Myrtle Beach or Pittsburgh?

This is where the two are furthest apart. Myrtle Beach is built on the sand: a long, pale, gently shelving shore with small waves and summer water warm enough for hours of swimming, from the busy boardwalk blocks to the calmer dune-backed beaches at Surfside and the state parks.

Pittsburgh's rivers are for kayaks and rowing, not swimming. A summer outing to Lake Arthur's small beaches or the sand at Presque Isle on Lake Erie is pleasant enough, but neither is a reason to choose the city for a swim.

Pittsburgh is the better place to eat. Pierogies and haluski from its Central European heritage, the stacked sandwiches, the market stalls of the Strip District and chef-led kitchens in Lawrenceville and East Liberty give several days of interesting meals, with craft breweries alongside.

Myrtle Beach feeds crowds with buffets, pancake houses and chains along the strip. The good eating sits at its edges, with local shrimp and oysters in Murrells Inlet and Calabash-style fried seafood to the north, but a food lover runs out of reasons to explore far sooner than in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh offers a great deal more to see. The fortunes of Carnegie, Frick and Heinz left the museums of Oakland, the Gothic Cathedral of Learning, the Warhol and the Mattress Factory on the North Side, and the bridges and rivers seen from Mount Washington are a sight in themselves.

Myrtle Beach is a twentieth-century resort, and its cultural highlights lie just south of town: the sculpture among the live oaks at Brookgreen Gardens, with its record of the people enslaved on the old plantation, and the Moorish-style Atalaya. A single day covers them.

Neither place is worth a trip just for going out, but the evenings differ. Myrtle Beach has resort-style nights: beach bars and rooftop decks by the boardwalk, dance clubs in the entertainment complexes and the shag still danced on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach, all loudest in summer and quiet in the off-season.

Pittsburgh is about bars rather than clubs, spread through its neighbourhoods. Cocktail bars and breweries line Butler Street in Lawrenceville, students crowd East Carson Street, and game nights turn the bars black and gold all year.

Pittsburgh has more varied country around it. Wooded ravines run through Frick and Schenley Parks, riverside paths loop under the bridges, and the Laurel Highlands bring whitewater rafting, waterfalls and forest hikes at Ohiopyle, with the Great Allegheny Passage cycle trail leading out of the city.

Myrtle Beach is flat coastal plain with no real hiking. Its strengths lie in water and wildlife: birdwatching on the marsh boardwalks at Huntington Beach State Park, kayaking among the Waccamaw's cypress swamps, dolphin cruises, and a great many golf courses.

Both have a good handful of outings, and both need a car. From Myrtle Beach the outstanding trip is Charleston, a long but rewarding day, with Georgetown's old rice port, Pawleys Island and Wilmington closer at hand.

From Pittsburgh the pull is architecture and history in the Laurel Highlands: Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob together, Ligonier's fort and the Flight 93 memorial. Beyond those it is mostly farmland and forest, whereas the Carolina coast has more small towns worth stopping in.

Myrtle Beach is the more complete family vacation. Gentle surf, resort pools with lazy rivers, suites with kitchens, an aquarium, water parks, a seaside amusement park and endless themed mini-golf keep children busy for a week. Avoid spring break weeks and some of the oceanfront at night.

Pittsburgh is a strong second choice for families who like museums. Its science centre with a submarine, the aviary, the dinosaur halls, the zoo and Kennywood's old wooden coasters fill several days, and the inclines are a treat, but there is no beach and the hills are tiring for small legs.

Pittsburgh is much easier without a car. Its compact downtown, the short walk across the bridges to the North Side, the T light rail and the inclines cover the core, although buses and ride-hailing are needed to reach Oakland or Lawrenceville.

Myrtle Beach is spread along about 100km of multi-lane highway with few pavements and sparse buses. You walk the boardwalk and the beach itself, but almost everything else means driving, often in slow summer traffic on Kings Highway.

Myrtle Beach shops in bulk, Pittsburgh in its neighbourhoods. Along the Grand Strand that means two big outlet centres for bargain hunting, chain stores in the waterfront entertainment complexes, The Market Common on the old air base and huge highway beach stores full of swimwear and inflatables. The one local craft is the sweetgrass baskets sold by the coast road to the south.

Pittsburgh has fewer big names and more places to browse on foot. You can spend a morning among the Strip District's stalls and kitchenware shops, look through the vintage and independent shops on Butler Street, or try the boutiques along Walnut Street in Shadyside. The chain brands are out in the suburban malls.

Myrtle Beach comes out a little cheaper, mainly because of its huge supply of hotel rooms and rental condos, many with kitchens, and its low off-season rates. July and long weekends push prices up sharply, and the hire car is an extra cost.

Pittsburgh is good value for an American city, with hotels well below coastal-city levels and reasonably priced casual food and beer. Rides between neighbourhoods add up, and big game or concert weekends raise room rates.

Pittsburgh is far ahead for an evening out. The symphony plays in the gilded Heinz Hall, the Benedum Center stages opera, ballet and touring musicals, there are plays all year, and jazz carries on from the Hill District heritage August Wilson wrote about.

Myrtle Beach offers polished family variety shows instead: country and gospel revues, Christmas shows, dinner shows with knights or pirates and cover bands at the beach bars. That is fun for a night but leaves little for anyone wanting classical music or drama.

Neither has a bathing tradition, so in both places wellness means hotel and resort spas. Myrtle Beach's main strip is too loud in summer to be restful, but the quieter southern end around Pawleys Island and the spring and autumn months slow right down.

In Pittsburgh the calm comes from Phipps Conservatory's glasshouses and the shaded park paths, with a proper spa stay meaning a drive out to the Laurel Highlands resorts.