Naples, Florida or West Palm Beach?

Naples has the edge because the beach is the town itself. Public paths at the end of the Old Naples streets lead straight onto a long run of pale sand, the Gulf is calm and shallow, and the pier and the sunset give each day its shape. Further north, Clam Pass and the dunes of Barefoot Beach feel wilder.

In West Palm Beach the beaches are across the bridges, on Palm Beach, Singer Island and at Juno. The Atlantic there is clear but has more surf, and Peanut Island's sheltered lagoon is the place for snorkelling. The city's real advantage is the Gulf Stream, which keeps the winter sea noticeably warmer than the Gulf off Naples.

Neither city is a food destination, and both rely on stone crab claws, grouper and a long seafood dinner. West Palm Beach comes out a little ahead because it has more range. Away from the centre there are Cuban, Haitian and Caribbean bakeries and lunch counters, Northwood has relaxed local places, and a green market sets up on the waterfront in winter.

Naples is more uniform, with white-tablecloth dining rooms on Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South and dockside fish houses around Tin City. There is almost no street food and very little in the way of markets.

West Palm Beach gives a sightseer two or three proper days. The Norton Museum has strong painting and Chinese art, Henry Flagler's marble mansion Whitehall stands across the lagoon, and the Mediterranean Revival villas and courtyards of Palm Beach make a fine afternoon's walk.

Naples fills about a day. The Baker Museum and the racing cars at the Revs Institute are worth seeing, and Palm Cottage and the old railway depot hint at the town's short history, but most visitors are back on the beach by the afternoon.

Neither is a party town, but West Palm Beach at least has a weekend night out. The cocktail bars, rooftop terraces and a couple of dance spots on Clematis Street and around Rosemary Square draw a younger crowd on Fridays and Saturdays.

Naples is the place for an early night: wine bars and piano lounges on Fifth Avenue South, a sunset drink at a beach bar, and a town that goes quiet well before midnight. From either city, serious clubbing means a trip to Miami.

Naples has the bigger wilderness on its doorstep. Big Cypress, the western Everglades, the cypress boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp and the Fakahatchee Strand are all within an hour. Kayaking through the mangrove channels of Rookery Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands is the outing of the stay.

West Palm Beach gives a gentler taste of the Everglades at Grassy Waters and Loxahatchee, and its strengths lie in the sea. There are reef and drift dives on the Gulf Stream, the famous shore snorkel under the Blue Heron Bridge, and sea turtle nesting beaches at Juno and Jupiter. Both cities are flat, and both are best outdoors in winter.

West Palm Beach has the stronger day out in Miami, about an hour away by fast train, so you don't need to drive. Fort Lauderdale, the Japanese gardens at Delray Beach and Boca Raton's pink Mediterranean architecture are all closer still.

From Naples every outing needs a car. The Edison and Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, shelling on Sanibel and Captiva, and Everglades City all make good trips, but Sarasota and Miami are each about two hours away, which is a long day.

Both are easy, safe places to bring children, and the difference is in the extras. Naples makes the simpler beach week: the Gulf is shallow right in town, and there is shelling, the zoo's boat tour past the primate islands and a children's museum for the under-tens.

West Palm Beach has more for rainy or restless days, with the drive-through Lion Country Safari, the science centre and aquarium, and manatees at Manatee Lagoon in winter. Its ocean beaches are a drive away, though. Neither city has a theme park within easy reach.

Once you leave the small grid of Old Naples, around the pier and Fifth Avenue South, Naples is a place you drive. The northern beaches, the Everglades and every outing depend on a car, and winter traffic slows the long, wide roads.

West Palm Beach is easier to manage on foot and by rail. A free trolley loops between the waterfront, Clematis Street and Rosemary Square, trains run south along the coast, and you can cycle over the bridges to Palm Beach and follow the Lake Trail. The ocean beaches and the safari park still need a car or ride-hailing.

Worth Avenue gives West Palm Beach the stronger shopping, with luxury houses and galleries set around tiled courtyards. There are also consignment shops selling designer pieces from the island's wardrobes, and a long strip of antique dealers on South Dixie Highway.

Naples has a pleasant but narrower offer: resort wear, jewellers and galleries under the palms on Fifth Avenue South and Third Street South, a luxury mall north of downtown, and souvenirs in the old clam-shelling sheds of Tin City.

Naples is the costlier stay of the two. Beachfront resorts and Old Naples hotels charge premium rates through the winter, restaurants are priced for a wealthy clientele, and a rental car comes on top. The savings come from staying inland or in Fort Myers, cooking in a rental, or coming in the hot summer.

West Palm Beach is only a little gentler on the budget, as its winter rates are high too. Rooms downtown and in the beach towns cost less than on Palm Beach itself, and the free trolley and the Lake Trail let you skip the car for part of the stay.

West Palm Beach has the larger stage. The Kravis Center brings Broadway tours, visiting orchestras, dance and the Palm Beach Opera, Palm Beach Dramaworks puts on serious plays, and an amphitheatre west of town hosts big rock and pop tours.

Naples has its own resident orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, playing in its own hall, as well as a professional theatre company, which is a lot for a town of its size. In both cities the season runs from late autumn to spring, and summer is thin.

Both cities are for slowing down rather than taking a cure: they have big beachfront resort spas but no bathing tradition. Naples feels more completely unhurried, with golf, quiet streets and sunset walks along the Gulf filling much of the day. In West Palm Beach the calm is concentrated on Palm Beach and the lagoon promenades, and the town across the water is a little busier.