Dallas or New Orleans?

Dallas is the further of the two from salt water. The Gulf at Galveston is four hours or more by car, so it never works as a day out. The nearest swimming is at the park beaches of reservoirs such as Lewisville Lake and Grapevine Lake, which are warm all summer but muddy-brown and plain. White Rock Lake in the city is for paddling, not bathing.

New Orleans is a little better placed. The Mississippi Gulf Coast around Bay St. Louis and Gulfport is well over an hour's drive, close enough for a day on the sand, though the water is shallow and brownish rather than clear. In both cities, a swim on most days means the hotel pool.

Dallas eats well within a Texan frame: brisket sold by weight, Tex-Mex with frozen margaritas, serious steakhouses and taco trucks in Oak Cliff. Its real advantage is range. Carrollton's Koreatown, the South Asian kitchens of Irving and the Chinese strips of Richardson give it a spread of cooking from elsewhere. Most of it means driving, though, and there is little street life around eating.

New Orleans has the stronger table and one of the most distinctive cuisines in the country. Creole and Cajun cooking runs from century-old French Quarter dining rooms to corner po'boy shops, with crawfish boils in spring, oysters in the cooler months and the Sazerac at the bar. It has little range beyond its own tradition, and the food is rich, but you can eat your way through the city on foot.

New Orleans has more to see, and much of it is the city itself. The French Quarter is an unusually complete colonial town, and the Garden District mansions, the above-ground tombs and the National WWII Museum fill several days.

Dallas has one sight of world interest, the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, and a compact Arts District with the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher. Beyond those and the Art Deco buildings of Fair Park, the centre is mostly towers and freeways, so two days covers the main sights.

This is one of the widest gaps between the two cities. New Orleans has no legal closing time, drinks can be carried in the street, and a night out drifts on foot from Frenchmen Street to Bywater dives and corner bars. Bourbon Street is there if you want it loud.

Dallas has a large, sociable scene split across separate districts, from scruffy Deep Ellum to polished Uptown patios. Getting between them takes a ride-hail, and Texas law ends the night at 2am.

Both cities sit on flat land, but New Orleans has the more memorable surroundings. Within an hour you can take a boat or kayak through cypress swamps past alligators and herons, or walk the boardwalks of the Barataria Preserve. In town, City Park's old oaks are a pleasure.

Around Dallas the prairie is pleasant rather than striking. The Katy Trail, the loop around White Rock Lake, the Great Trinity Forest and the limestone paths of Cedar Ridge cover walking and cycling, and the reservoirs are used for sailing and paddleboarding.

The two cities are about level for day trips, and in both the choice thins out after one or two good outings. From Dallas, the best day is Fort Worth, which you can reach by train. It offers the Stockyards' cattle-town past and the Kimbell Art Museum, and courthouse-square towns such as McKinney lie further out by car.

From New Orleans, the classic trip goes up the River Road to the sugar plantations, where the Whitney tells the story of the enslaved people who worked there. Other options are the small Gulf towns such as Ocean Springs and, at a stretch, the Cajun dance halls around Lafayette.

Dallas is the easier choice with children because it has more of the big attractions families plan around. Arlington has a theme park and water park side by side, and Dallas adds the Perot Museum, the aquarium's rainforest walk and the State Fair each autumn. The catch is the amount of time spent in the car.

New Orleans has a good zoo with a swamp area, a riverfront aquarium and the children's museum and carousel in City Park. Streetcars and paddle steamers also go down well with children. Even so, Bourbon Street and some areas after dark mean parents have to plan evenings carefully.

New Orleans is far easier without a car. The French Quarter, the Marigny and the Warehouse District sit close together on flat ground, and the historic St. Charles streetcar runs out to the Garden District. Ride-hails fill the gaps, including the airport and the swamps.

In Dallas, most visitors rent a car. DART light rail is useful for the airports, Deep Ellum and Fair Park, and the free M-Line streetcar links Uptown with downtown, but most sights lie miles apart along freeways.

Dallas is the stronger shopping city, especially for luxury. It is the home of Neiman Marcus, NorthPark Center and the open-air Spanish-style Highland Park Village. It also does Western boots and hats in depth, from everyday shops to custom makers.

New Orleans wins on character rather than labels. Antique chandeliers and estate jewellery fill the dealers on Royal Street, Magazine Street has miles of independent and vintage shops, and Mardi Gras masks make a souvenir you will not find in Dallas.

Costs are broadly similar, but the money goes in different places. In Dallas, hotels are cheaper away from the centre and barbecue and tacos keep meals affordable, but a hire car or regular ride-hails add up.

In New Orleans you can manage without a car, and much of the pleasure, such as street music and walking the Quarter, is free. Rooms near the French Quarter are the big expense, and they rise sharply during Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.

New Orleans is the stronger city for performance because live music is the main reason many people go. Jazz, brass bands, zydeco and funk play every night on Frenchmen Street and in Tremé, and second-line parades fill the streets on Sundays for much of the year.

Dallas is ahead on the formal side. The Arts District brings the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Winspear Opera House and the Wyly Theatre together within a short walk, which suits anyone after a full evening of orchestra, opera or theatre. Deep Ellum's clubs add a solid rock and blues scene.

Neither city is built for rest, and both rely mainly on hotel day spas. Dallas has the one real bathing experience between them, a large Korean-style bathhouse in the north of the city with heated rooms and pools.

New Orleans makes up for it with its slower pace. Quiet courtyard guesthouses, slow streetcar rides under the oaks and lazy afternoons in City Park make it easier to unwind than in car-bound Dallas.