Memphis or Wilmington?

There is no contest here. Memphis has no beach, and the barge-filled Mississippi is not for swimming, so a summer cool-off there means a hotel pool or a drive out to a lake.

Wilmington has three distinct strands within half an hour: polished Wrightsville with its pier, Carolina Beach with its boardwalk, and quieter Kure. The water is warm from late May into October. Watch for rip currents and expect to hunt for parking on summer weekends.

Both cities do barbecue, but Memphis is the place to eat. Its pork-centred style of dry-rubbed ribs, pulled shoulder and oddities like barbecue spaghetti is a pilgrimage in itself, and soul food, catfish and Delta tamales go round it.

Wilmington's table is coastal instead: shrimp and grits, flounder, raw oyster bars and the vinegar-sauced whole hog of eastern North Carolina, plus plenty of craft breweries. It eats well for a few days, but neither city goes far beyond its regional cooking.

Memphis has the bigger sights by a wide margin. The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, Graceland, Sun Studio and Stax each deserve real time, though between them the historic centre is patchy.

Wilmington is the reverse. It has few major museums but a large, intact historic district of antebellum houses, churches and live oaks, which makes it better for wandering. The Battleship North Carolina is its best-known single sight, and two or three days covers everything.

Memphis gives you more to do after dark. Beale Street is a loud, late, drink-in-hand party street, and Overton Square and Cooper-Young offer a more local bar crawl, though moving between them takes a car.

Wilmington's night out is a friendlier, smaller affair of bars, pubs and rooftop terraces around Front Street, livened by students, plus beach bars in summer. It goes quiet on weeknights out of season.

Wilmington has more for outdoor people. You can kayak to undeveloped Masonboro Island, surf or sail off Wrightsville, fish from the piers and walk pine savanna where the Venus flytrap grows wild.

Memphis offers the river itself, which you can cross on foot or by bike on the Big River Crossing, plus the vast Shelby Farms Park with its bison and lakes and the old-growth woods of Overton Park. Neither has hills, and both are humid in summer.

The two are fairly evenly matched, and both need a car. From Memphis the drives head into the musical and literary South: Highway 61 to the juke joints of Clarksdale, Faulkner's Oxford, Elvis's birthplace at Tupelo and the battlefield at Shiloh.

From Wilmington the outings follow the coast, to riverside Southport and the ferry for car-free Bald Head Island, the earthworks of Fort Fisher, colonial New Bern and Beaufort, or the resort strip at Myrtle Beach.

Wilmington is the easier family base, with beaches, the Carolina Beach boardwalk and its arcades, the aquarium at Fort Fisher and the battleship's decks to explore, plus beach rental houses that suit a group.

Memphis has a large, long-established zoo, the Pink Palace planetarium, Shelby Farms and the charm of the Peabody ducks. Beyond those, its strongest sights suit older children, and the summer heat has no sea to soften it.

There is little to choose between them: both have a walkable centre and then demand a car. Memphis sprawls further, with Graceland out in Whitehaven and Shelby Farms on the far edge, and heritage trolleys only on Main Street. In Wilmington the riverwalk ties a compact historic core together, but the beaches are 15km or more away and summer traffic slows the drive.

Neither city is a shopping destination, and the finds differ more than the amount. Memphis is for vinyl hunters and Elvis and blues memorabilia, with small boutiques in Cooper-Young and on Broad Avenue. Wilmington is better for an idle browse along Front Street and in the Cotton Exchange, with bookshops, galleries and antique dealers, plus surf wear in the beach towns.

Memphis is a little kinder on the wallet. Hotels are reasonable outside festival weekends, and a barbecue lunch is a cheap, filling meal, though Graceland's admission adds up.

In Wilmington the pressure comes in summer, when beachfront hotels and rental houses are in demand, so its best value is out of season. In both cities a hire car and restaurant tips are costs to plan for.

Music is the core of a Memphis visit. House bands play blues and soul on Beale Street from the afternoon on, the Levitt Shell puts on free summer concerts, and the Orpheum, the symphony, the opera and a respected ballet company cover the formal arts.

Wilmington's scene is lively for its size, centred on the restored Thalian Hall, with outdoor stages and jazz and blues festivals in the warm months. It is something to fit around beach days rather than a reason to come.

Wilmington is the more restful of the two. Its slow pace, calm evenings on the waterfront and resort spas near the beaches make it easy to unwind outside busy summer weekends. Memphis is a city of late nights and loud music, and quiet there mostly means an early walk in Overton Park or sunset on the bluffs. Neither has any bathing tradition.