Fort Myers or Miami?

Miami has the stronger beach and the easier one. On Miami Beach the sand starts at the hotel door and runs from Art Deco South Beach up to the quieter, family-friendly North Beach. The warm Atlantic means you can swim even in mid-winter, and Key Biscayne has calmer water away from the crowds.

Fort Myers has its beaches out on the barrier islands, a drive away. Fort Myers Beach is wide and lively, while Lovers Key and Bonita Beach are quieter. The main draw is Sanibel's shelling, which Miami cannot match. The Gulf is shallower and gentler than the Atlantic, but noticeably cooler in winter.

Miami eats far better. Cuban cooking is the base, from cafecito at ventanita windows on Calle Ocho to slow-roasted lechon. Around it are Venezuelan arepas, Haitian griot in Little Haiti and a serious upscale tier in Brickell and the Design District.

Fort Myers keeps it simple: peel-and-eat shrimp, grouper and fish tacos on waterfront decks at sunset, plus a few independent places and breweries in the River District. Both serve stone crab in season. Beyond seafood, though, Fort Myers has little range, and much of the eating out is at highway chains.

Neither city has much history older than a century, but Miami makes more of what it has. The pastel Art Deco blocks along Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue are a sight in their own right. Vizcaya's villa and gardens, the Perez Art Museum, the Wolfsonian and Wynwood's murals add a few days of interest.

In Fort Myers the essential visit is the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, a rewarding half day of homes, laboratory and gardens beside the river. After that, a walk under the royal palms of McGregor Boulevard and the brick streets of the River District covers most of the town in a day.

This is where the two cities differ most. Miami goes out late and in style, from South Beach's big-room clubs with international DJs to the downtown venues that run until dawn. Wynwood's breweries, Brickell's rooftop bars and the salsa nights on Calle Ocho add variety.

Fort Myers goes to bed early. A drink in a River District pub, the monthly art walk or a sunset beer by the pier on Fort Myers Beach is about the extent of it. Most places wind down long before Miami's clubs even fill.

Both sit in the same flat, watery South Florida landscape, and winter is the season in both, but they show different sides of it. Fort Myers is about birds and paddling. Roseate spoonbills and herons gather at Ding Darling on Sanibel, the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp runs through old-growth cypress, the Great Calusa Blueway leads through mangrove tunnels, and manatees collect on the Orange River in winter.

Miami has the Everglades on its doorstep, with alligators along the Anhinga Trail, airboat rides and the cycling loop at Shark Valley. It also has what the Gulf lacks: reefs for snorkelling in Biscayne National Park and off Key Largo, plus kitesurfing and boating on Biscayne Bay.

Fort Myers has the better choice of day trips. Naples, Sanibel and Captiva, and the old railroad town of Boca Grande each make an easy day out. Sarasota's Ringling museum and the Ca' d'Zan mansion give the region its best cultural outing, and Everglades City opens up the Ten Thousand Islands.

From Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach's Gilded Age mansions are pleasant, and the Upper Keys are good for a seafood lunch. Key West really needs an overnight stay. From either base, every trip means a car.

Both work well for families, in different ways. Fort Myers is the gentler beach base: shallow, calm water, shell hunting on Sanibel, dolphin boat trips and the Shell Factory's animal park. It has no zoo or aquarium, though.

Miami has the bigger attractions, with Zoo Miami, the aquarium and planetarium at the Frost Science Museum, and the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. Parents will want to stay at North Beach or Key Biscayne rather than among South Beach's late nights. In both cities the outings mean driving, and Orlando's parks are a long way off.

Both are car cities, but Miami gives you more options without one. South Beach is flat and easy to walk or cycle, the free Metromover links downtown and Brickell, and ride-hailing covers the trips to Wynwood or Little Havana.

In Fort Myers a hire car is essential from the first day. The beaches, Sanibel and the reserves are spread across the county, buses are too sparse to rely on, and in the winter season the bridges to the islands back up badly.

Miami is a destination for luxury shopping. The Design District gathers flagship fashion stores among architect-designed buildings, and Bal Harbour and the huge Aventura Mall draw buyers from across Latin America. Lincoln Road and a few cigar and guayabera shops in Little Havana round it off.

Fort Myers offers suburban open-air centres and an outlet mall towards Estero. Its most enjoyable browsing is in the galleries and shell shops along Sanibel's Periwinkle Way, but few visitors plan a trip around it.

Fort Myers is the cheaper of the two, although neither is a bargain in the winter high season. Beachfront rooms on Sanibel are expensive, but staying in town or near the interstate keeps costs down. Plan for the hire car and the Sanibel causeway toll.

Miami's costs add up faster. Resort fees, hotel parking and South Beach club drinks push bills up quickly. Cuban bakeries and lunch counters, the free beaches and the free Metromover help, as does staying on the mainland.

Miami has the deeper arts scene. The Adrienne Arsht Center hosts Florida Grand Opera and touring Broadway shows, Miami City Ballet is a company of real standing, and the New World Symphony plays in its Frank Gehry building. Salsa and timba bands in Little Havana give it a sound of its own.

Fort Myers has a smaller winter season: Broadway tours at the Barbara B. Mann hall, a repertory company in a restored 1908 theatre and a regional symphony. In both cities the main season is winter, and in Fort Myers the programme largely stops in summer.

For proper spa time, Miami offers more. Large hotel spas on Miami Beach and Key Biscayne have ocean-view pools, there is sunrise yoga on the sand, and a long-established Russian and Turkish bath house offers banya and cold plunges. The catch is the noise and traffic, so the calmer bases are Key Biscayne or Surfside.

Fort Myers has the quieter pace, especially on Sanibel and Captiva with their low buildings and bike paths. Its spas, though, are only resort treatment rooms, and relaxing there mostly means a pool and a walk along the shore.