Naples, Florida or Sarasota?

The beaches are equally good, but they are laid out differently. In Naples the sand runs the length of the town, so from Old Naples you walk down a street to the water and the pier. The wilder stretches at Clam Pass, Delnor-Wiggins and Barefoot Beach are a short drive north.

Sarasota's beaches sit on barrier keys across the causeways. Siesta Key's fine quartz sand is the standout, Lido Key is closest to downtown, and Venice adds fossil shark teeth to hunt for. In both places the water is calm and shallow and occasional algae can spoil a few days. In midwinter the sea off Naples is a degree or two warmer.

Food is much the same in both, so the difference is in the details. Naples puts more into polished dinners: the white-tablecloth rooms on Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, and stone crab at the dockside fish houses around Tin City.

Sarasota has the same grouper sandwiches and bistros on Main Street and St Armands Circle, plus a few things Naples lacks. Pinecraft's Amish family restaurants serve hearty cooking and pie, and the town has farmers' markets and good brunch places. Neither is worth travelling to for the food.

Sarasota has far more to see. The Ringling alone, with its Rubens canvases, Ringling's Venetian Gothic mansion on the bay and the circus museum, is worth a full day. Architecture fans can also seek out the mid-century houses of the Sarasota School and the 1920s buildings of Burns Court.

Naples has the Baker Museum, Palm Cottage and the old railway depot, and the Revs Institute is a real draw for anyone who loves classic racing cars. Beyond that, sightseeing barely fills a day.

Neither town stays up late, but Sarasota offers a bit more choice. It has cocktail bars and pubs on Main Street, and the open-air beach bars of Siesta Key Village keep people out after sunset. Naples evenings mean a piano lounge or wine bar on Fifth Avenue South, and in summer the town is quiet well before midnight. For a real night out, Tampa and St Petersburg are an easier drive from Sarasota than Miami is from Naples.

Naples sits right on the edge of real wilderness. Big Cypress, the western Everglades, the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp and the orchids of the Fakahatchee Strand are all within an hour. Kayaking the Ten Thousand Islands is about as wild as Gulf Florida gets.

Sarasota has gentler nature. Myakka River State Park has its prairies, treetop canopy walk and alligators, and you can paddle the mangrove tunnels off Lido Key or watch dolphins in the bay. Both are entirely flat, and both are best visited between late autumn and spring.

Sarasota has the better day trips because it sits within reach of the Tampa Bay cities. The Dalí Museum in St Petersburg, the old cigar district of Ybor City and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs make a varied list.

Naples has quieter outings: shelling on Sanibel and Captiva, the old fishing town of Everglades City and Marco Island. Both cities can reach the Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, but from Naples the Ringling and Miami are each about two hours away. You need a car from either base.

Both work well for children, mainly because of the calm, shallow Gulf water. The extras differ. Naples has a zoo with a boat ride past the primate islands, a children's museum for the under-tens and boat trips into the mangroves.

Sarasota's main draw is the Mote Marine aquarium, with its sharks, turtles and manatees, and children enjoy the giant model circus at the Ringling. If you want a theme park, Busch Gardens is about an hour and a quarter from Sarasota, while Orlando is more than three hours from Naples.

You will want a car in both, but Sarasota is a little easier without one. Downtown, St Armands Circle and Siesta Key Village are each walkable, a free trolley runs along Siesta Key, and the distances between the sights are short.

Naples has a single walkable core in Old Naples, but it is a good one, with the beach, the pier and the restaurants all on foot. Beyond it the town spreads along wide roads with thin bus service. In winter, expect traffic on Naples' roads and long queues on Sarasota's bridges to the keys.

Naples is the better place to shop. Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South are lined with jewellers, galleries and resort-wear boutiques under the palms. An open-air luxury mall brings the international designer names, and outlet malls are half an hour away.

Sarasota's best browsing is around St Armands Circle and the independent shops of Main Street and Palm Avenue. It is pleasant, but there are no designer names to match Naples.

Both are expensive, and Naples is the dearer of the two, with beachfront rates and restaurant prices set for a wealthy winter crowd. Sarasota is cheaper if you stay on the mainland rather than on Siesta Key or Longboat Key, and its state parks charge little to get in. In Naples, the usual saving is to stay inland or in Fort Myers and cook for yourself. In both, summer is the cheaper season and the beaches are free.

Sarasota is far stronger for the performing arts. It has its own opera in a restored 1920s theatre and a ballet known for its Frederick Ashton works. Add a full orchestral season, the Asolo Repertory Theatre on the Ringling grounds, and new plays at Florida Studio Theatre, and a winter week can easily mean several evenings out.

Naples has a smaller programme built around its Philharmonic, along with touring Broadway shows and a professional theatre company. Both programmes run from autumn to spring and thin out in summer.

Both are good places to rest, but the experience differs. Naples is built around its large beachfront resort spas, which are open to non-guests, along with golf and the quiet of the town in general.

Sarasota offers sunrise yoga on the sand and one real natural attraction: Warm Mineral Springs, a spring-fed pool about forty minutes south that stays warm all year. Its keys can feel crowded in high season, though.