Gatlinburg or Palm Beach?

This is the widest gap between the two. Gatlinburg is mountain country far from the sea. Summer swimming means cold river pools in the national park, tubing on the Little River near Townsend or a drive to Douglas Lake, and the rest of the time a cabin hot tub has to do instead.

Palm Beach lies along the Atlantic, and the Gulf Stream keeps the water clear and warm all year. Seawalls and estates limit the public beaches in town, but Singer Island, Juno, Jupiter and Delray are all close. Peanut Island's shallow lagoon is ideal for snorkelling.

Neither town is a place to travel for food, but you will eat better in Palm Beach. Dining on the island is formal and polished, with stone crab in season and grouper and snapper all year. West Palm Beach adds Cuban bakeries, Caribbean cooking and a green market on the waterfront.

Gatlinburg's Parkway runs on pancakes, barbecue, fudge and moonshine tastings. The food is plentiful and casual but much the same from place to place. You have to look for real Appalachian dishes such as trout, country ham, biscuits and stack cake, and serious food lovers drive to Knoxville or Asheville.

Palm Beach has a short but real list of sights. There is Henry Flagler's Whitehall mansion, Addison Mizner's Mediterranean Revival courtyards along Worth Avenue and the Norton Museum of Art across the lagoon. That is enough for two or three unhurried days.

Gatlinburg itself is attractions and motels rather than monuments. Its heritage is the craft loop, where weavers, potters and broom-makers work in their own studios. The old mountain cabins, mills and churches are out at Cades Cove and Elkmont, so seeing them means a drive into the park.

Neither town is for a big night out, but Palm Beach can at least manage one across the bridge. Clematis Street and the streets around Rosemary Square have bars, rooftop terraces and some dancing at weekends, while the island itself goes quiet early.

In Gatlinburg the evening is a walk along the lit Parkway, a moonshine tasting and then the cabin hot tub. There are no clubs, and the strip is empty by late night.

Gatlinburg is far ahead outdoors. The Great Smoky Mountains begin where the Parkway ends. There are waterfall walks to Laurel and Grotto Falls, the Alum Cave climb up Mount LeConte, and black bears and elk. Spring fireflies and October foliage are reasons to visit in their own right.

Palm Beach's nature is flat, coastal and mostly underwater. It has reefs along the Gulf Stream, the well-known shallow dive under the Blue Heron Bridge, paddling from the inlet and alligators seen from the Loxahatchee boardwalks. Snorkellers and divers will love it, but it has no hiking to match the Smokies.

Both have a good handful of day trips, but they are very different. From Gatlinburg the best trips cross the mountains: Asheville and the Biltmore Estate, the Cherokee museum and Oconaluftee village over Newfound Gap, and the heritage railway at Bryson City.

From Palm Beach you follow the coast. Miami is an easy trip on the fast train for South Beach, Little Havana and Wynwood, and Delray Beach and Jupiter's lighthouse are closer. Those nearby resort towns are more alike than the Appalachian ones.

Gatlinburg is built around children. The Parkway has an aquarium, mirror mazes, alpine coasters and mountaintop parks reached by chairlift, and Dollywood is a short drive away. Big cabins with games rooms let several families stay together. The park adds creek wading and junior ranger badges, but expect heavy traffic and long queues in high season.

Palm Beach works with children but is not made for them. The island's formal restaurants and boutiques suit adults, so family days happen across the bridge at the zoo, the science centre or Manatee Lagoon. Peanut Island's calm water is the best beach for small swimmers.

In both places you will want a car. Each has a walkable centre and a trolley, but they only cover part of a stay. Gatlinburg's problems are the steep, winding cabin roads and traffic on the Parkway and park roads that can stall for long stretches in October.

Palm Beach is flat and easy to cycle along the Lake Trail, but its beaches and reserves are spread out and the buses are slow. Its one real advantage is the fast train to Miami, which makes the biggest day trip possible without driving.

Palm Beach is the better place to shop and in another league for luxury. Worth Avenue brings together the major fashion houses and jewellers among Mizner's tiled vias. Consignment shops resell designer clothes from local wardrobes, and Antique Row in West Palm Beach suits anyone furnishing a home.

Gatlinburg's Parkway sells souvenirs, sweets and novelty knives, and Pigeon Forge's outlet malls cover the brands. The best buys are handmade: quilts, pottery, brooms and woodwork bought from the studios of the Arts and Crafts Community.

Gatlinburg is much easier on the wallet. Sharing a large cabin, coming midweek or in winter and spending your days in a national park that costs little all keep it reasonable. Parkway attractions and Dollywood add up quickly for a family, though, and leaf season pushes rates up.

Palm Beach is one of the most expensive resort towns in the country, and its hotels and restaurants are priced for the very wealthy. The usual ways round this are to stay in West Palm Beach or further along the coast, to come in the humid summer, and to rely on the beaches and the Lake Trail, which cost nothing.

Palm Beach has the more serious stage, at least in winter. The Kravis Center hosts touring musicals, orchestras, ballet and Palm Beach Opera's short season, and Palm Beach Dramaworks stages serious plays. The Society of the Four Arts adds chamber concerts, but the programme is thin in summer.

Gatlinburg's live entertainment is the family show: dinner theatres and country and gospel revues in Pigeon Forge, and bluegrass players in the tasting rooms. That mountain music is genuinely local, but for opera, an orchestra or drama you have to drive to Knoxville.

For a pampering stay, Palm Beach is the better choice. Its big oceanfront resorts have large spas, salt-water pools and fitness programmes. The island's quiet, manicured pace, beach yoga and early sea swims make resting easy, though costly.

Gatlinburg has only a few small spas. Its calm comes from a secluded cabin above the trees with a hot tub on the deck and mist on the ridges. That can be very restful, as long as you stay well away from the noise of the Parkway.