Detroit or Rehoboth Beach?

Only one of these is a beach destination. In Detroit, swimming is a summer side trip: a small sandy beach on Belle Isle, or the shallow, calm lake water at Lake St. Clair Metropark, a drive out of the city.

Rehoboth's whole town faces a wide strip of pale Atlantic sand, with lifeguards and a boardwalk, and when that gets crowded there are wilder stretches at Cape Henlopen and Delaware Seashore State Park. The season is short in both places, but in Rehoboth it is the whole point of going.

Detroit has more to eat and a wider range. Coney dogs and square, crisp-edged Detroit-style pizza are its own inventions, and Eastern Market fills up on Saturdays. The Lebanese and Yemeni bakeries and grills of Dearborn, Mexicantown and Hamtramck's Polish bakeries are worth the drive.

Rehoboth eats better than most beach towns, with chef-led restaurants along Rehoboth Avenue, steamed blue crabs, raw bars and good craft beer. Still, its range is that of a resort, and much of it shuts down out of season.

Here the gap is wide. Detroit can fill several days with the Detroit Institute of Arts and Rivera's Detroit Industry murals, the Charles H. Wright Museum and the Motown Museum in Midtown, and the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn. Add early skyscrapers such as the Guardian Building downtown and the gilded Fisher Building in New Center.

Rehoboth's culture comes down to the Rehoboth Art League's gardens and galleries, a small museum house, and the shaded cottage streets left from its days as a Methodist camp meeting. Visitors curious about history usually go on to Lewes.

Detroit has the deeper night scene, and it is built on music. The city that gave the world techno still has warehouse parties and serious small clubs, along with dive and cocktail bars in Corktown and Midtown, though you need taxis to get between them.

Rehoboth's nights are about company more than music. There is a long-established LGBTQ scene of bars, piano lounges and drag nights around Baltimore Avenue, and loud deck bars in Dewey Beach. Everything is close together, but nights end earlier and the scene is mostly a summer one.

Both are flat and neither has hills, but Rehoboth's outdoors are closer to hand and more varied. Cape Henlopen's tall dunes, pine woods and salt marsh start at the edge of town, and the Junction and Breakwater Trail runs by bike to Lewes. The inland bays suit kayaking, dolphins are often seen offshore and Assateague's wild ponies are within reach.

Detroit's green space is parkland: Belle Isle, partly laid out by Olmsted, the RiverWalk and a ring of metroparks with wetlands and good autumn colour. Its long grey winters keep most outdoor plans indoors.

Neither has a standout excursion and both need a car, but Rehoboth's trips are a little more rewarding. Historic Lewes is ten minutes away, and the ferry from there to Victorian Cape May makes a full day out, with Ocean City, Berlin and Chincoteague further along the coast.

From Detroit, the best options are leafy Ann Arbor, Toledo's excellent art museum, Bavarian-styled Frankenmuth and a short passport hop to Windsor in Canada.

Detroit has the bigger attractions for children: the Detroit Zoo with its polar bear tunnel, the steam trains of Greenfield Village and the hands-on Michigan Science Center. They are spread across the metro area, though, so every outing means driving.

Rehoboth is easier because everything is in one small place: Funland's gentle rides, ice cream and fries on the boardwalk, lifeguarded beaches by the rental houses and calm bay water at Cape Henlopen. The catch is crowds and parking on summer weekends.

Detroit is easy without a car only in the centre, where the People Mover and the QLine streetcar cover downtown, Midtown and New Center. Dearborn, the zoo and most of the wider area mean hiring a car or using ride-hailing.

Rehoboth is simpler day to day. Downtown, the boardwalk and the beach are a short, flat walk apart, bikes do the rest, and a seasonal trolley reaches Dewey Beach and the outlets. Getting there and going further still means a car on a busy highway.

Neither is a shopping destination, and the difference is in the kind of shopping. Detroit's is independent and local: Detroit-made watches, leather goods and vintage in Midtown and Corktown, crafts at Eastern Market and specialist groceries in Dearborn. Big brands are only at a suburban mall.

Rehoboth is about bargains. Delaware charges no sales tax, so the outlet centres along the highway draw shoppers for discounted brands, while Rehoboth Avenue adds boutiques, bookshops and gift shops.

Detroit is the cheaper stay. Hotels cost less than in most large American cities, and Coney dogs, pizza and Middle Eastern food are good value, though tips, sales tax and a hire car add up.

Rehoboth in summer charges resort prices for beachside rooms, rental houses, meals and parking. It becomes much better value in spring and autumn, and the free beach and tax-free shopping help.

Detroit is by far the stronger music city. There is the Detroit Symphony in Orchestra Hall, the Detroit Opera, the Fox and Fisher theatres, long-established jazz clubs and the free Detroit Jazz Festival over Labor Day, with soul, rock and gospel bands in small venues most nights.

Rehoboth offers free summer concerts at the bandstand, musicals and cabaret from a small theatre company, piano acts in the bars and an autumn film festival. For bigger concerts you drive south.

Rehoboth is the better place to unwind, because a small coastal town slows down in a way a working city does not. Detroit runs on work, sport and music, and rest there means a hotel spa downtown, a day spa in the suburbs, or a slow afternoon on Belle Isle or the RiverWalk.

Rehoboth's own spas and yoga studios are few, but the pace makes up for it. In June, in September and on autumn weekends the boardwalk empties, and bike rides under the pines and quiet evenings fill the days. Avoid high summer if rest is the aim, because the town is crowded and noisy then.