Galveston or Kansas City?

Galveston is a genuine beach destination. Sand runs along the whole Gulf side, from the crowded strip below the Seawall to the wide, quiet sand near the West End and the state park. Stewart Beach has lifeguards and facilities for families. The water is warm, but it is murky brown-green rather than clear, and sargassum and rip currents are worth knowing about.

Kansas City is in the middle of the continent, far from any coast. Swimming there means a sandy lake beach in a county park or a hotel pool, which is fine for an afternoon with the children but not the point of a trip.

Kansas City is the place to travel for food, mainly because of its barbecue. Brisket and burnt ends are smoked over hickory and served with a thick, sweet sauce, in places that range from old counters near 18th and Vine to polished dining rooms. Around these you will find steakhouses, Vietnamese and Ethiopian counters at the River Market, Mexican cooking on the Westside and local craft beer.

Galveston's strength is fresh Gulf seafood eaten by the water, such as chargrilled oysters, shrimp gumbo and snapper, with some Louisiana influence in the po'boys. Outside the Strand, though, much of the eating is fried platters and family dining for beach visitors.

Kansas City has the more substantial sights. The Nelson-Atkins is a major art museum, especially strong in Chinese art. The National WWI Museum is the country's main museum of that war, and the museums at 18th and Vine tell African American stories you will not find elsewhere. Union Station and the Spanish-style Country Club Plaza add architecture, but the sights are spread out across the city.

Galveston's history is more compact and lies in its streets. You can see the cast-iron fronts of the Strand, the porch-lined houses of the East End and grand interiors such as Bishop's Palace. The 1900 storm and the tall ship Elissa fill a rewarding day or two, without a museum of the first rank.

Kansas City gives you more choice after dark. The Power and Light District has big sports bars, Westport has a student bar strip, and the Crossroads and River Market are calmer places for cocktails and craft beer. Bars there stay open late, even though clubs are few.

Galveston's evenings are mostly pubs and wine bars in the Victorian buildings downtown, plus beach patios on the Seawall that fill on summer weekends. The big exception is Mardi Gras, when parades and street parties take over downtown.

Galveston has more for people who like being outdoors, even though the island is completely flat. It lies on a major migration flyway, and in spring Bolivar Flats and High Island draw birdwatchers to see spoonbills, shorebirds and warblers. You can also paddle the marshes in the state park, fish from the piers and jetties, or watch dolphins from the ferry.

Kansas City's outdoors is mostly parkland. Swope Park is huge, Loose Park has its rose garden, and paved trails follow the creeks. The prairie and farmland around the city are pleasant but not dramatic, and the Ozarks are several hours away.

Galveston has stronger outings within reach because Houston is close by. Space Center Houston is the obvious trip, and Houston's Museum District, the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel add art that the island itself lacks. Kemah's boardwalk and the San Jacinto Monument are on the way.

The trips from Kansas City are pleasant half days rather than famous sights. Options include the university town of Lawrence, Weston with its distillery and antebellum houses, and the Pony Express museum and Jesse James house in St Joseph. Both cities need a car for almost every trip.

Galveston has the edge with children, mainly because the beach itself keeps them busy. Add Moody Gardens' pyramids with an aquarium and indoor rainforest, a waterpark, rides on the Seawall pier and dolphins following the Bolivar ferry, and the days fill up easily.

Kansas City is an easy city for families too. It has the Worlds of Fun coasters, a large zoo, Science City inside Union Station and the aquarium and Legoland centre at Crown Center. A ball game at Kauffman Stadium makes a relaxed evening. In both places the attractions are far apart, so expect plenty of time in the car.

Both cities really expect you to drive, but they work differently without a car. In Galveston, the Strand area is compact enough to walk, a heritage trolley and island buses link it to parts of the Seawall, and the flat beachfront is easy to cycle outside the summer heat. There is no rail link, though, so arriving from Houston's airports takes a car or a shuttle.

In Kansas City, the streetcar along Main Street links the River Market, downtown, Union Station and Midtown, so a hotel on that line makes a car-free day or two possible. Away from that line, wide highways and easy parking make driving the obvious choice.

Kansas City has more places to actually buy things. The Country Club Plaza has chain and upmarket stores around tiled 1920s courtyards. The Crossroads has galleries and vintage design shops, and Westport has record and thrift shops. Suburban malls cover the rest.

In Galveston, shopping is a slow browse through antique shops, galleries and sweet shops on the Strand, plus swimwear and shell souvenirs along the Seawall. For fashion, people from the island go to Houston.

Overall the two cost about the same, at ordinary American prices with tax and tips added to every bill, and in both places a hired car is a real extra cost. The costs fall in different places, though.

In Galveston the beaches are free and motels and beach rentals are plentiful, but Seawall rooms get much more expensive on summer weekends and at Mardi Gras. Weekdays and the cooler months are the time to save. In Kansas City, downtown hotels are fairly priced and the Nelson-Atkins is free to enter, while theme park, zoo and ballgame tickets quickly add up for a family.

Kansas City is far ahead here, and its jazz alone is worth planning an evening around. This is the city of Count Basie and Charlie Parker, and small clubs around 18th and Vine still hold late jam sessions. The Kauffman Center is home to a professional symphony, the Lyric Opera and the ballet. There are also the Folly Theater, the Repertory Theatre and Broadway musicals outdoors at Starlight in summer.

Galveston's highlight is a show in the restored Grand 1894 Opera House, a lovely room for touring acts. Beyond that there is a community orchestra and cover bands on the beachfront patios.

Neither city has a bathing tradition, and spa time in both means a hotel or day spa. Galveston has a slight edge in pace. Away from summer weekends it is a slow island town, with long bike rides along the Seawall and quiet evenings on the porch-lined streets of the East End.

Kansas City's closest thing to a spa culture is the old mineral-water resort of Excelsior Springs, about forty minutes away. In town, slow mornings mean a walk in the Loose Park rose garden or the Nelson-Atkins sculpture lawn.