Gatlinburg or Savannah?

Gatlinburg has no beach at all. You get cold mountain rivers such as the Little River near Townsend for tubing and wading, some lakeshore swimming at Douglas Lake, and the cabin hot tub. The river pools stay chilly even in midsummer, and the currents can be strong.

Savannah is not on the sea either, but Tybee Island is about half an hour away, with wide, flat sand and warm Atlantic water through the summer. The water is murky from the marshes and the town is low-key, so think of it as a pleasant beach day rather than a beach vacation.

Gatlinburg cooks for crowds: pancake houses, barbecue, fudge shops and moonshine tastings along the Parkway. Real Appalachian cooking, such as trout, country ham and stack cake, turns up only here and there, and keen eaters usually drive to Knoxville or Asheville.

Savannah has a proper regional cuisine to explore: shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, Lowcountry boil and oysters roasted over fire in the cooler months. On top of that there are a few chef-led restaurants in restored townhouses south of Forsyth Park. There is not much beyond Southern cooking, but meal for meal it is the much better place to eat.

Savannah is far ahead here. Oglethorpe's grid of garden squares, the Federal and Greek Revival houses, the Cathedral of St John the Baptist, the Telfair Museums and the Owens-Thomas House, with its account of the enslaved people who worked there, fill two full days of walking and looking.

Gatlinburg itself is a strip of attractions with an observation tower, not historic streets. Its heritage lives in the craft studios along the Arts and Crafts Community loop and in the mountain cabins, mills and churches out in the park at Cades Cove and along the Roaring Fork. You drive to those rather than stroll past them.

In Gatlinburg, an evening means a walk along the lit Parkway, a moonshine tasting and an early return to the cabin. There are no clubs, and the strip is empty by late night.

Savannah has a real going-out culture. You can carry drinks in to-go cups through the historic district, moving between the cobbled bars of River Street, the taverns around City Market, cocktail rooms in old townhouses and the art students' dive bars. Weekends can be loud by the river, but even Savannah winds down well before the small hours.

This is Gatlinburg's great strength. The national park begins where the Parkway ends, with hardwood forest, Laurel Falls and Grotto Falls, the climb up Mount LeConte and the road to Clingmans Dome at close to 2,025m. You may also see bears, elk and the deer of Cades Cove. Rafting on the Pigeon River adds variety, though the popular roads jam in leaf season.

Savannah's outdoors is flat and watery: kayaking the salt marsh at high tide, dolphin-spotting trips, herons and wood storks, and the avenue of oaks at Wormsloe. It is gentle and pretty, but there are no hills, and summer heat and biting insects cut outings short.

Both have a good spread of outings, and Savannah's is a little richer. Charleston, about two hours away, is the highlight. Beaufort, Hilton Head, Fort Pulaski and the Jekyll and St Simons islands add a string of historic towns and resort islands along the coast.

From Gatlinburg the trips head inland into the mountains: Asheville and the Biltmore Estate, Cherokee across Newfound Gap with its museum of the Eastern Band, the heritage railway at Bryson City, and Knoxville's market square. After those the choice runs out quickly, and in both places you need a car.

Gatlinburg is made for children. The Parkway has an aquarium, mirror mazes, alpine coasters and chairlift rides, Dollywood is next door in Pigeon Forge, and big cabins come with games rooms. In the park there are easy waterfall walks and junior ranger badges. The downside is crawling traffic and long queues in high season.

Savannah works with children but is not designed around them. Forsyth Park, the trolley tours, the free ferry, ghost walks and Tybee's sea-turtle centre fill a few days. There is no theme park or large aquarium, though, and summer heat quickly tires young children.

In Gatlinburg only the Parkway strip is walkable, with a trolley out to Pigeon Forge. Most cabins sit up steep hill roads, and the national park needs a car, often in slow traffic on autumn weekends.

Savannah's historic district is flat and compact, and you can walk easily from square to square, with a free shuttle and a river ferry to help. You can manage a stay in the centre without a car until you head out to Tybee or Bonaventure.

Gatlinburg's Parkway is mostly fudge, T-shirts and souvenirs, and the Pigeon Forge outlets cover the brands. Its one real draw is the Arts and Crafts Community, where makers sell quilts, brooms and pottery from their own studios, which Savannah has nothing to match.

Overall, though, Savannah is the nicer place to browse. Broughton Street has boutiques in restored storefronts, there are shops selling work by art-school students and graduates, and antique dealers and bookshops are scattered among the squares. It is still no shopping destination.

Gatlinburg is easier on the wallet, mainly because a large cabin shared by a group or family keeps accommodation affordable, especially midweek and in winter. The national park also costs little to enjoy. The paid attractions and Dollywood are where a family budget drains away.

Savannah's historic-district inns are priced for a popular weekend break, and meals add up once tax and tip are included. Its consolation is that the squares, Forsyth Park, the riverfront and the cemeteries are all free to wander.

Savannah offers more, especially if you time your visit for the spring Savannah Music Festival, which fills historic theatres and churches with chamber music, jazz, blues and Americana. The restored Lucas and Trustees theatres, a philharmonic orchestra and an autumn jazz festival in Forsyth Park add to it.

Gatlinburg's live entertainment is bluegrass in the tasting rooms and the dinner shows and gospel revues of Pigeon Forge, while Dollywood keeps mountain music alive. It is cheerful family entertainment, but there is no orchestra or serious theatre.

Neither city has a bathing culture, and in both the spa choice is limited to a few hotel and day spas, so the rest comes from how you stay. In Gatlinburg that means a secluded hillside cabin with a hot tub, a rocking chair and mist on the ridges, well away from the noisy Parkway.

In Savannah it means a bench under the oaks, the courtyard of an old inn on a quiet southern square and the unhurried pace of the town. It is best midweek in spring or autumn, before the summer humidity becomes more tiring than relaxing.