Fort Lauderdale or Havana?

Fort Lauderdale has the stronger beach by a long way, because the sand is the town. A broad, lifeguarded strip runs along the palm-lined promenade, and there is shore snorkelling at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and quieter stretches further north and south, all within easy reach of your hotel.

Havana's seafront is the rocky Malecón, so swimming means a taxi half an hour east to the Playas del Este. The white sand and clear water there are lovely, and weekends have a cheerful local feel, but there is only basic shade and food stalls, and it works as a day off rather than a base.

Fort Lauderdale eats a little better, mainly thanks to dockside seafood shacks on the Intracoastal, winter stone crab and the Jamaican, Haitian and Cuban cooking in the western suburbs. Neither city is a food destination, and Miami is the escape for a serious dinner.

Havana's strength is the bar rather than the kitchen. Inventive paladares in old mansions and on rooftops are the highlight, but the menu depends on what the kitchen has managed to get. The daiquiris, mojitos, aged rum and strong coffee are the more memorable part.

There is no contest here. Havana's UNESCO-listed old town, with its four great squares, baroque churches and harbour fortresses, along with the art deco stock of Centro and Vedado, gives you days of walking through history, some of it restored and some of it crumbling in plain view.

Fort Lauderdale is a young city whose sights are the Bonnet House estate, the Stranahan trading post and a modern art museum on Las Olas. They make a pleasant afternoon, but the city's character lies in its water, not its buildings.

Havana has the livelier nights, and they are built around dancing. Locals fill the Vedado salsa clubs, the old town bars pour rum late, and the Malecón becomes an open-air gathering on warm evenings. Expect taxis between neighbourhoods and little polish.

Fort Lauderdale's evenings are beach bars on A1A, the young crowd on Himmarshee Street and terrace wine bars on Las Olas. Its real distinction is Wilton Manors, one of the country's best-known gay neighbourhoods. For clubbing, both cities fall short, and Fort Lauderdale's crowd heads to Miami.

Fort Lauderdale offers far more to do outdoors, almost all of it on water. You can paddle the canals and the Intracoastal, dive reefs and sunken wrecks close to shore, or go sport fishing offshore, and the sawgrass and alligators of the Everglades are less than an hour inland.

In Havana, the outdoors mostly means the sea wall at sunset and the shady Almendares park. Real landscape starts with the forest trails and river pools of Las Terrazas, about an hour west, and Viñales is too far for a casual outing.

Fort Lauderdale is better placed for easy excursions. Miami's Art Deco district, Wynwood and Little Havana are under an hour away by fast train, Palm Beach's Flagler Museum lies up the coast, and Key Largo is a long but feasible day.

From Havana, the easy outings are Hemingway's Finca Vigía, Cojímar and the theatre town of Matanzas. Cuba's best places, Trinidad, Cienfuegos and Viñales, really need overnight stays, and without good public transport you will be hiring a driver or joining a tour.

Fort Lauderdale is much easier with children. It has calm, warm water with lifeguards and showers, a good science museum with an aquarium, a butterfly aviary and airboat rides, and everything from nappies to familiar food is easy to buy. The main drawbacks are summer storms and needing a car.

Havana greets children with real warmth, and the aquarium, cannons at the fortresses and classic-car rides are fun. But the uneven pavements, heavy heat and unreliable supplies make it better suited to older children curious about music and history than to toddlers.

Neither city is easy to get around, but they are awkward in different ways. In Fort Lauderdale, the beach, Las Olas and downtown are linked by water taxis and free trolleys, while everything else means wide roads, slow buses and usually a hire car.

Havana edges ahead for a visitor without a car. The old town is compact enough to walk, and the Malecón carries you on foot to Vedado. Beyond that, you rely on classic-car taxis, shared almendrones and bicycle rickshaws, agreeing the fare first and watching the broken pavements after dark.

Fort Lauderdale is the better place to shop in the ordinary sense. Las Olas Boulevard has boutiques and resort wear for an easy afternoon, and the huge outlet mall in Sunrise draws bargain hunters from abroad.

Havana has no fashion or department stores to speak of, and shelves can be bare. What it does have are things worth bringing home: cigars, aged rum, coffee and, best of all, original paintings and prints from studios in Habana Vieja and Vedado.

Havana is the cheaper stay if you travel the local way. Casas particulares with breakfast, shared taxis, museum entry and live music all cost little. State hotels and the smarter paladares, though, charge international rates, and you will need cash because cards are unreliable.

Fort Lauderdale is expensive for most of the year, especially in the winter high season. Tips and tax are added to every meal, and car hire and beach parking add up. The beach itself is free, and summer or an apartment a few blocks inland brings costs down.

Music is where Havana leaves Fort Lauderdale far behind. Son, rumba and bolero play live from midday in bars and courtyards, Vedado's jazz clubs host top players, and the Ballet Nacional de Cuba performs at the Gran Teatro, with the National Symphony nearby.

Fort Lauderdale relies on the Broward Center for touring musicals, ballet and comedy, plus cover bands in the beach bars. It has no resident orchestra or opera, so a serious classical evening means going to Miami.

Fort Lauderdale is more restful, mainly because of its easy pace. You can take long morning walks along the promenade, join yoga on the sand at sunrise and book a treatment at the resort spas, all in dry, warm winter weather.

Havana has few spas, and its centre can be noisy, hot and full of exhaust fumes. You find calm in a rocking chair in a colonial courtyard or a leafy Vedado guesthouse, but real rest usually means a day out at the beach.