St. Augustine or St. Petersburg, Florida?

Both towns have long barrier-island beaches within a short drive of the centre, but St. Petersburg's are the bigger draw. The Gulf gives fine white sand, shallow, still water and sunsets over the sea. Fort De Soto, Clearwater and ferry-only Caladesi Island add plenty of variety.

St. Augustine's Atlantic shore, from Anastasia State Park down to Crescent Beach, is wide and pleasant, with small waves. The water is greener and choppier, though, and in winter the beach is better for walking than swimming. Its advantage is how close the sand sits to the historic streets.

St. Petersburg has more range. There are grouper sandwiches and stone crab at the beach fish shacks, a cluster of modern kitchens along Central Avenue and a craft-brewery scene that is a real draw in its own right. Tampa's Cuban cooking in Ybor City is close by as well.

St. Augustine has the more distinctive local flavour in the Minorcan datil pepper, which turns up in its spicy clam chowder and pilau. Beyond that and its waterfront shrimp, though, the choice thins out quickly, and St. George Street's restaurants mostly cater to passing tourists.

St. Augustine is the stronger choice for history. The town itself is the attraction: the Castillo de San Marcos on the bayfront, the balconied lanes of the Spanish quarter and the old city gate. On top of that come Flagler's Spanish Renaissance hotels, the Lightner Museum and the lighthouse, layered over four and a half centuries.

St. Petersburg is the reverse, a 1920s boom town whose interest lies inside its museums. The Dalí collection is a genuine highlight, with the Museum of Fine Arts, the Chihuly glass and downtown murals around it. Once you step outside them, though, there is far less history to walk through.

St. Augustine's evenings are smaller and gentler. A night out usually means one or two drinks on a courtyard or patio in the Spanish quarter after dinner. Weekend visitors and, in term time, the college crowd give it some life, but there is nowhere to dance and the old town goes quiet early.

St. Petersburg gives you a fuller night, though it still is not a party city. Along Central Avenue you can move from a rooftop terrace to a sports bar to a brewery taproom in one evening, and on the islands the night starts at a tiki bar as the sun sets over the Gulf. For clubs, people cross the bay to Ybor City in Tampa.

The two landscapes are alike, flat and watery with no hills, but St. Petersburg gives you a little more to do in it. Weedon Island and Shell Key have mangrove paddling trails with rays and winter manatees. Fort De Soto adds birding, and the long Pinellas Trail makes cycling easy.

St. Augustine's setting is salt marsh and dune rather than mangrove. You can kayak the creeks with dolphins and ospreys, walk through the Guana Tolomato Matanzas reserve and paddleboard on the calm lagoon in Anastasia State Park.

St. Petersburg has more distinctive outings within easy reach. Tampa's Ybor City is just across the bay, Sarasota's Ringling mansion and museums are an hour south, and the Greek sponge docks of Tarpon Springs are less than an hour north.

St. Augustine's list leans on longer drives. It has Jacksonville and Amelia Island's Victorian port to the north and Daytona to the south, with Kennedy Space Center and Orlando both around two hours away. Both towns reach Orlando in roughly the same time.

St. Petersburg works a little better for children, mainly because of the water. The calm, shallow Gulf suits toddlers, and the beach resorts are built around families. Busch Gardens, the Florida Aquarium and ZooTampa are all across the bay.

St. Augustine makes history fun for children instead. There are cannon firings at the Castillo, the old Alligator Farm, the lighthouse climb and trolley rides, all in a compact and safe centre. The surf is gentle in summer, but the thrill rides mean the drive to Orlando.

There is little between them, and outside the centre both towns need a car. St. Augustine comes out slightly ahead for anyone staying in town, because its main sights are all in one small, flat colonial quarter that you can see entirely on foot, with sightseeing trolleys when your legs give out. The sand and the lighthouse need wheels, but both are a short hop over the bridge.

St. Petersburg's downtown is also easy to walk, but its main draw is out on the barrier islands. The rapid bus to St. Pete Beach and the Pinellas Trail help, yet they serve only one stretch of the coast. Fort De Soto, the other beaches and Tampa still mean hiring a car.

Shopping is a minor part of a trip to either town, with St. Petersburg slightly more interesting. Central Avenue's vintage and record shops, local glass and prints, and the winter Saturday Morning Market give it more independent character.

St. Augustine's St. George Street is mostly fudge and pirate souvenirs, though the galleries and antique dealers on Aviles Street are worth a look. Datil-pepper sauce makes a better souvenir than anything you would find on the main drag.

Neither is cheap, and the costs are much the same: American tourist-town prices for meals and attractions, tipping on top and a car for most outings. What differs is when the savings come. St. Augustine's old-town inns are cheapest midweek and outside spring and summer, while St. Petersburg's beach hotels drop their rates in the hot, stormy summer once the winter visitors have gone home.

St. Petersburg has the more rounded programme. The Florida Orchestra plays at the Mahaffey Theater, and a professional regional theatre company and an intimate church concert hall fill out the calendar. Tampa's large performing arts centre is half an hour away.

St. Augustine's real stage is the open-air amphitheatre in the Anastasia Island woods, which hosts touring rock, country and folk acts. Past that, it comes down to patio cover bands and community theatre.

For proper pampering, St. Petersburg has more to offer. The spas at its grand historic beach hotels, yoga studios downtown and the nightly ritual of Gulf sunsets in sleepy Pass-a-Grille make unwinding easier, especially in the dry, mild winter.

St. Augustine's calm comes from its B&B verandas, courtyard gardens and evening strolls along the bayfront seawall rather than from spas. That suits a gentle, unhurried stay more than a restorative one.