Chattanooga or Washington DC?

Neither is a swimming destination, but the water is different. Chattanooga's lake swimming areas at Chickamauga and Harrison Bay, and the cool creek holes on the plateau, are close to town and good for a hot afternoon.

Washington's rivers are not for swimming. The nearest sand is on the brackish Chesapeake about an hour away, and the Atlantic resorts are a weekend trip. In both cities the hotel pool does most of the work.

Washington eats more widely. Its strengths come from its immigrant communities: Ethiopian restaurants around Shaw and U Street, pupusas in Columbia Heights, and grazing at Eastern Market and Union Market. Chesapeake crabs and oysters are there in season, and there are serious tasting menus at the top end.

Chattanooga keeps to Southern comfort food: meat-and-three plates, barbecue, catfish and biscuits, with chef-led places and breweries on the Southside. It is satisfying for a few days, but there is little international cooking and no market hall.

There is a wide gap here. Washington has one of the greatest concentrations of museums anywhere: the Smithsonian buildings along the Mall, the National Gallery of Art and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, nearly all free. Around them stand the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and the Library of Congress.

Chattanooga's heritage is narrower and mostly Civil War and railway history. The battlefield at Point Park, the old Terminal Station, the Hunter Museum on its bluff and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center make two or three good days, against a full week in the capital.

Washington has the livelier nights. Thousands of young staffers and students fill the cocktail bars and rooftops of 14th Street and U Street from Thursday on. Adams Morgan runs late, and a few clubs bring in touring DJs.

Chattanooga goes out for craft beer and conversation on the Southside and Station Street, and most places are quiet well before the small hours. It suits a relaxed evening, not a big night.

This is Chattanooga's clear advantage. The mountains begin at the edge of town. Its sandstone bluffs are among the best climbing in the eastern United States, and hang gliding, the Tennessee River Gorge and the Ocoee whitewater are all within easy reach.

Washington is green for a capital, with Rock Creek Park, the C&O Canal towpath and the gorge at Great Falls. Its real mountains, the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah, are a longer drive away.

Washington has much more on its doorstep. Old Town Alexandria is a Metro ride away, Baltimore and Philadelphia can be reached by train, and Mount Vernon, Annapolis, Gettysburg and Harpers Ferry are all within a comfortable distance.

From Chattanooga, Nashville and Atlanta are each about two hours by car. Huntsville's rocket centre, the Jack Daniel's distillery at Lynchburg and the Chickamauga battlefield make good outings, but the list runs out sooner, and every trip needs a car.

Both work well with children, and Washington has a slight edge. Its dinosaur halls, the rockets at Air and Space, and the National Zoo are all free, the Mall gives children room to run, and every Metro station has lifts for buggies.

Chattanooga has the Tennessee Aquarium, the Creative Discovery Museum, and Ruby Falls and Rock City on Lookout Mountain. It also has a proper amusement park, which Washington lacks, though you will drive between most of the sights.

Washington is much easier without a car. The Metro reaches Arlington, Alexandria and the airport, the flat grid is good for walking, and bike-share docks line the monuments, although Georgetown has no station.

Chattanooga's riverfront, Southside and North Shore can be walked, and a free shuttle runs through downtown. Beyond that the buses are thin, and Lookout Mountain, the trails and every day trip need a hire car.

Washington offers more, though neither city is a reason to travel for shopping. Georgetown's M Street mixes boutiques and antique shops in old brick buildings, CityCenterDC has the luxury labels, and the Smithsonian shops are good for books and prints.

Chattanooga has Warehouse Row, the small shops on Frazier Avenue and a large suburban mall. Its one real speciality is outdoor gear.

Chattanooga is the cheaper stay. Its hotels and casual meals cost less than in the big cities, and the trails and riverfront are free. However, the aquarium and the Lookout Mountain attractions charge full admission, and most visitors also pay for a car.

In Washington, rooms, cocktails and restaurant bills are priced for expense accounts. What saves money is that the museums, the zoo and the memorials cost nothing, and staying in Arlington helps.

Washington has far more on stage. Arena Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Ford's Theatre and the Folger all have their own programmes. The National Symphony and the Washington National Opera give the city a full classical season, and the U Street theatres continue Duke Ellington's legacy alongside the city's own go-go.

Chattanooga's gilded Tivoli Theatre hosts touring shows and a small symphony and opera company. Bar bands on the Southside lean towards bluegrass and Americana. There is enough for an evening or two.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and spa options in both mostly mean hotel spas. The calm comes from different places. In Chattanooga it is the slow pace of a small town, an afternoon on a porch in Bluff View or by the river. In Washington it is the green spaces of a busy capital: the Dumbarton Oaks gardens, the National Arboretum or an early walk around the Tidal Basin.