Fort Lauderdale or New Orleans?

This is the widest gap between the two cities. Fort Lauderdale has a long beach of pale sand along the A1A promenade. It has lifeguards and is swimmable all year, there is snorkelling straight off the beach at Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and Hollywood's Broadwalk is a quieter stretch popular with families.

New Orleans sits on a river and a lake, and nobody swims in either. The nearest sand is on the Mississippi coast at Bay St. Louis, well over an hour's drive, and the water there is shallow and murky. In practice, a swim means the hotel pool.

New Orleans is one of the few American cities people visit mainly to eat. There is gumbo, étouffée and red beans in Creole dining rooms and po'boy shops, crawfish boils in spring, and cocktails like the Sazerac that were first mixed in its bars. The food is rich, heavy and narrow in range, but it belongs to no other city.

In Fort Lauderdale you eat well, but the food is not a reason to go. The highlights are grilled fish and stone crab on a dock by the Intracoastal, a terrace on Las Olas, and Jamaican or Haitian cooking in the western suburbs. Anyone after a serious food trip drives down to Miami.

Fort Lauderdale's sights fit into one day: the Bonnet House estate in its gardens, the Stranahan House trading post on the New River and a modest art museum on Las Olas. It is a young city, and people come for the water.

New Orleans has one of the most complete colonial quarters in the United States, with Jackson Square, the cathedral and the Cabildo. It also has the Garden District mansions, the above-ground tombs of its old cemeteries and the National WWII Museum. Most of the pleasure comes from walking the streets rather than from long days in museums.

In Fort Lauderdale, a night out means the beach bars on A1A, the late bars on Himmarshee Street that draw a young crowd, wine on Las Olas, or the bars and drag shows of Wilton Manors, one of the country's best-known gay neighbourhoods. For a bigger night, people head to Miami.

New Orleans needs no such escape. There is no closing time and you can drink on the street, so nights move from bar to bar on foot, from the neon of Bourbon Street to the music clubs of Frenchmen Street and the dive bars of the Bywater. Neither city is much for clubbing; New Orleans is strongest in its streets and old corner bars.

Both landscapes are flat and low, and in both the outdoors is mostly on the water. Fort Lauderdale has more of it. You can kayak and paddleboard through the canals, dive on reefs and wrecks just offshore, go sport fishing, or take an airboat into the Everglades less than an hour west.

New Orleans has swamp boat tours and the boardwalks of the Barataria Preserve within an hour, as well as the oaks and lagoons of City Park and rides along the Mississippi levee. There is no sea to dive in, though, and the summer heat rules out most outdoor plans from June to September.

Fort Lauderdale has a slightly better range of day trips. Miami is under an hour away by car or fast train, with Art Deco Miami Beach, Wynwood and Little Havana. To the north are Palm Beach and its Flagler Museum, and Key Largo is a long but possible day out.

From New Orleans, the strongest outing is the River Road to the old plantations, above all the Whitney, which tells the story of the people enslaved there. Baton Rouge and the small Gulf towns are quieter options, and Cajun country around Lafayette, two hours west, is about as far as a day trip will stretch.

Fort Lauderdale is the simpler choice with children. There is gentle, warm water on a beach with lifeguards, the hands-on Museum of Discovery and Science, and an airboat ride to see alligators. The catch is that most outings need a car.

New Orleans offers more than its reputation suggests: Audubon Zoo, the riverfront aquarium, the children's attractions in City Park and the Mardi Gras parades along St. Charles Avenue. Still, the summer heat, Bourbon Street at night and some streets after dark ask more of parents.

New Orleans is much easier without a car. The French Quarter, the Marigny and the Warehouse District can all be covered on foot, and the historic streetcars run out to the Garden District and City Park, slowly but pleasantly.

In Fort Lauderdale you can do without a car only within the triangle of beach, Las Olas and downtown, which is linked by water taxis and trolleys. Beyond that the roads are wide and the buses infrequent, so most visitors hire a car. The trains to Miami and the Palm Beaches help with day trips.

There is little between the two overall, but the shopping is very different. Fort Lauderdale has resort fashion and swimwear along Las Olas and, out in Sunrise, one of the largest outlet malls in the country, which draws bargain hunters from abroad.

New Orleans sells character. There are antiques and estate jewellery on Royal Street, miles of independent and vintage shops on Magazine Street, and Mardi Gras masks, hot sauces and pralines at the French Market. Neither city is good for designer labels. From Fort Lauderdale, that means a trip to Palm Beach or Miami.

Neither city is cheap, but New Orleans costs less day to day. Po'boys, neighbourhood bars, the streetcar and free music in the streets keep spending down. Rooms are the main expense, especially at Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.

In Fort Lauderdale, high-season winter hotel rates and menus with a tip on top come with the cost of a hire car and beach parking. The beach itself is free, and room rates drop sharply in the hot summer, a saving New Orleans also offers in its own hot months.

Music is one of the main reasons to visit New Orleans. Jazz, brass bands, zydeco and funk play every night on Frenchmen Street and in Tremé, musicians play on Royal Street, and there are Sunday second-line parades and the Jazz & Heritage Festival in spring. The formal side is small: a philharmonic orchestra and touring shows at the Saenger Theatre.

In Fort Lauderdale, a night of performance centres on the Broward Center, with touring Broadway musicals, ballet and concerts, plus cover bands in the beach bars. It makes a good evening out, but the city has no music of its own to seek out.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, so the difference comes down to pace. Fort Lauderdale is better for slowing down, with resort spas, sunrise yoga on the sand and long, quiet walks along the promenade in the dry winter.

New Orleans can be slow too, in a courtyard guesthouse or on a streetcar under the oaks of St. Charles Avenue. But the city pulls you towards late nights, and the French Quarter after dark is anything but restful.