Memphis or Wisconsin Dells?

Neither has a coast, but Wisconsin Dells at least has lake swimming. Devil's Lake has sandy beaches at both ends under quartzite bluffs, and Mirror Lake and Lake Delton have calmer water, though only from about June to early September. The waterparks do most of the swimming anyway.

Memphis has nothing comparable. Nobody bathes in the Mississippi, so in its hot summer, cooling off means a hotel pool, a splash pad or a drive out to a country lake.

Memphis is the place to eat. Its barbecue is a style of its own: dry-rubbed ribs, pulled pork sandwiches with slaw and even barbecue spaghetti. Around it come fried chicken, catfish, Delta tamales and a smaller modern Southern layer in Cooper-Young and Midtown.

Wisconsin Dells mostly feeds families between rides, with pizza, buffets and steakhouses on the strips. Its charm lies in Wisconsin rituals rather than range: a supper club with a brandy old fashioned, the Friday fish fry and squeaky cheese curds. Keen eaters save themselves for Madison.

The gap here is wide. Memphis holds two stories of national importance: early rock and roll and soul at Graceland, Sun Studio and Stax, and civil rights at the museum built around the Lorraine Motel. Its historic townscape is patchy, so you spend your time in these museums rather than wandering the streets.

The Dells is a town built for amusement. The H.H. Bennett Studio is its one serious historic stop, and the wax museums and upside-down houses on Broadway are novelty rather than heritage.

Memphis has a real night out, if not a deep one. At weekends Beale Street closes to traffic and becomes a loud, late party street where you can carry a drink from bar to bar. Locals prefer the calmer bars and beer gardens of Overton Square and Cooper-Young in Midtown.

Wisconsin Dells goes quiet when the waterparks shut. A few taverns, brewery taprooms, supper-club bars and a casino near Baraboo are the whole of it, and anyone wanting more drives to Madison.

The Dells has the stronger landscape. The Wisconsin River runs through sandstone canyons that are best seen by boat or kayak. Devil's Lake adds quartzite bluffs, boulder trails and rock climbing, autumn colour is fine, and winter brings skiing and snowshoeing.

Memphis is flat floodplain, and its outdoors means the river and big parks. You can walk the Big River Crossing into Arkansas, paddle and cycle at Shelby Farms with its bison herd, or walk the old-growth woods of Overton Park. All of it is pleasant, but nothing rivals the gorges.

Both make fair bases for a drive, and both need a car, but the themes differ. From Memphis the pull is music and Southern history: Highway 61 into the Delta to Clarksdale's juke joints and the Blues Trail, Faulkner's Oxford, Elvis's birthplace at Tupelo and the battlefield at Shiloh.

From Wisconsin Dells the outings are more mixed. Choose from Madison's domed Capitol between two lakes, Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin and the House on the Rock at Spring Green, and Circus World and the crane foundation at Baraboo, with Milwaukee at a stretch.

Few places are built for children the way Wisconsin Dells is. It has huge indoor waterparks open all winter, America's largest outdoor waterpark, rollercoasters, mini-golf and duck boats through the gorges, all a few minutes apart. Teenagers may tire of it, and summer weekends are loud.

Memphis can fill a few days with the zoo, the Children's Museum, the Pink Palace planetarium and the Peabody ducks. Its headline museums suit older children, though, and the heat and distances make it harder going with little ones.

You need a car in both, but Memphis gives you a little more to do on foot. Its downtown is walkable from Beale Street to the riverfront, the Civil Rights Museum and South Main, and heritage trolleys run along Main Street. Graceland, Midtown and Shelby Farms are still a drive or a ride-hail away.

In Wisconsin Dells only the few blocks of Broadway are pleasant to walk, and everything else sits along highway strips. Distances are short, but there is no useful public transport, and the nearest regular flights are from Madison.

Memphis has the more characterful shopping, and most of it is musical. Independent record shops sell vintage vinyl, Graceland and Beale Street carry Elvis and blues memorabilia, and Cooper-Young and Broad Avenue add small boutiques, vintage stores and local art. Mainstream shopping sits in malls in the eastern suburbs, and there is no central street to stroll.

In Wisconsin Dells, Broadway and the strips towards Lake Delton are lined with T-shirt, taffy and cheese shops that all stock much the same things. The outlet centre on the edge of town covers the big American brands and fills a wet afternoon, but shopping here is a short break between attractions.

Memphis is easier on the wallet. Hotels are reasonably priced away from busy weekends, and a barbecue lunch is cheap. A car, tipping, full-price music attractions and the spring festivals still add up.

In the Dells the cost depends on the season and how much you do. On summer weekends at the big resorts, ride tickets and extras push a family's bill up quickly. Older motels, off-peak dates and the free state parks soften it.

Live music is a main reason to choose Memphis. Beale Street house bands play blues and soul from the afternoon on, and Midtown venues add rock and hip-hop. The Levitt Shell puts on free concerts in summer, and the Orpheum, the symphony, the opera and the ballet cover the formal side.

Wisconsin Dells offers magic, variety and dinner shows, plus touring tribute and country acts at a theatre in Lake Delton. For serious stage work, people drive to the outdoor classical theatre at Spring Green or to Madison.

Neither is a place to come for rest, but Wisconsin Dells gives you more room for it. Memphis has no spa tradition beyond hotel spas and day spas in the eastern suburbs, and a visit there runs on music and late nights. Its calm comes outdoors and early: a morning walk in Overton Park or leafy Midtown before the heat builds, or an evening on the bluffs watching the river.

The Dells has full-service spas in its larger resorts and a long-established adults-only retreat in the woods, where parents can escape the slides for a day or two. Its quiet moments also go deeper than anything in Memphis. Early mornings on the river gorges are still, and in the off-season the lakes and pine woods are empty, although summer weekends are loud.