Detroit or Wisconsin Dells?

Neither place is a beach destination, and both treat swimming as a summer half day out. The difference is the kind of water. Detroit has a small sandy beach on Belle Isle in the river and a long, grassy lakeshore at Lake St. Clair Metropark, which is shallow and calm and suits a gentle wade.

The Dells has the prettier setting: clear Devil's Lake under its quartzite bluffs, with sand at both ends. In practice, though, most swimming there happens in the waterparks, and those keep going long after the lakes have turned cold.

Detroit has far more to eat. It has its own dishes in the chilli-topped Coney dog and square Detroit-style pizza, Saturdays at Eastern Market, and some of the country's best Lebanese and Yemeni cooking in Dearborn. Add Mexicantown and the Polish bakeries of Hamtramck, and the reward is often worth the drive.

The Dells mostly feeds families between attractions. Its Wisconsin character comes from supper clubs with brandy old fashioneds, the Friday fish fry and squeaky cheese curds. Those are fun for a few meals, but anyone who loves food ends up driving to Madison.

There is no real contest here. Detroit has a museum of national standing in the Detroit Institute of Arts and its Rivera murals, African American history at the Charles H. Wright Museum, and the house where Motown began. A full day at the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village adds to that, and the Art Deco interiors of the Guardian and Fisher buildings are worth seeing in their own right.

In the Dells, the H.H. Bennett Studio explains how photographs of the river gorges first brought tourists here. Beyond that, Broadway's upside-down houses and wax museums are entertainment rather than heritage.

Detroit is the birthplace of techno, and its nights still have serious warehouse parties and small clubs. Around them are cocktail bars and dive bars in Corktown and Midtown, but they are spread out, so a night out means taxis between neighbourhoods.

The Dells goes quiet once the slides close. A few taverns, taprooms and supper-club bars, plus a casino near Baraboo, are all there is for adults, and the locals drive to Madison for a proper night out.

The Dells is the better place to be outdoors. Kayaking or taking a boat through the sandstone canyons of the Wisconsin River, scrambling over boulders at Devil's Lake and climbing on its quartzite bluffs are proper outdoor days. In winter there is cross-country skiing as well.

Detroit's outdoors is flat and city-scaled. The best of it is Belle Isle's Olmsted-designed woods and lagoon, cycling the RiverWalk, and birdwatching in the metroparks. It is pleasant for an afternoon, but it is not scenery.

The Dells has slightly the better choice of days out. Madison, with its domed Capitol between two lakes, is 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.

From Detroit, the options are pleasant rather than memorable: leafy Ann Arbor, Bavarian-themed Frankenmuth, Toledo's art museum, and Windsor across the river if you bring a passport. From either place, almost every trip needs a car.

The Dells is built around children in a way few places are. It has America's largest outdoor waterpark, indoor resorts that stay warm all winter, and hotels with their own slides, so young children may never want to leave. Its weak spots are teenagers who tire of water rides and loud summer weekends.

Detroit has good things for families too: the Detroit Zoo's polar bear tunnel, the Michigan Science Center, and the steam trains at Greenfield Village. But each is a separate drive, and it suits school-age children who are curious more than toddlers who want to splash.

Detroit is no model of transport, but it is the easier of the two without a car. The People Mover and the QLine streetcar link downtown, the riverfront, the theatres and the Midtown museums, so a short stay focused on the centre can go car-free.

In the Dells there is no useful public transport at all. Apart from a few blocks of Broadway, the roads between the resorts are unpleasant to walk along. Plan on driving from the moment you arrive.

Detroit offers the more interesting shopping. Corktown and Midtown have independent boutiques, vintage shops and Detroit-made watches and leather goods, and there are good specialist groceries in Dearborn and Mexicantown. It is still modest for a city of its size.

The Dells has mostly souvenirs, fudge and cheese shops, plus an outlet centre with mainstream American brands, which is useful on a wet afternoon.

Detroit is the cheaper place to stay. Hotel rooms cost less than in most large US cities, and Coney dogs, pizza and Middle Eastern meals are good value, although a hire car, parking and tips add to the bill.

In the Dells, the costs build up through what you do rather than where you sleep. Waterpark tickets and resort extras add up quickly for a family in peak season, while older motels and the free state parks help keep things down.

Detroit is a serious music city. It has the symphony in Orchestra Hall, opera downtown, touring Broadway productions at the Fisher Theatre and concerts at the gilded Fox. Jazz, soul and rock fill small venues most nights, and the free jazz festival takes over the streets on Labor Day weekend.

The Dells offers magic shows, dinner shows and tribute acts at a Lake Delton theatre. Anyone who cares about the stage drives to Spring Green's outdoor classical theatre or to Madison.

Neither is a place to slow down, but the Dells offers a little more calm. Several resorts have full spas, and a long-established adults-only retreat in the woods gives parents a day or two away from the children. Early mornings on the river are quiet too.

Detroit's rhythm is work, sport and music. Rest there means a hotel spa or a slow walk around Belle Isle.