Orlando or St. Petersburg, Florida?

This is where the two differ most. Orlando has no beach of its own. Cocoa Beach and New Smyrna Beach on the Atlantic are about an hour away, and the calmer Gulf sands around Clearwater take close to two hours. Most swimming happens in hotel pools and water parks.

St. Petersburg sits next to its beaches. St. Pete Beach and Pass-a-Grille have fine white sand and shallow water, Fort De Soto feels wilder, and Clearwater and ferry-only Caladesi Island are around 40 minutes north. You can go to the beach every day here, not just once a week.

Neither city is a food destination, and they suit different appetites. Orlando's best eating is away from the parks: Vietnamese kitchens in Mills 50, chef-led places in Winter Park and Thornton Park, and steak and seafood restaurants on Sand Lake Road. You'll need a car to reach them, and inside the resorts Epcot's World Showcase is the most varied grazing.

St. Petersburg eats more simply and closer to the water. Expect grouper sandwiches, smoked fish spread and stone crab in waterfront fish shacks, plus a strong craft beer scene across Central Avenue and the Grand Central District.

St. Petersburg has much more to see. The Dalí Museum's glass-bubble building on the waterfront anchors a walkable group that includes the Museum of Fine Arts, the James Museum, the Chihuly Collection and an Arts and Crafts museum. Murals and 1920s Mediterranean Revival buildings such as the Don CeSar add some character.

Orlando grew from citrus groves and theme parks, and it has little historic fabric. Its one standout is the Morse Museum in Winter Park, with its Tiffany chapel. Beyond that, a few modest museums in Loch Haven Park fill an afternoon.

The two are close on nightlife, but the nights feel different. Orlando's nightlife is split. Disney Springs and CityWalk offer easy themed bars that close fairly early. Downtown, around Orange Avenue and Church Street, a large student crowd keeps clubs going late at weekends, and gay bars cluster in Ivanhoe Village.

St. Petersburg is about drinks rather than dancing. You can walk between the cocktail bars, rooftops and taprooms on Central Avenue, and on the beaches the evening starts at a tiki bar at sunset. For clubs, people cross to Ybor City in Tampa.

Both are flat and watery, but St. Petersburg puts you on the water more easily. You can paddle through the mangroves at Weedon Island and Shell Key past dolphins, rays and wading birds, walk Fort De Soto's coastal trails, and take fishing charters or go sailing from the city marinas.

Orlando's nature is freshwater and inland. Wekiwa Springs is good for kayaking, manatees gather at Blue Spring in winter, and airboats cross the Kissimmee headwaters. Its finest birding, at Merritt Island, needs a drive to the coast.

Both are good bases for day trips, with different destinations. From Orlando the big draw is the Kennedy Space Center, about an hour away, and St Augustine's Spanish fort and old streets make a strong historic outing. Mount Dora and DeLand are gentler trips.

St. Petersburg looks to the Gulf coast: Ybor City across the bay, the Ringling mansion in Sarasota, and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs. The Dalí Museum is a two-hour day trip from Orlando but on St. Petersburg's own waterfront. Orlando's parks sit at the limit of a day out from St. Petersburg.

Orlando is in a league of its own for children. Walt Disney World's four parks and two water parks, Universal for older children, SeaWorld and Legoland make a whole week of planned days, and the resorts are designed so families rarely have to leave.

St. Petersburg suits a gentler family beach week. The calm, shallow Gulf water is safe for small children, Great Explorations is in town, and Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium and the Clearwater Marine Aquarium are within reach.

Neither is easy without a car, but St. Petersburg is far kinder on foot. Its downtown museums, pier, waterfront parks and Central Avenue are close together. A trolley loop and a rapid bus to St. Pete Beach cover the core, and the Pinellas Trail suits cycling.

In Orlando, the parks, hotels and downtown are spread miles apart along Interstate 4, so a car is close to essential. The exception is staying on-site at Disney or Universal, where monorails, boats and buses link everything.

Orlando is much the better shopping trip if brands are the aim. Two large premium outlet centres, the Mall at Millenia's luxury labels and the stores at Disney Springs draw many international visitors, and Park Avenue in Winter Park adds some boutiques.

St. Petersburg is small-scale and independent. It has vintage and record shops, local glass and print galleries along Central Avenue, and a Saturday Morning Market in the winter season. For big names, shoppers drive to Tampa's malls.

Both cost about the same overall, with the money going in different directions. In Orlando, multi-day park tickets, express passes, park meals and parking push up the bill. Off-site rooms on International Drive and in Kissimmee, and self-catering villas, soften it.

St. Petersburg's costs are restaurant meals, beach parking and beachfront hotels in their February to April peak. The beaches, parks and waterfront cost nothing, and staying downtown or visiting in the hot summer months helps.

Orlando's best-known performances are staged by the resorts: theatre-scale shows inside the parks, a resident acrobatic show at Disney Springs, dinner shows and nightly fireworks. Downtown, the Dr. Phillips Center takes touring Broadway productions and the Orlando Philharmonic, Orlando Shakespeare Theater plays in Loch Haven Park, and the long-running Orlando Fringe fills the spring with small productions.

St. Petersburg's scene is about the same size but less packaged. The Mahaffey Theater on the waterfront hosts the Florida Orchestra, a restored church serves as an intimate concert hall, and at weekends bands play in bars and an open-air courtyard close to Central Avenue. For opera, ballet and the big Broadway tours, people cross the bay to Tampa.

St. Petersburg is the more restful stay, mainly because of its pace. Sunset on the beach is a nightly ritual, Pass-a-Grille stays sleepy, and the historic beach hotels have spas. Winter's low humidity makes it especially calm.

An Orlando trip usually means early starts, queues and miles of walking. Its many resort spas and lazy rivers make good recovery days between the parks, and Winter Park's lakes are the quietest corner.