Atlantic City Packages/Deals & Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

Atlantic City, New Jersey, attracts casino-goers and day-trippers en masse, as well as big-time entertainment. Year-round, there is always something to do in Atlantic City.

Along with the hotels and casinos, a whole new assortment of shops, entertainment venues and attractions, including an upscale pedestrian mall (The Walk), there are historic landmarks, museums and wineries.

Atlantic City restaurant choices are vast, from award-winning classics and trendy hot spots to popular Boardwalk stands selling French fries and Nathan's hot dogs.

Activities include kayaking, fishing or parasailing, and golfers can tee up at any of several championship golf courses within a short drive of the casinos.

Must See or Do

Sights—Old-timey arcades, amusement piers and fabulous casinos that line the Atlantic City Boardwalk; Lucy the Margate Elephant; Absecon Lighthouse; Boardwalk Hall, an entertainment arena where the likes of Madonna, Barry Manilow and Cirque Du Soleil have performed.

Memorable Meals—Feasting on crab at the long, paper-covered tables at Crabby's; crab cakes served with a beautiful ocean view at the Old Waterway Inn; a traditional Atlantic City snack of a hoagie or saltwater taffy.

Late Night—Hitting the gaming tables or the slots at Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa; taking in a star-studded show at the House of Blues Atlantic City.

Walks—A rolling-chair ride on the Boardwalk; spying on birds and other wildlife at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge.

Especially for Kids—Oddities at Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum; the water theme park at Gillian's Island; moray eels and the octopus at the Atlantic City Aquarium.

Geography

The bulk of Atlantic City sits on Absecon Island. Most of the visitor-related sites are along the waterfront, but there is plenty to see and do for miles/kilometers around.

The city's famous Boardwalk extends along the Atlantic for more than 50 blocks and continues along Absecon Inlet. The casinos are split between two areas. Most are on or near the Boardwalk, facing the Atlantic; the others are in the Marina District, 1 mi/1.6 km north, just off the inlet.

Immediately northeast of the city is the island town of Brigantine. Following the shore to the southwest will take you to the neighboring towns of Ventnor, Margate City and Longport. Farther to the south, you'll find the Jersey shore towns of Ocean City, Stone Harbor, Sea Isle City, Avalon, Wildwood and Cape May.

History

Absecon Island, where Atlantic City later emerged, was first inhabited by the Lenni-Lenape tribe, which spent summers fishing and partaking of the island's abundant wildlife. In the late 1670s, the island was granted to Englishman Thomas Budd, and it was first settled by Jeremiah Leeds and his family in 1755.

A century later, Jonathan Pitney, a local physician, foresaw the island's possibilities as a seaside resort. With civil engineer Richard Osborne, he gave the settlement its new name and built the Camden-Atlantic City Railroad, which made its first run in 1854. The two men also laid out and named the streets of the town. Streets parallel to the ocean were named for the world's most famous bodies of water (Pacific, Atlantic, Baltic), and the cross streets were named after the states.

As the resort grew in popularity, its beautiful hotels and elegant restaurants had a problem—sand. Train conductor Alexander Boardman came up with the idea of a wooden walkway stretching from the beach into town; it was built in 1870. Rolling chairs—the only vehicles besides bicycles allowed on the boardwalk—soon followed.

By the early 20th century, Atlantic City had become the East Coast's premier beach resort. People escaping the heat of the city frolicked on the beach, held marathon dance contests and danced to big bands at the Steel Pier. (They also watched such novel animal acts as boxing cats, Rex the surfing dog and, of course, the diving horses.) But interest began to wane in the 1960s. The city fell into deep decline and soon became known as one of the most economically depressed cities in the country.

Legalized gambling, which New Jerseyans voted into law in 1976, brought visitors back to Atlantic City. The city is once again a top tourist destination in the U.S., drawing about 37 million visitors a year. The gaming profits have helped finance new housing, retail outlets and tourist attractions, improving the city's overall well-being. Nonetheless, some parts of the city still await renewal.

Potpourri

Atlantic City is a city of firsts: The world's first boardwalk was built there, and it was featured on the world's first color picture postcards, printed in 1893.

Atlantic City businesspeople started the Miss America Pageant in 1921 as part of their efforts to extend the tourist season beyond the summer. The pageant continued as an Atlantic City tradition until 2006, when it moved to Las Vegas.

The board of Monopoly, one of the most popular games of all time, uses Atlantic City street names for its "properties."

On 26 May 1978, singer Steve Lawrence threw the first legal dice in Atlantic City at the Resorts Casino Hotel, ushering in the city's rebirth as a gambling haven.

The first paid beach patrol originated in Atlantic City in 1892.

The word "airport" was first used to describe the airfield in Atlantic City.

Legend has it that saltwater taffy first appeared in Atlantic City in 1883, when a huge storm flooded the Boardwalk, including a candy store owned by David Bradley. As the story goes, a young girl asked if the store still had taffy for sale. Bradley jokingly told the girl to grab some "saltwater taffy," and the chewy treat has been called that ever since.