Dallas or Pensacola?

This is the widest gap between the two cities. Dallas has no coast within a day's reach, so swimming means the reservoirs such as Lewisville Lake and Grapevine Lake, with plain, brownish shores, or a pool or the Arlington water parks.

Pensacola's beaches are why most visitors come: bright white quartz sand and green water along Santa Rosa Island, quieter stretches at Perdido Key, and calm sound-side shallows for small children. Watch the rip-current flags on rough days.

Dallas gives you much more choice. Beyond smoked brisket, steakhouses and frozen margaritas there are serious Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean and South Asian strips in Richardson, Garland, Carrollton and Irving, although reaching them means driving.

Pensacola does one thing well: Gulf seafood, from chargrilled oysters to royal red shrimp, best eaten at casual places by the water. Beyond that and a handful of Southern kitchens around Palafox Street, the choice is narrow.

Dallas has the bigger sights: the Sixth Floor Museum overlooking Dealey Plaza, and an Arts District where the Dallas Museum of Art and the Nasher sit within a short walk of each other. Fair Park's Art Deco buildings add to that, but most of the centre is towers and freeways.

Pensacola's history is older and more layered, seen in the colonial houses around Plaza Ferdinand, brick Fort Pickens and the large Naval Aviation Museum. It feels more like a historic small town, with fewer major collections.

Dallas offers more nights out and more variety. You can choose between scruffy Deep Ellum, polished Uptown patios and the neighbourhood bars of Lower Greenville, though you will need a ride-hail between them.

Pensacola's evenings centre on the pubs and rooftops of Palafox Street and Seville Quarter and on sand-floored beach bars. They are lively in summer and at weekends, but the town goes quiet early the rest of the time.

Pensacola is far better for time outdoors. The national seashore's dunes, salt marsh and boardwalks bring herons, ospreys and dolphins close, paddling and fishing are easy to arrange, and divers head for the sunken carrier reef offshore.

Dallas has pleasant city green space, such as the White Rock Lake loop, the Katy Trail and the Great Trinity Forest, but the surrounding prairie is rarely striking. In both places summer heat pushes activity into the early morning.

Dallas has the stronger day out in Fort Worth, which you can reach by commuter train. It offers the Stockyards' longhorn drive and the Kimbell's Louis Kahn galleries, with Grapevine and courthouse towns such as McKinney nearby.

From Pensacola, Mobile is the best outing, with its antebellum streets and battleship. Fairhope makes a gentle extra, but the resort towns to the east are mostly more beaches.

Both work well with children, but in different ways. Dallas has more big attractions: Six Flags and its water park in Arlington, two large zoos, the Perot Museum and the State Fair every autumn, all reached by car.

Pensacola is a beach vacation for families, with shallow sound-side water for toddlers, condos with kitchens, and the planes and Blue Angels at the naval aviation museum. Don't expect theme parks.

You will want a car in either city, but Dallas gives you a few more alternatives. DART light rail links both airports with downtown, Deep Ellum and Fair Park, and the free M-Line streetcar ties Uptown to the Arts District.

In Pensacola only the small Palafox and historic quarter is walkable, and there is a seasonal beach trolley. The island, the naval air station and Perdido Key are far apart and separated by bridges.

Dallas is a real shopping city, especially for luxury. NorthPark Center and the Spanish-style courtyards of Highland Park Village carry the big labels, and the boots, hats and buckles of Western wear make the best local souvenir.

Pensacola is not a place to shop. There are a few antique and gift shops on Palafox Street, the Saturday market, a regional mall and beachwear stalls.

Overall costs are similar, and neither city is cheap once you add the hire car you will need. In Dallas the savings come from suburban hotels, barbecue and free museums, and the expense from Uptown steakhouses and cocktail bars.

Pensacola's prices depend on the season. Beachfront rooms are expensive in summer and much cheaper out of season, and casual seafood and the free aviation museum keep daily spending moderate.

Dallas plays on a larger stage. The Pei-designed Meyerson, the Winspear and the Wyly host a full symphony, opera and theatre season, and Deep Ellum's clubs keep blues, rock and country going most nights.

Pensacola fits its symphony, opera, ballet and touring shows into the restored 1925 Saenger Theatre. It makes a good night out, but a regional one.

Neither city has a spa culture, so the difference is in how you unwind. Dallas offers hotel spas, day-spa chains and one large Korean-style bathhouse, but the city's pace is brisk. Pensacola has fewer facilities, but outside summer the island and Perdido Key are quiet places for slow walks on the sand.