Fort Lauderdale or Gatlinburg?

Fort Lauderdale is a true beach destination. A long strip of pale sand runs along the barrier island, lifeguard towers line it and the water is warm all year. Further north, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is quieter and has a reef you can snorkel straight from the shore.

Gatlinburg is in the mountains, far from any coast. Swimming there means tubing on the Little River near Townsend or the lakeshore at Douglas Lake. The water stays cold even in midsummer and runs fast after rain.

Neither city is a food destination, but Fort Lauderdale eats noticeably better. Grilled grouper, stone crab claws in winter and dockside fish shacks on the Intracoastal give it a seafood identity. The Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban kitchens of inland Broward add real depth, and Miami is close for a serious dinner.

The Gatlinburg Parkway is pancake houses, barbecue and fudge shops built for volume, and moonshine tastings are the local drink. Trout, country ham and stack cake can be found, but you have to look for them.

Neither is a sightseeing city, but Fort Lauderdale at least has real historic houses in the middle of town. The Bonnet House, a quirky home that artists built in the 1920s, stands among tropical planting a short walk from the sand. The Stranahan House, once a trading post on the New River, shows what the settlement looked like before the resorts arrived. Add the modern art on Las Olas and the older buildings along the Riverwalk and you have a day's sightseeing that fits easily around mornings on the beach.

In Gatlinburg the town itself offers attractions rather than sights, mainly an observation tower and amusement parks up on the ridge. The best of its heritage is either craft or countryside. In the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community you can watch weavers, potters and woodcarvers at work. Out in the national park, the cabins, mills and churches of the old mountain families still stand at Cades Cove and Elkmont. Both are worth seeing, but each one means getting in the car.

Fort Lauderdale has a real night out. The beachfront bars on A1A fill from late afternoon, Himmarshee Street has bars that run late, Las Olas has wine bars, and Wilton Manors has a busy row of bars and drag shows. For big clubs you go to Miami.

In Gatlinburg the evening is a stroll along the lit Parkway, a moonshine tasting and perhaps a brewery terrace. By late night the strip is empty, and most people end up in their cabin hot tub.

Fort Lauderdale's landscape is flat, so its outdoors happens on the water. You can paddle the canals and the Intracoastal, dive the reefs and wrecks offshore and go sport fishing, and Everglades airboat rides are less than an hour west. It is good of its kind.

Gatlinburg goes much further. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park opens straight off the Parkway, with hardwood forest, waterfall walks to Laurel and Grotto Falls, the road up to Clingmans Dome, black bears and elk. Rafting on the Pigeon River adds to it. Spring wildflowers and October colour give it a seasonal rhythm that the flat coast lacks.

Both cities have a few strong outings and then not much else. Fort Lauderdale's run along the coast: Miami's Art Deco district, Wynwood and Little Havana under an hour south, Palm Beach and the Flagler Museum to the north, and Key Largo at the edge of a long day. Fast trains make the Miami and Palm Beach trips easy.

Gatlinburg's are mountain drives: Asheville and the Biltmore Estate, Cherokee across Newfound Gap with its museum and Oconaluftee village, and Knoxville's market square. You need a car for all of them.

Fort Lauderdale works well for families who want the sea. It has gentle, warm water, a lifeguarded beach, the hands-on Museum of Discovery and Science and Everglades airboat rides. Orlando's theme parks, though, are too far for a day out.

Gatlinburg is designed around children. The Parkway has an aquarium, mini golf, alpine coasters and gondola rides up to treetop bridges, and Dollywood and its water park are a short drive away. The national park adds creek wading and junior ranger badges. Allow for slow traffic and long queues in high season.

In both cities you can manage on foot in a small core, but beyond it you need a car. In Fort Lauderdale that core is the beach, Las Olas and downtown, linked by water taxis on the canals and free trolleys, and trains run to Miami and the Palm Beaches.

In Gatlinburg the walkable part is the Parkway strip, with a trolley out to Pigeon Forge. Most cabins sit up steep, winding roads, though, and the park is only practical by car. Traffic stalls worst at weekends and in October.

Fort Lauderdale has more to shop for. Las Olas Boulevard is good for an afternoon of boutiques, galleries and resort wear, and there is a huge outlet mall out in Sunrise. Palm Beach and Miami are close for luxury.

The Gatlinburg Parkway is mostly souvenirs, candy kitchens and novelty knives. The better buys are the handmade quilts, pottery and brooms sold in the artisans' own studios along the Arts and Crafts loop, which Fort Lauderdale has nothing to match. Brand outlets are in Pigeon Forge and Sevierville.

Fort Lauderdale is the more expensive stay. Beachfront rates climb steeply in winter, and restaurant tax and tips, beach-bar cocktails, car hire and parking all add up. Summer, older motels back from the sand and self-catering apartments bring the cost down.

Gatlinburg costs less overall, especially for groups sharing a big cabin midweek or in winter, and the national park costs little to enjoy. Where the money goes is the paid Parkway attractions and Dollywood. Rates also jump in October and over Thanksgiving and the Christmas weeks.

Fort Lauderdale has the bigger stage. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts brings touring Broadway musicals, ballet and concerts, and the smaller Parker Playhouse and a few rock venues add to it. For opera or orchestral music you go to Miami.

Gatlinburg's live entertainment is bluegrass in the moonshine tasting rooms, plus the dinner shows and country and gospel revues of Pigeon Forge. The mountain music is genuine, but this is a family show rather than an evening at the theatre.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and the spas are modest in both, so the difference lies in how you rest. In Fort Lauderdale it means resort spas, sunrise yoga on the sand and slow winter mornings on the promenade. In Gatlinburg it means a secluded cabin with a hot tub on the deck and mist on the ridges, well above the noise of the Parkway.