Houston or Kansas City?

Houston is not on the sea, but the Gulf is within a day's reach, and that gives it the edge. Galveston Island is about an hour's drive away, with a seawall promenade and miles of quieter West End sand. The water is warm and shallow but cloudy brown-green rather than clear, so it suits a relaxed day by the sea more than a beach vacation.

Kansas City lies more than 1,000km from any coast. Swimming there means lake beaches in county parks and public pools, fine for cooling off on a summer afternoon but never a reason to go.

Both cities take barbecue seriously, but in different styles. Houston serves Texas brisket and smoked sausage, while Kansas City is known for hickory smoke, burnt ends and its thick, sweet sauce. Beyond barbecue, Houston pulls well ahead. Its Tex-Mex is a local cuisine, Gulf oysters and redfish come from down the coast, and Bellaire Boulevard and the south-west neighbourhoods offer whole cuisines most American cities lack.

Kansas City's range is narrower. It has a cluster of Vietnamese and Ethiopian counters at the River Market, Mexican cooking on the Westside and craft breweries in the Crossroads, but fine dining is limited. If you are not there for the smokehouses, you will find much of it familiar.

The two are evenly matched, but their strengths lie in different places. Houston leans to art and science: the Museum of Fine Arts and its neighbours in the Museum District, the Menil Collection's surrealism, the quiet of the Rothko Chapel and the Saturn V at Space Center Houston. Its historic buildings amount to little more than a few downtown blocks.

Kansas City tells more American history. The National WWI Museum, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and the American Jazz Museum have no equal elsewhere, and the Nelson-Atkins holds a strong Chinese collection. Union Station and the Spanish-style Country Club Plaza also give the city some architecture worth looking at.

Houston gives you more to choose from on a night out. Montrose has long-established gay bars, Midtown and Washington Avenue fill with younger crowds, and EaDo's bars spill over near the stadiums. Open-sided icehouses suit warm evenings for most of the year.

Kansas City's nights centre on the sports screens of the Power and Light District, student bars in Westport and calmer cocktail rooms in the Crossroads. The club scene is small, and outside the weekend the city goes quiet early.

Houston has a slight edge in what there is to see outdoors. Buffalo Bayou and Memorial Park bring trails and paddling close to downtown, Brazos Bend has alligators along its lakes, and spring migrants come ashore near Galveston in numbers that draw birders.

Kansas City offers rolling prairie, the huge Swope Park and Loose Park's rose garden, which is pleasant but less distinctive. Its serious hiking country, the Ozarks, is several hours away.

Neither city is a strong base for excursions, but the outings differ. Houston has one full day out, Galveston, where the Strand's iron-fronted buildings and the Victorian East End add history to the beach. The San Jacinto battlefield and the wildflower roads around Brenham and Round Top are the other options.

Kansas City offers several smaller half days instead: Truman's home in Independence, the university main street of Lawrence, antebellum Weston and the Pony Express museum in St Joseph. You need a car for all of them.

Children are well looked after in both, and the attractions differ. Houston's highlight is Space Center Houston, with Hermann Park's zoo, the miniature train and the dinosaur hall nearby. Galveston adds beaches and waterparks, but in summer the heat pushes outdoor plans into the early morning.

Kansas City offers roller coasters at Worlds of Fun, Science City inside Union Station and the aquarium and Legoland centre at Crown Center. Its lighter traffic and easy parking also make the drives between attractions less tiring.

Both are car cities, but Kansas City is easier to manage. Its Main Street streetcar links the River Market, downtown, Union Station and Crown Center, the highways rarely jam and parking is simple.

Houston's sights are spread across a huge area of freeways, METRORail is useful along only one line, and rush-hour traffic can swallow an afternoon. Heat and missing pavements make walking any distance hard work.

Houston is the better shopping destination, mostly because of Uptown. Its giant mall, with a skating rink and the luxury houses, draws shoppers from across Latin America, and River Oaks, the Heights and Rice Village add boutiques and vintage. Western boots and hats are the souvenir to bring home.

In Kansas City, the Country Club Plaza's tiled courtyards are more attractive than the national chains inside them. The Crossroads galleries and Westport's record shops are the best options for smaller purchases.

Costs come out much the same, and both are moderately priced American trips rather than budget ones. In both cities the free art museum and cheap barbecue lunches help, and a hired car, tax and tips push the bill up.

The details differ. Houston has more hotels to choose from and cheap taquerias and Asiatown noodle shops, but Space Center Houston is expensive. In Kansas City, a family's costs mount with tickets for the theme park, the zoo and ball games.

Houston has the deeper formal season. The Grand Opera, the Ballet, the Symphony and the long-running Alley Theatre all play within a few downtown blocks, and in summer Miller Outdoor Theatre puts on free shows.

Kansas City's Kauffman Center hosts the symphony, opera and ballet on a smaller scale. Its real distinction is jazz, the music of Count Basie and Charlie Parker, still played most nights in clubs around 18th and Vine, often with late jam sessions.

Neither city is a place to unwind, and both rely on hotel and day spas. Houston has a few Korean-style bathhouses in the suburbs, and its calmest hour is in the Rothko Chapel.

Kansas City has an old mineral-water resort at Excelsior Springs, about forty minutes away, and its unhurried pace and light traffic make the city itself less wearing.