Detroit or Minneapolis?

Neither city is a beach destination, but Minneapolis makes swimming part of an ordinary summer day. Lake Harriet, Bde Maka Ska, Lake Nokomis and Cedar Lake all have sandy strips with lifeguards inside the city. You can cycle over in the evening for a swim or a paddleboard.

In Detroit, swimming takes a bit more planning. Belle Isle's beach is small, and the better option, the long lawn-backed shore at Lake St. Clair Metropark, is a drive out of town. In both cities the swimming season ends by early September.

The two eat about equally well, but in different ways. Detroit has dishes of its own: chilli-covered Coney dogs at diner counters and thick, square-cut pizza. Its best cooking is in the communities around it, with Lebanese and Yemeni food in Dearborn, Polish bakeries in Hamtramck and Mexicantown, though reaching them often means a drive.

In Minneapolis the variety is easier to reach from the centre. Lake Street and Eat Street serve Somali, Ethiopian, Vietnamese and Mexican food, there are Hmong markets, and the Midtown Global Market brings much of it under one roof. Its home dish, the Juicy Lucy, is less of a reason to visit, but brewery taprooms play a bigger part in local life.

Detroit has the stronger sights. The Detroit Institute of Arts, with Rivera's Detroit Industry murals filling a courtyard, ranks among the country's great museums. Add the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, the Motown Museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum, and downtown's Guardian and Fisher buildings, and the list goes deeper. The stretches of city between them are less rewarding.

Minneapolis is a good art city on a smaller scale. The free Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Walker and its Sculpture Garden are excellent, and the Mill City Museum and Stone Arch Bridge tell the flour-milling story. Two or three days covers it.

Detroit has the better nightlife, mainly because of techno. Warehouse parties, small serious clubs and after-hours events give it a late-night scene Minneapolis doesn't match, especially around the electronic music festival on Memorial Day weekend. Bars are spread out, though, so a night usually means taxis between Corktown, Midtown and downtown.

Minneapolis is a city of friendly bars rather than clubs. You'll find taprooms in Northeast, cocktail bars in the North Loop, and summer patios and rooftops. Last orders come at 2am.

Minneapolis is the clear choice for time outdoors. The Grand Rounds runs about 80km around the Chain of Lakes, Minnehaha Falls and the wooded Mississippi gorge with barely a road crossing. In winter the frozen lakes and the ski trails at Theodore Wirth Park keep you outside, and the St Croix bluffs are about an hour away.

Detroit's outdoors are mostly on the water. There is Olmsted's Belle Isle, the RiverWalk, and kayaking or sailing on Lake St. Clair, plus metroparks with good autumn colour. Both cities are flat, but Detroit's green spaces are less connected and harder to reach without a car.

Day trips are modest from both, and the difference is in kind. Detroit offers more variety: the college town of Ann Arbor, Bavarian-style Frankenmuth, Toledo's fine art museum, Cedar Point's roller coasters, and Canada across the river in Windsor if you bring a passport.

Minneapolis has the easiest outing, because St Paul's Capitol, cathedral and Summit Avenue mansions are a light-rail ride away. Its other trips are more scenic: old Stillwater on the St Croix and the drive down the Mississippi to Red Wing and Lake Pepin.

Minneapolis is easier with children, largely because so much of it works in bad weather. The Mall of America has an indoor amusement park and aquarium on the light rail. St Paul adds the Science Museum, the Children's Museum and the free Como Zoo, and in summer there are lake beaches and paddle boats.

Detroit has good things for children too: the large Detroit Zoo with its polar bear tunnel, the Michigan Science Center, and the steam trains at Greenfield Village. Almost all of them mean a drive, though, and there is less to fall back on indoors in winter.

Minneapolis is easier without a car. The Blue Line connects the airport, downtown and the Mall of America, and the Green Line runs to St Paul. Protected bike lanes and the Midtown Greenway reach the lakes, and in winter the skyways let you cross downtown indoors.

In Detroit, the People Mover and the QLine streetcar cover downtown, Midtown and New Center well. Beyond them, Dearborn, the zoo and almost everything else need a hire car or ride-hailing.

Minneapolis has more shopping, and most of it is the Mall of America, the country's largest mall. It is on the light rail, and Minnesota charges no sales tax on clothing. Nicollet Mall downtown and the North Loop boutiques add some city-centre shopping.

Detroit's shopping is small and independent. It's worth a look for Detroit-made watches, leather goods and vintage in Midtown and Corktown, and for market-day crafts at Eastern Market. For big brands, you have to drive to a suburban mall.

Detroit is the cheaper city for most visitors. Hotel rooms cost noticeably less than in most large American cities, and Coney dogs, square pizza and Dearborn's Middle Eastern food are cheap and good. Budget for a hire car and parking, though, since most visitors need them.

Minneapolis costs more for a bed. It saves money elsewhere: the Minneapolis Institute of Art, the Sculpture Garden and the lakes are free, and the light rail cuts the need for a car.

Both are excellent for live performance, but they excel at different things. Detroit is mainly a music city. It has the symphony at Orchestra Hall, opera downtown and concerts at the Fox Theatre. Long-running jazz clubs, the free Labor Day jazz festival and the Motown, soul and gospel tradition mean live bands most nights.

Minneapolis is stronger on theatre. It has the Guthrie with its bridge over the Mississippi, the Hennepin Avenue houses, the Children's Theatre Company and smaller companies staging new work. First Avenue, the club of Purple Rain, keeps Prince's rock legacy going.

Minneapolis has an actual tradition here: the Nordic sauna. In winter, public saunas open on the frozen lakes, with a cold plunge or a roll in the snow between rounds. An evening walk around a lake is how the city winds down.

Detroit has nothing comparable. Its options are hotel spas and suburban day spas, and its quietest hours are a walk on the RiverWalk or an afternoon on Belle Isle.