Washington DC or Williamsburg, Virginia?

Neither is a beach destination, but Williamsburg brings the water much closer. Yorktown's small river beach is about twenty minutes away, Buckroe faces the bay and Virginia Beach's long Atlantic sand is an easy day trip.

From Washington, the nearest sand is the brackish bay shore near Annapolis, and the proper ocean resorts are about three hours away. For most visitors to the capital, a swim means the hotel pool.

Washington eats far more widely. Its immigrant communities give it real depth, from the Ethiopian dining rooms around U Street to Salvadoran pupusas, and there are market halls to graze in and ambitious kitchens at the top end. The half-smoke and the old Southwest fish market add a local touch.

Williamsburg's strength is a short list of Virginia classics: ham biscuits, peanut soup, crab cakes and bay oysters in season. Away from those, much of the eating is candlelit tavern meals chosen for the atmosphere and pancake houses on Richmond Road.

Washington offers a week of major sights, almost all free. Along the Mall are the Smithsonian museums, the National Gallery and the African American history museum, set among the Capitol, the White House and the great memorials.

Williamsburg goes deep on one subject. It is a meticulously restored colonial capital where interpreters work the forges and print shops and the Wren Building still serves the college. It is immersive and well done, but its range is narrower, and two or three days covers it.

Washington has a proper night out from Thursday to Saturday, powered by young staffers and students. You can choose between cocktail bars and rooftops on 14th Street, the cheap late drinks of Adams Morgan, dive bars on H Street and the long-standing gay scene around Dupont Circle.

Williamsburg barely competes. A few student pubs and taprooms fill in term time, and a candlelit ghost walk is as late as most evenings go.

The real difference is in the lie of the land. Around the capital the Potomac country climbs from wooded valleys to rocky gorges and mountain ridges. Rock Creek Park runs through the middle of the city, and the C&O Canal towpath follows the river upstream. Great Falls, about half an hour away, offers cliff paths, climbing and whitewater, and the Shenandoah ridges are close enough for a full day's hike.

Williamsburg sits in flat Tidewater forest, marsh and estuary. That is fine for gentle cycling along the Colonial Parkway or for kayaking the tidal creeks and watching for ospreys and bald eagles, but there is nothing to climb.

The two regions tell different chapters of American history, and they spread over very different distances. Around Washington the excursions cover more ground and more variety. Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon are close by, Baltimore and Annapolis are within an hour, and the Civil War is marked at Gettysburg, Antietam and Harpers Ferry. Philadelphia makes a long but rewarding day by fast train.

From Williamsburg the colonial story is right on the doorstep, with Jamestown and Yorktown each less than half an hour away, and the James River plantations and Richmond follow after them. These places matter more to Americans than to overseas visitors, and nearly all of them need a car.

Both work very well with children, in different ways. Washington's appeal is free and educational: dinosaurs at Natural History, rockets at Air and Space, the pandas at the zoo in many years, and the open lawns of the Mall, all reached by a Metro with lifts at every station.

Williamsburg has the edge for pure fun. Busch Gardens and Water Country USA sit beside a Historic Area where children march with the fife and drums and climb aboard the replica ships at Jamestown. Motels with pools make the evenings easy.

Washington is much easier without a car. Its flat grid is good for walking, the Metro reaches Arlington, Alexandria and the airport, and bike-share docks line the riverside routes between the monuments. The main gap is Georgetown, which has no station.

In Williamsburg, only the Historic Area, Merchants Square and the campus are walkable, and they take about twenty minutes end to end. The theme parks, outlets, Jamestown and Yorktown are spread along highways, so almost every visitor rents a car.

Neither is a reason to travel, but Washington offers more range. Georgetown's brick streets mix boutiques and antiques, CityCenterDC has the luxury labels, and the Smithsonian and National Gallery shops are good for prints and books.

Williamsburg's shopping is narrower but more particular. Colonial workshops sell pewter, pottery and books printed by hand, and beyond them there is an outlet centre and a long-established pottery store on Richmond Road.

Williamsburg is the cheaper stay, mainly because motels and chain hotels line the main roads at reasonable rates outside the peak weeks. The catch is the paid entry at every major site and the cost of a rental car.

Washington works the other way round. Rooms, cocktails and taxis are expensive, but the museums, zoo, memorials and Capitol tours are free, so the sightseeing itself costs almost nothing.

Washington has a full professional season. Arena Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre and Woolly Mammoth cover theatre from new American plays to the classics, the National Symphony and the National Opera provide the classical side, and U Street's restored theatres host touring bands. In summer, the lawn concerts at Wolf Trap are a highlight.

Williamsburg's performances belong to its setting: candlelit eighteenth-century recitals, period plays and the fife-and-drum corps, plus student shows at William & Mary. For a professional orchestra or opera, you would drive to Richmond or Norfolk.

Neither has a spa culture, though Williamsburg is the more restful of the two. Its golf resorts and historic inn along the James have proper spas, and early mornings on the empty greens or drives down the wooded Colonial Parkway set a slow pace.

In Washington, the working rhythm of a government town takes over. Calm means hotel spas, the Dumbarton Oaks gardens or the Arboretum, and an early loop of the Tidal Basin.