Pigeon Forge or West Palm Beach?

On beaches the two could hardly be further apart. Pigeon Forge sits deep in the Tennessee foothills, so swimming means Douglas Lake, the pools among the boulders in mountain streams or the water park beside Dollywood.

West Palm Beach has the Atlantic a short drive or bike ride over the lagoon bridges. Midtown Beach has soft sand, Singer Island and Juno have broader and quieter beaches, and Peanut Island has calm lagoon swimming. The Gulf Stream runs close to shore, so the sea is swimmable in every month.

Neither city is a food destination, but you eat better in West Palm Beach. Pigeon Forge runs on pancake houses, Southern buffets, barbecue and chains along the Parkway. Its local touches are moonshine tastings and fudge from around the Old Mill, and for serious Appalachian cooking you drive to Knoxville or Asheville.

West Palm Beach has plainly grilled Florida seafood, stone crab in season, waterfront terraces on Clematis Street, and Cuban and Haitian bakeries away from the centre. It is comfortable rather than distinctive, but you have far more choice of a good dinner.

West Palm Beach has the more rewarding sightseeing. The Norton Museum of Art, Flagler's Whitehall mansion and the Mediterranean Revival villas and courtyards of Palm Beach fill two or three good days.

Pigeon Forge's sights are entertainment built for the strip, such as the half-scale Titanic replica and the illusion museums. The Old Mill of 1830 and Dollywood's craft workshops give a glimpse of mountain heritage, but the log cabins and churches in the national park tell that story better.

Neither suits a big night out, but West Palm Beach at least has a modest one. On Friday and Saturday nights Clematis Street and Rosemary Square fill up, with cocktail bars, rooftop terraces and a couple of places to dance, and Miami is within reach for proper clubbing.

In Pigeon Forge the evening means go-karts and the lit-up attraction complexes, which are busy until about ten. For adults there are a few brewpubs and moonshine tasting rooms. Most grown-ups drive to Gatlinburg or go back to the cabin.

Pigeon Forge is the stronger choice for the outdoors, because the Great Smoky Mountains begin half an hour up the road. You get forested ridges over 2,000m, the Appalachian Trail, Laurel Falls, the steep climb to Mount LeConte, black bears in Cades Cove, wildflowers in spring and colour in October.

West Palm Beach's nature is flat and mostly on the water. There is paddleboarding on the lagoon, reef drift dives, the well-known snorkel under the Blue Heron Bridge, Everglades boardwalks at Loxahatchee and sea turtle nesting beaches at Juno. It is excellent for divers, but in summer the heat limits it to the mornings.

West Palm Beach has the edge thanks to Miami, an hour south by fast train, with South Beach, Little Havana and Wynwood. Closer outings, such as the Morikami gardens at Delray Beach or Mizner's pink Boca Raton, tend to feel like more of the same coast.

From Pigeon Forge every trip needs a car, but there is more variety. Choices include Gatlinburg's craft studios, Knoxville's Market Square, Cherokee across Newfound Gap and a long day at Asheville's Biltmore Estate.

Pigeon Forge exists for families. Dollywood has rides, music and seasonal festivals, and around it are the water park, mountain coasters, mini-golf and cabins or water-park hotels sized for groups, so children are easily won over. Summer heat and Parkway traffic do wear on parents.

West Palm Beach is the family beach option instead. It offers calm water at Peanut Island, giraffes and lions at Lion Country Safari, the zoo, the science centre and manatees in winter. It is relaxed and safe, but it has no big theme park.

Both are car country, but West Palm Beach is easier. Its downtown is compact and flat, a free trolley links the waterfront with Clematis Street and Rosemary Square, and fast trains run to Fort Lauderdale and Miami.

Pigeon Forge is a long multi-lane strip, and you can walk only inside individual attraction complexes. The Parkway trolley is slow and does not reach the hillside cabins, the trailheads need a car, and traffic crawls in summer, October and the Christmas weeks.

West Palm Beach is much better for shopping, mainly because of Worth Avenue with its luxury houses, galleries and tiled vias. Designer consignment shops and the dealers along Antique Row add to it.

Pigeon Forge has outlet malls full of American mid-market brands and plenty of T-shirts and fudge. Its real strength is craft: pottery and quilts by the Old Mill, and the studios in the hills above Gatlinburg making brooms, baskets and leather goods. West Palm Beach has nothing like them.

Pigeon Forge is clearly the cheaper stay. There are thousands of motel rooms and cabins, a cabin shared between families works out cheaply per person, and breakfast houses cost little. Where the money goes is theme park tickets, shows and paid activities.

West Palm Beach is expensive, above all from December to April. Hotels on Palm Beach are among the costliest on the coast, and restaurants are priced for a comfortable crowd. Summer rates fall a long way, but you get heat and storms in exchange.

The two are evenly matched for live entertainment, but in very different styles. Pigeon Forge puts on family shows every night along the Parkway: country and gospel revues, magic, Southern comedy and dinner spectacles with horses or pirate ships. Dollywood adds bluegrass through the day, and all of it is broad and sentimental.

West Palm Beach is more formal. The Kravis Center hosts touring Broadway shows, orchestras and Palm Beach Opera, Palm Beach Dramaworks stages serious plays, and the Society of the Four Arts holds concerts. The calendar is much thinner in summer.

West Palm Beach is better for slowing down. It has large oceanfront resort spas, plenty of day spas and the quiet, manicured pace of Palm Beach, where an early walk along the lagoon sets the tone for the day.

Pigeon Forge has only a few spas. Its calm comes from the hillside cabins, with porches, fireplaces and private hot tubs looking out over the ridges. Book high up and away from the neon of the Parkway, and it can be very peaceful.