Galveston or St. Louis?

This is the one category where the two cities aren't really comparable. Galveston has sand along most of its Gulf side, from the lifeguarded family stretch at Stewart Beach to the wider, quieter West End, and the water is warm enough for long swims all summer. The sea is murky and some summers bring heavy drifts of sargassum, but this is a real beach vacation.

St. Louis has nothing like it. Its rivers are working waterways with strong currents, so swimming means a hotel or public pool, or a long drive to a lake in the Ozarks.

St. Louis has the more distinctive food. It has its own dishes: toasted ravioli, thin pizza topped with Provel cheese, gooey butter cake and frozen custard. Alongside them are the Italian places on the Hill, the Bosnian and Vietnamese restaurants of South Grand, and a deep beer culture centred on the old Anheuser-Busch brewery in Soulard.

Galveston's range is narrower: oysters, shrimp and Gulf fish eaten by the water, plus Tex-Mex, barbecue and po'boys, with the better independent places around the Strand. The seafood is good and simple, but there is little to explore beyond it.

Both cities have handsome Victorian streets, but St. Louis has the bigger sights. The Gateway Arch and its museum of westward expansion, the free art museum in Forest Park, the mosaics of the Cathedral Basilica and the Wainwright Building fill two or three full days.

Galveston's story is narrower but vivid. It is told through the cast-iron Strand, the porch-lined houses of the East End, Bishop's Palace and the storm of 1900 that reshaped the island. Boarding the barque Elissa at the harbour is a fine visit, but the museums are small.

Neither is a city for late nights, but St. Louis has more of them. Its bars are spread across separate districts: Soulard's corner taverns and blues bars, the dance bars of Washington Avenue, the Grove's LGBTQ+ and late-night strip, and the student bars of the Delmar Loop. A taxi between them is part of the evening.

Galveston sticks to pubs and wine bars in the downtown Victorian blocks and beach bars along the Seawall, with almost no clubs. Mardi Gras is the one time the island really stays up late.

The outdoors is equally rewarding in both, but in opposite ways. Galveston is flat sand, marsh and bay, and the draw is birds. Spring migration brings warblers, shorebirds and spoonbills to Bolivar Flats and High Island, and paddling, fishing and the dolphins that follow the ferry fill the rest of your time.

St. Louis has the hills the island lacks. Forest Park is a large green space inside the city, and within an hour the Ozark foothills offer river bluffs, caves and hiking at Castlewood and Meramec. Cyclists have the Katy Trail, and bald eagles gather on the river bluffs in winter.

Galveston's outings point north towards Houston and the space age. Space Center Houston is the obvious one. Beyond it are the Museum District, the Menil Collection and the Rothko Chapel, with Kemah's boardwalk and the San Jacinto Monument on the way. In the other direction, the free ferry crosses to the small beach communities of the Bolivar Peninsula.

From St. Louis the trips go much further back in time. The UNESCO-listed Cahokia Mounds, where you can climb Monks Mound, are twenty minutes across the river. Within a couple of hours are French colonial Ste. Genevieve, the German wine towns of Hermann and Augusta, Mark Twain's Hannibal and Lincoln's Springfield. In short, it is big-city museums and rockets against small historic towns.

Both work equally well for children, so the choice is between a beach week and a city stay. Galveston offers warm, shallow water at Stewart Beach, the Moody Gardens pyramids for hot or wet days, a waterpark and a pier off the Seawall with funfair rides.

St. Louis has the tunnels and slides of the City Museum, a free zoo and science centre in Forest Park, the Magic House and the ride to the top of the Arch. In both, the attractions are spread out and summer afternoons are sticky.

Plan on a car in either city. In Galveston the walkable part is the area around the Strand, with a heritage trolley and a modest bus to parts of the Seawall. Moody Gardens and the West End need a car, and there is no rail link from Houston's airports.

St. Louis at least has MetroLink, which runs from the airport through Forest Park and the Central West End to downtown and covers several key sights. Soulard, the Hill and everything beyond the city still mean driving, though the roads are uncongested and parking is easy.

Galveston's shopping means antiques and beach souvenirs. The Victorian storefronts of the Strand and Postoffice Street hold antique shops, galleries and sweet shops, and the Seawall sells swimwear and shell trinkets. For fashion or a real mall, people drive to Houston.

St. Louis has a little more range, and it leans towards vintage and records. Cherokee Street, an old antiques row, mixes vintage, record and Latin American shops, and the Delmar Loop and the leafy Central West End add independent boutiques. Big-name fashion is out in the suburban malls, so it still makes a pleasant afternoon rather than a reason to visit.

Costs are much the same in both, with ordinary American prices, tips and tax on every bill, and a hire car needed in each. What differs is where you save. Galveston's beaches are free and there are plenty of motels and beach rentals, but Seawall hotels charge much more on summer weekends and at Mardi Gras.

In St. Louis the zoo, art museum, history museum and science centre are all free. Rooms cost less than in the coastal cities, and barbecue and the Bosnian grills keep meals cheap.

St. Louis is far ahead here. The Saint Louis Symphony at Powell Hall, touring Broadway shows at the Fabulous Fox, summer musicals at the outdoor Muny and the Opera Theatre's festival season are enough to plan a trip around. The city's blues history, from Chuck Berry to the National Blues Museum, keeps live music going all week.

Galveston has one fine venue, the restored Grand 1894 Opera House, with touring shows and a community symphony, plus cover bands on the beachfront. It is good for an evening out, but you wouldn't plan a trip around it.

Neither city has a spa culture, so the difference is pace, and Galveston is the easier place to relax. Long bike rides along the Seawall, quiet East End streets and evenings by the water make it a place to slow down, and the larger resort hotels offer massages.

St. Louis has day spas and yoga studios in Clayton and the Central West End, and you can spend a restful morning in Forest Park or the Japanese garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Still, it is a city for sightseeing rather than unwinding.