dinosaur halls and art collections in Oakland, the Warhol and the Mattress Factory on the North Side, and the view of its many bridges from Mount Washington.

Chattanooga's heritage is narrower and mostly about war and railways. It has the 1863 battlefields at Point Park and Missionary Ridge, the old Terminal Station, the Hunter Museum above the river and the walk across the Walnut Street Bridge. That is a rewarding couple of days rather than a full week.

Pittsburgh gives you far more choice of where to spend an evening, although in both cities a night out means bars rather than clubs. Chattanooga's going-out is gathered on the Southside and around Main Street, with Station Street by the old railway terminal as the liveliest block. Most evenings there are a beer on a patio, and they end early.

Pittsburgh spreads its bars across neighbourhoods that each feel different. Lawrenceville's Butler Street has cocktail bars and breweries, East Carson Street is the loud student strip, and Shadyside and the Strip have smaller scenes of their own. On game nights the bars fill with fans in black and gold.

In Chattanooga the outdoors is right on the doorstep. Lookout, Signal and Raccoon mountains rise above the streets, and the sandstone bluffs draw climbers from across the eastern United States. On top of that there are hang gliding, gorge paddling, the Ocoee whitewater and the falls of Cloudland Canyon and Fall Creek Falls.

Pittsburgh's own green spaces are park ravines in Frick and Schenley, plus riverside bike paths. To get its bigger landscapes, you drive to Ohiopyle in the Laurel Highlands or ride the Great Allegheny Passage.

Chattanooga has the slight edge because several cities are within reach. Nashville's music and Atlanta are each about two hours away, Huntsville's rocket centre is closer, and the Chickamauga battlefield is just south of town.

Pittsburgh's highlight is a single, outstanding architectural outing to Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, which can be combined with Ligonier or the Flight 93 memorial. Beyond that its options thin out quickly. In both cities you need a car.

Both cities work well with children. Chattanooga keeps its attractions close together, with the Tennessee Aquarium and the Creative Discovery Museum on the riverfront and the Incline Railway, Ruby Falls and Rock City on Lookout Mountain.

Pittsburgh offers more variety for rainy days. The North Side's science centre, children's museum and aviary are clustered together, the dinosaur halls are close by, and Kennywood's wooden roller coasters are a summer favourite. The hills and longer distances make days out with small children more tiring.

Pittsburgh is somewhat easier without a car. The T light rail runs through downtown and across to the North Side, and the inclines climb Mount Washington. Buses reach Oakland and Lawrenceville, although steep hills slow you down between neighbourhoods.

Chattanooga's walkable core is smaller. A free shuttle runs through downtown and the Walnut Street Bridge links it to the North Shore, but the mountain, the trails and anything further out need a hire car.

Outdoor equipment is what Chattanooga's shops do best. Frazier Avenue on the North Shore mixes gear stores with small boutiques and galleries, and Warehouse Row, in converted railway warehouses downtown, adds a handful of shops. That covers most of it.

Pittsburgh's browsing is spread across three streets with different characters. The Strip District has kitchenware, sports merchandise and weekend street vendors, Lawrenceville's Butler Street has vintage and independent clothing, and Walnut Street in Shadyside has the city's most upmarket boutiques. That gives a slightly wider afternoon's wandering, though neither city is worth the journey for shopping alone.

Pittsburgh makes a budget go a little further. In Chattanooga the trails, the riverfront walks and the downtown shuttle cost nothing. The paid attractions are the expensive part, with full admission at the aquarium and on Lookout Mountain. Almost everything outside downtown also needs a car, so car hire and fuel become a fixed part of the bill.

Pittsburgh's hotels, including those downtown on most nights, are good value for an American city, and casual meals and beer are fairly priced. Your main extra cost is rides between neighbourhoods in the evening, and room rates go up on big football and concert weekends.

Pittsburgh is far stronger here. The downtown Cultural District has a respected symphony at Heinz Hall and opera, ballet and Broadway tours at the Benedum. It also has year-round theatre and the jazz heritage of the Hill District, which August Wilson made famous.

Chattanooga offers touring shows and a small symphony and opera company at the gilded Tivoli Theatre. Its live music is mostly country, bluegrass and Americana in a few Southside bars, and serious music fans usually head to Nashville instead.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and both offer only hotel and day spas. Chattanooga's calm comes from its small size and an unhurried afternoon in Bluff View. In Pittsburgh you would rest in the warm glasshouses of Phipps Conservatory, or drive to the resort spas of the Laurel Highlands.