Houston or San Antonio?

Neither city is on the sea, but Houston is much closer to it. Galveston is about an hour away, with its seawall, the long West End beaches and a warm, shallow Gulf, even if the water is murky rather than clear.

From San Antonio the Gulf is two and a half hours away, too far for a casual day. Its water days are different: tubing the cool, clear, spring-fed Comal and San Marcos rivers and swimming in Hill Country swimming holes. They make a good summer afternoon but not a beach trip.

Both cities do Tex-Mex and brisket well. San Antonio has the stronger claim to Tex-Mex as its own, with puffy tacos, Sunday barbacoa and pan dulce from panaderías on the West and South Sides. Where Houston pulls clearly ahead is range.

Asiatown on Bellaire Boulevard, the Nigerian, Pakistani and Salvadoran neighbourhoods, Viet-Cajun crawfish and Gulf oysters give Houston a breadth that San Antonio, which keeps to Mexican and Texan food, does not try to match. The catch is that Houston's best eating is spread along the highways, while San Antonio's Pearl and Southtown are compact.

The two are about even, but they offer opposite things. Houston's culture is indoors: the Museum of Fine Arts and its neighbours in the Museum District, the Menil Collection and Rothko Chapel in Montrose, and mission control and the Saturn V at Space Center Houston. There is little old fabric to walk through.

San Antonio's culture is history you can walk through. The Alamo and the four river missions together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Spanish Governor's Palace, San Fernando Cathedral and the King William mansions show the past in a way Houston's few old downtown blocks cannot, though San Antonio's art museums are smaller.

Houston has the bigger night out, spread across Montrose's long-established gay bars, the lounges of Midtown and Washington Avenue, and the bars near EaDo's stadiums. San Antonio's evenings are gentler and end earlier: a margarita on a River Walk terrace or a beer garden at the Pearl, though its Tejano dance halls give it a local flavour Houston lacks. In both cities bars close at 2am, and open-sided icehouse patios carry the warm months.

San Antonio sits on the edge of the Hill Country, which gives it more variety. There are limestone caverns to the north, hiking and biking in Government Canyon, kayaking on the cypress-lined Guadalupe and, further out, the granite dome of Enchanted Rock.

Houston's surroundings are flat prairie, bayou and marsh. Buffalo Bayou and Memorial Park are good city green spaces, and Brazos Bend's alligators and the spring bird migration near Galveston are real draws for birders. Still, the land around Houston lacks the hills and clear rivers west of San Antonio.

San Antonio has the better choice of drives. Fredericksburg and its wineries, the German towns of Gruene, New Braunfels and Boerne, and Austin itself are all within about an hour and a half, which adds up to several easy days out.

Houston's list centres on Galveston, where the Strand and the Victorian East End make a worthwhile outing on their own, with Kemah and the San Jacinto battlefield on the way. Brenham and Round Top repay the drive in wildflower season, but Austin is too far for a comfortable return in a day.

San Antonio is the easier of the two with children. SeaWorld and Six Flags Fiesta Texas are on its edge, Morgan's Wonderland is designed for children with disabilities and their families, and River Walk boats and summer tubing are easy to fit in.

Houston has the single most memorable attraction in Space Center Houston, and Hermann Park's zoo and museums fill several days, with Galveston's aquarium pyramid and beaches within reach. Its drawback is the longer drives between sights, although both cities need a car and early starts in summer.

Neither city is easy without a car, but San Antonio is easier on foot. Its compact downtown is threaded by the River Walk, which links the Alamo, the cathedral and the hotels away from traffic, and the river path makes the missions a pleasant bike ride.

Houston is far more spread out, with sights many kilometres apart and freeways in between. It has the one thing San Antonio lacks, a light rail line through Midtown and the Museum District. Beyond that line, visitors hire a car or use ride-hailing and have to plan around rush-hour traffic.

Houston is the better shopping city. The huge Uptown mall gathers the luxury houses and draws shoppers from across Latin America, River Oaks has open-air boutiques, and the Heights and Rice Village add vintage and independent stores.

San Antonio's best shopping is crafts and souvenirs: Mexican pottery, embroidered dresses and piñatas at El Mercado on Market Square, studios in La Villita, and outlet centres at San Marcos for bargains. Both cities are good places to buy boots and western wear.

The two are close on cost, and San Antonio is a little easier on the budget. Hotels away from the river are moderately priced, the missions are free and a plate of Tex-Mex costs little.

Houston also has free museums, cheap taquerias and Asiatown noodle shops, and plenty of hotels. But its size adds more car hire, fuel, parking and ride-hailing to a stay. In both cities, the big family attractions and tipping push the bill up.

Houston's Theater District is in a different league. Within a few downtown blocks it has resident opera, ballet and symphony, the long-established Alley Theatre and touring Broadway shows, and in summer there are free performances at the Miller Outdoor Theatre.

San Antonio's formal stage is smaller, centred on the Tobin Center and the Majestic Theatre. Its strength is Tejano, conjunto and mariachi music, heard in dance halls, around Market Square and during Fiesta. That gives a night out more local character, if less depth.

Houston's calm comes in particular places rather than a slower pace: an hour in the Rothko Chapel, a while on the Menil lawns, or a Korean-style bathhouse out in the suburbs. Between them, the freeways set a brisk rhythm, and there is no bathing tradition to fall back on.

San Antonio is a touch gentler. The golf and Hill Country resorts on its north side have spas that make a restful base in their own right. In town, a slow morning in the Japanese Tea Garden or on a quiet stretch of the River Walk suits an easy pace, at least outside the summer heat.