Experience the best of Atlantic City

Atlantic City stands on Absecon Island on the New Jersey coast, and its Boardwalk, opened in 1870, was the first in the United States. Rows of casino hotels, built since the first casino opened in 1978, face the beach, and older amusement piers reach out over the ocean. Steel Pier has rides and games, and Absecon Lighthouse, the tallest in New Jersey, can be climbed for views over the island.

Many of the property names on the Monopoly board come from Atlantic City, among them Boardwalk, Park Place, Baltic and Mediterranean avenues. The Miss America pageant began here in 1921. Lucy the Elephant, a six-storey wooden elephant of 1881, stands in Margate a few kilometres south, and the Pine Barrens begin inland.

Salt water taffy, subs and seafood are the town's traditional foods, and the boardwalk is lined with stands. Beaches are busiest in high summer, and the sea air is bracing out of season.