Johannesburg or Victoria Falls?

Neither city has a beach, and both sit far inland, so swimming means a hotel or lodge pool in either. The one difference is a thrill rather than a swim: at low water, Victoria Falls has guided dips in Devil's Pool on the lip of the drop, while Johannesburg's nearest open water is the dams at Hartbeespoort.

Johannesburg is by far the better place to eat. Meat grilled to order at Soweto shisa nyamas, bunny chow and kotas on the street, Indian and Middle Eastern cooking in Fordsburg and peri-peri from Portuguese and Mozambican kitchens give real range, and the northern suburbs add steak, Cape wines and fine dining.

Victoria Falls eats mostly in lodges and a handful of tourist restaurants. Game meat at a drumming dinner, sadza and afternoon tea on the Victoria Falls Hotel terrace are memorable once, but there is no street food or café life to explore.

Here Johannesburg is far ahead. The Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Vilakazi Street make it one of the most powerful places in Africa to understand the twentieth century, with the Origins Centre and the inner city's Art Deco buildings beyond them.

Victoria Falls has the 1905 bridge, the Edwardian hotel and a few small displays on Tonga and Ndebele culture, and little else. Anyone wanting a proper museum crosses the bridge to Livingstone.

Johannesburg goes out late and loud, to South African house and amapiano in Sandton clubs, Braamfontein rooftops, Melville's bars and Soweto sessions that start in the afternoon. Getting between them means booked rides.

Evenings at Victoria Falls revolve around a sundowner on a river boat or lodge deck, then a hotel bar or the backpacker crowd. With no clubs and elephants on the streets after dark, most people are asleep before an early start.

Victoria Falls is in another league. The falls drop about 100m along a front of more than 1.7km, the gorges below hold rafting and bungee, Zambezi National Park starts at the edge of town, and Chobe's elephant herds are about an hour and a half away.

Johannesburg's outdoors are pleasant rather than spectacular: a heavily treed city, the Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden with its black eagles, hiking and ballooning in the Magaliesberg, and Pilanesberg's big game about two and a half hours out by car.

Johannesburg has more places to go for the day. Pretoria is an easy Gautrain ride for the Union Buildings and the Voortrekker Monument, the Cradle of Humankind holds the Sterkfontein Caves, and Cullinan and Sun City add further outings.

From Victoria Falls, excursions are mostly wildlife trips. Livingstone, across the bridge in Zambia, with its colonial main street and museum, is the one town worth a day, and Kasane is mainly a gateway to Chobe.

The two are fairly even for families, but they suit different ages. Johannesburg has more built for children, from Gold Reef City and the zoo to Sci-Bono and lion parks on the city's edge, though everything is reached by car from a base in the northern suburbs.

Victoria Falls is the bigger adventure for children of about eight and up, with elephants by the road and hippos from the boat. Malaria, minimum ages on activities and basic medical care make it a poor choice with toddlers.

Victoria Falls is the easier of the two. The falls entrance, the bridge and the main hotels are within walking distance in daylight, operators collect guests from their lodges, and the Zambian side is a walk or short taxi ride away.

Johannesburg spreads across a huge metropolitan area with patchy pavements. The Gautrain links the airport, Sandton, Rosebank and Pretoria well, but beyond it visitors rely on ride-hailing, a hired car or a guide.

Johannesburg is the shopping city, with international luxury brands around Nelson Mandela Square in Sandton, Rosebank's Sunday rooftop market for southern African crafts, and design studios in Parkhurst and the inner city. Almost all of it is mall-based and reached by car.

Victoria Falls offers crafts and little else: a large curio market of stone sculpture, carvings and baskets where bargaining is expected, and a few better galleries. Serious sculpture is hard to find.

Johannesburg is much the cheaper stay. Meals, wine and comfortable guesthouses cost well below Western European levels, and the main extras are rides and guided tours.

Victoria Falls is expensive even by international standards, with lodge rates, imported food, two park entry fees for both sides of the falls and the cost of rafting, flights and game drives. Backpacker lodges and choosing one or two activities keep the bill down.

Johannesburg has a real stage. The Market Theatre in Newtown, with its history of protest theatre, and the Soweto Theatre put on South African drama, while jazz rooted in Sophiatown, the Joy of Jazz festival and the Johannesburg Philharmonic give the music side depth.

Victoria Falls has dance troupes, drummers and marimba bands, but these are performed at dinners for visitors, and there is no theatre or concert venue.

Neither city is a place of spa culture, but Victoria Falls has the slight edge for rest if you stay at a riverside lodge upstream, with treatment decks above the Zambezi and quiet afternoons by the pool. The town centre itself is all adrenaline and traders.

Johannesburg offers reasonably priced day spas in the northern suburbs, but its pace is fast. For real calm, people drive out to the Magaliesberg or a bush lodge.