Gatlinburg or Miami Beach?

For beaches, Miami Beach is far ahead. Gatlinburg has no beach. In summer people wade and tube in cold mountain rivers such as the Little River near Townsend, or drive about forty minutes to swim at Douglas Lake. Even then, the water is chilly and the currents can be strong.

Miami Beach has around 11km of continuous Atlantic sand, and the sea stays warm enough to swim through the winter. You can choose the crowds and pastel lifeguard huts of South Beach or the quieter, roomier stretches of Mid-Beach and North Beach. The trade-offs are summer jellyfish, seaweed in some years and loud music on the busiest stretches.

Miami Beach eats much better. Its strength is the Latin American influence: croquetas and Cuban sandwiches from takeaway windows, ceviche and arepas, and Florida stone crabs in season, alongside chef-led seafood restaurants. Skip the tourist menus on Ocean Drive and eat on the side streets, in North Beach or across the causeway in Little Havana.

Gatlinburg's food is built to feed crowds: pancake breakfasts, barbecue and Southern comfort cooking on the Parkway, plus fudge and moonshine tastings. Good Appalachian cooking, such as trout, country ham and stack cake, exists, but you have to seek out the odd restaurant. Serious food lovers usually drive to Knoxville or Asheville.

Miami Beach offers more to see in town. The Art Deco Historic District is the main attraction: hundreds of 1930s pastel hotels you can explore on foot. The Wolfsonian, the Bass and the Holocaust Memorial are worth adding, though the larger museums are on the mainland.

Gatlinburg's town is mostly motels and amusements, so its culture lies elsewhere. You can visit the working studios of the Great Smoky Arts and Crafts Community, or drive out to the log cabins, mills and churches of Cades Cove and Roaring Fork. Both are half-day outings rather than an afternoon of sightseeing in town.

The two are opposites after dark. South Beach is world-famous for going out, with DJ clubs that fill after midnight, afternoon pool parties and showy lobby bars, all with dress codes and high bills. Sunset Harbour and Mid-Beach have calmer cocktail and wine bars.

In Gatlinburg an evening means walking the lit Parkway, tasting moonshine and maybe a drink at a brewery terrace before going back to the cabin hot tub. There are effectively no clubs, and the strip is empty by late night.

Gatlinburg is the clear choice for nature. It sits at the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, with hardwood forest, mountain streams and trails ranging from easy walks to Grotto Falls up to the long Alum Cave route on Mount LeConte. You will see black bears and deer, elk live in the quieter valleys, and spring fireflies and October colour add to the seasons. The main problem is weekend traffic on the park roads.

In Miami Beach, the outdoors means water. You can paddle the bay or the mangroves of Oleta River, dive the offshore reefs and wrecks, or spend a day among the alligators and sawgrass of the Everglades. That makes it the better base for divers and snorkellers, but there is no hiking, and summer heat limits activity to early mornings.

Both towns offer a similar range of day trips, though the outings are very different. From Gatlinburg they are about mountain heritage. You can visit Asheville and the huge Biltmore Estate, drive over Newfound Gap to Cherokee and the Museum of the Cherokee Indian, or go to Knoxville for its old market square.

From Miami Beach the outings are urban and coastal. Mainland Miami has Vizcaya, Coral Gables and the Wynwood murals, and you can also drive north to Palm Beach's mansions or south to Key Largo. Both towns quickly run out of options after the main trips, and both need a car.

Gatlinburg is the better family destination. The Parkway is full of things for children, including an aquarium, alpine coasters, mini golf and chairlift rides to treetop bridges. Dollywood is a short drive away, and the national park adds creek wading and junior ranger badges. Big cabins with games rooms make it easy for several families to stay together. The downsides are queues and traffic in peak season.

At Miami Beach, children come for the sea. The water is warm and gentle, there are lifeguards everywhere, and playgrounds sit behind the sand in Mid-Beach and North Beach. Almost everything else for children, such as the zoo and the science museum, is on the mainland, and South Beach's party crowds are a poor match for young families.

Miami Beach is easier without a car, at least on the island. South Beach is flat and compact, free trolleys and buses run up Collins Avenue, and the beachwalk is good for cycling. Leaving the island is the hard part, because there is no rail link and the causeways jam.

In Gatlinburg you can walk the Parkway strip and take the trolley to Pigeon Forge. Most cabins, though, sit up steep, winding roads, and every trailhead needs a car. In October expect long hold-ups on the park roads.

Miami Beach has more choice. For luxury, the open-air mall at Bal Harbour gathers the big European fashion houses, and Lincoln Road is a pleasant pedestrian street of international chains. Swimwear and resort clothing are easy to find on Collins Avenue.

Gatlinburg has something Miami Beach lacks: handmade goods. Along the Arts and Crafts Community loop you can buy quilts, pottery, brooms and woodwork directly from the people who make them. Otherwise the Parkway sells mostly candy and souvenirs, and brand shoppers drive to the outlet malls in Pigeon Forge.

Gatlinburg is the cheaper of the two. A big cabin shared by a group can be good value, especially midweek or in winter, and the national park costs little to enjoy. What adds up are the paid attractions and Dollywood tickets for a whole family. Rates also climb steeply in October's leaf season and over Christmas and New Year.

Miami Beach is expensive, especially oceanfront hotels in winter. Resort fees, parking and South Beach cocktail prices raise the bill further. To save, stay in North Beach, come in the summer rainy season, and eat at Cuban takeaway windows. The beach itself is free.

Miami Beach has a real arts life. The New World Symphony plays in its Frank Gehry hall and sometimes projects concerts onto the outside wall for audiences on the lawn. Miami City Ballet is based on the island, and the Colony and Jackie Gleason theatres host touring productions from autumn to spring.

Gatlinburg's live entertainment is homespun: bluegrass in the moonshine tasting rooms, and dinner shows and gospel revues in Pigeon Forge. There is no orchestra or serious theatre, though mountain music, which Dollywood features often, has real local roots.

Miami Beach has more on offer if you want treatments. Large resort spas have saunas, steam rooms and plunge pools, and sunrise yoga on the sand is a regular sight. For a quiet week, stay in Mid-Beach or near Surfside rather than South Beach.

Gatlinburg has few spas. Its calm comes from the way people stay: a hillside cabin with a hot tub, a rocking chair and mist settling on the ridges. Stay up above the Parkway, because the town centre is noisy and crowded.