New Jersey Travel Guide

Atlantic City

At its height during the 1920s, Atlantic City was the vacation destination and playground for the rich and famous with thousands of city dwellers flocking to enjoy the seaside. The vacation resort is one of America's oldest and boasts the world's first Boardwalk, running along an eight-mile (13km) stretch of beach, which was built in 1870 by local hotel owners.

Atlantic City also boasts the nation's first Big Wheel, the first color postcards and the first Miss America Beauty Pageant, which has been held here annually ever since 1921. Before long the Boardwalk became lined with amusement parks and nightclubs, but its grandeur faded into economic decline with the rise of jet travel to Florida, the Caribbean and Europe after World War II, resulting in a disastrous drop in tourism.

In a desperate attempt to revitalise the once-proud vacation resort, the state of New Jersey instituted legal casino gambling in the 1970s. The Boardwalk became a collection of grand gambling halls and the earlier 19th century stone hotels were replaced by extravagant casino-hotels reminiscent of Las Vegas, from designs like the Showboat to the onion domes and gigantic elephants of the Trump Taj Mahal.

Today Atlantic City is famous as a gambler's Mecca with a vibrant nightlife. It also offers amusement rides, souvenir shops and children's entertainment in a bid to market itself as a family vacation destination and 'America's Favorite Playground'.

Cape May

Situated at the southern-most tip of the New Jersey Cape, the holiday favorite of Cape May is the jewel of the Atlantic Shore and the nation's oldest seaside resort, well known for its calm beaches, historic sites and many nearby natural attractions. With a fairytale collection of authentically restored and beautifully preserved Victorian homes, the entire town of Cape May was designated a National Historic Landmark and is internationally recognized as one of the best Bed and Breakfast Inn resorts in the country. The ambience of gingerbread-trimmed inns, old gas lamps and colorful stained glass windows offers visitors a peaceful change of pace from most other vacation resorts along the shore. Bird watchers are drawn on vacation to the Cape May Point State Park that attracts huge flocks of birds during the spring and autumn migrations. Cape May offers modern as well as historic accommodations, fine dining and shopping, and lots of nature walks, and its easy-going atmosphere is apparent even at the height of the summer holiday season. For more information see www.njcapemay.com