Atlantic City

A gambling and seaside resort on the U.S. East Coast, with its century-old Boardwalk, Steel Pier and casino hotels, plus Lucy the Elephant and the family beach town of Ocean City nearby.

Atlantic City lies on Absecon Island in southeastern New Jersey, about 200 km south of New York and 100 km east of Philadelphia. It is the largest gambling city on the U.S. East Coast and a classic seaside resort, as well as the source of the street names in the board game Monopoly. The city stretches in a narrow strip along the coast: on the east side is America's first boardwalk, built in 1870, which links casino hotels such as Caesars and Hard Rock, Steel Pier and the beach; the Marina District to the northwest has large resorts such as the Borgata; at the north end are the Absecon Lighthouse and the Gardner's Basin fishing harbor; and downtown has the open-air Tanger Outlets. June–September is beach season, when the Boardwalk, the pier amusement parks and the sand are at their liveliest; casinos and shows operate year-round, and in winter the seafront is windy and quiet but hotel rates are low. Within a day you can visit Lucy the Elephant in Margate to the south, the family beach town of Ocean City, and the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and Historic Smithville to the northwest. The Victorian town of Cape May, about 70 km south, is covered as a separate destination. Getting there: frequent buses run direct from New York's Port Authority Bus Terminal and from Philadelphia, which also has NJ Transit trains; get around town on foot or by bike, but you'll need a car or taxi for the surrounding sights. One to two days is typical. You must be 21 or older with ID to enter the casinos; at night, stick to the busy stretches of the Boardwalk and the hotel areas.

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