Chattanooga or Wisconsin Dells?

Neither place has a sea, but Wisconsin Dells has the better swimming. Devil's Lake State Park has sandy beaches at both ends of a clear lake below quartzite bluffs, and Mirror Lake and Lake Delton have smaller beaches. In practice most swimming happens in the waterparks.

Chattanooga's choice is thinner: small swimming areas on Chickamauga Lake and at Harrison Bay, and cool creek pools up on the plateau. They are good for a hot afternoon, but not for a day on the sand.

Chattanooga eats noticeably better. Meat-and-three plates, barbecue, catfish and biscuits are the staples, and there are chef-led restaurants and craft breweries on the Southside and Main Street, so a few days of eating there are genuinely enjoyable.

Wisconsin Dells mostly offers family-friendly steakhouses, pizza and buffets along the strips. Its real character is Wisconsin tradition: supper clubs with brandy old fashioneds, the Friday fish fry and squeaky cheese curds. These are fun to try, but the choice is narrow.

The gap here is wide. Chattanooga has real history to walk through, with the 1863 battlefields at Point Park and Missionary Ridge, the old Terminal Station and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. It also has the Hunter Museum of American Art on its bluff above the river, which is enough for two or three good days of sightseeing.

Wisconsin Dells has the H.H. Bennett Studio, which tells how photographs of the gorges first drew tourists, and some Ho-Chunk exhibits. The rest of Broadway is upside-down houses and wax museums, which are entertaining but not heritage.

Neither is a place for a big night, but Chattanooga at least gives adults an evening out. Breweries, cocktail bars and patios on the Southside and Main Street fill up with students and young locals at weekends, and Station Street has a short strip of bars.

Wisconsin Dells goes quiet once the waterparks close. You get taverns, taprooms and a nightcap in a supper-club bar, plus a late casino near Baraboo.

Both are good outdoor bases, but Chattanooga has the more dramatic terrain. The Tennessee River cuts through the Cumberland Plateau there, with Lookout, Signal and Raccoon Mountains directly above town. It offers some of the East's best climbing, hang gliding, the Ocoee whitewater and the waterfalls of Cloudland Canyon and Fall Creek Falls.

Wisconsin Dells has a gentler landscape. The river canyons are best seen by boat or kayak, and Devil's Lake has quartzite bluffs and good climbing of its own. It also gives you something Chattanooga cannot: snowy winters for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

The two are about level, and both need a car. From Chattanooga the big draws are cities two hours off, Nashville for music and Atlanta for museums. The Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Sewanee and the Chickamauga battlefield are closer.

From Wisconsin Dells the outings are shorter and quieter. Madison's lakes and Capitol are about an hour away, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and the House on the Rock are at Spring Green, and Circus World is in Baraboo, with Milwaukee as the one longer run.

Chattanooga is a good family city, but Wisconsin Dells is built for children from end to end. The Dells' giant outdoor waterpark and indoor resorts, open all year, are surrounded by go-karts, rollercoasters and duck boats, all a short drive apart. Many hotels have slides, so small children barely need to leave.

Chattanooga's offer is more varied and suits mixed ages better. The Tennessee Aquarium, the Incline Railway, Ruby Falls and Rock City work for teenagers who would tire of water rides, though you will drive more between them.

Chattanooga is the easier of the two without a car, at least in the centre. The riverfront, aquarium, Bluff View and Southside are walkable, and they are linked by the Walnut Street Bridge and a free downtown shuttle. Anything beyond that, including the mountain attractions, needs wheels.

In Wisconsin Dells you drive everywhere except a few blocks of Broadway, because the strips between resorts are not safe to walk. Madison airport is about an hour away.

Chattanooga has the more interesting shops, though only modestly. Frazier Avenue on the North Shore has small boutiques, galleries and outdoor-gear stores, which are the city's one real speciality. The converted railway warehouses of Warehouse Row add a few more shops downtown, and locals drive out to Hamilton Place mall for the chains.

Wisconsin Dells is mostly souvenirs: T-shirt, taffy and cheese shops along Broadway that children like to browse, though they all sell much the same things. A large outlet centre on the edge of town covers the mainstream American brands and fills a wet afternoon.

Costs are much the same, and both are moderate rather than cheap by American standards. In Chattanooga the steady expenses are the aquarium and Lookout Mountain admissions, plus a hire car, while the trails and the downtown shuttle are free.

In Wisconsin Dells it depends on timing. Summer weekends at the big resorts add up quickly, but older motels and off-season stays are easier on the budget.

Chattanooga has a real if modest programme. The gilded 1920s Tivoli Theatre hosts the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera and touring shows, there is a long-running community theatre, and bluegrass and Americana bands play in Southside bars.

Wisconsin Dells has magic shows, dinner theatre and tribute acts in Lake Delton. Serious theatre means driving to the outdoor classical stage at Spring Green in summer.

Resort spas against small-city calm is the real difference here. Wisconsin Dells has full-service spas at its larger resorts and a long-established adults-only retreat in the woods, where parents can properly switch off for a day or two. Away from those, the quiet comes early in the morning on the river or in the off-season, as summer weekends are loud.

Chattanooga has no bathing tradition and only hotel and day spas. Its rest comes from its unhurried pace instead, with a slow afternoon on the riverfront or an hour on a porch in Bluff View.