Atlantic City, New Jersey - A Visitors Guide

The Crown Jewel of the Jersey Shore
with Endless Year Round Entertainment

Atlantic City is a fun-filled destination, with ritzy casinos. world-class entertainment, a world-class boardwalk, a good variety of activities, good restaurants, shopping, relaxing on the beach, and more.

While casino gambling continues to be the main Atlantic City attraction, this Jersey Shore resort destination has become increasingly popular as a multi-night, getaway for visitors looking for a weekend getaway, or a vacation.

While there is a year-round activity, with the summer being the peak season, the more budget-minded visitors might consider coming in the winter from January – April, when almost all hotel casinos offer outstanding deals and the facilities are less crowded.

For overnight visitors, there is a wide variety of accommodations from the pricey glitzy, high-end casinos on the boardwalk, to the less pricey B&Bs and motels scattered blocks from the beach and as far as twenty minutes away.

Atlantic City has a long and fascinating history

During prohibition and the Depression, this Jersey Shore tourist attraction was a center for bootlegging, smuggling, speakeasies, and illegal gambling. The mafia found Atlantic City to be a good place for profitable business operations and vacationing.

The nearby Pine Barrens were convenient and well-suited for the mafia's activities. Because of its seclusion and forest cover, and proximity to Atlantic City (as well as New York and Philadelphia where many mafia resided), the Pine Barrens proved to be ideal for distilling, bootlegging, and body disposal.

It was here that the Mafia established itself as a national organization. Fearing the end of prohibition and the loss of profitable bootlegging operations, Mafia leaders from the Midwest and East Coast, --- Al Capone Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, and Lucky Luciano --- held their first national conference in 1929 at the President Hotel. It was here that they were able to develop a system of arbitration and solidify networks made through bootlegging to become a national organization.

It is the real-life model for the board game Monopoly, the nation's first Boardwalk, the world's first big Ferris wheel, the first color postcards, and the home of the first Miss America Beauty Pageant.

What can family's who do not gamble do?

AC provides lots of family entertainment and kids attractions, beyond the casinos.

Stroll the famous Boardwalk, six miles long and 60 feet wide, paralleling the ocean, it is the largest of New Jersey’s boardwalks. It’s free! Hop on a historic rolling wicker chair and ride in style. The Boardwalk is the place to see and be seen. Forget the calories and indulge in a juicy hot dog with all the trimmings, chewy saltwater taffy, and filmy cotton candy.

Enjoy a day at the beaches or on the water with a dolphin/whale-watching cruise, parasailing, or a fishing expedition. This destination also offers great ocean fishing and depending on the time of the year, you might catch Marlin, Shark, or Tuna.

Check out the Atlantic City Aquarium located in the Historic Gardner's Basin. It offers a fun and educational look into more than 100 varieties of fish and marine animals.

Try the Quarter at the Tropicana, where the streets of Havana come alive, with many unique shops and restaurants, from a burger with the kids to fine dining. During the summer from Memorial Day Weekend until Labor Day, be sure to visit Tropicana's Multimedia Light and Sound Show . This Free event is not to be missed, and best viewed multiple times and from multiple vantage points.

In the mood for some shopping? Try the Outlets - The Walk. It’s an outlet mecca offering very good shopping from children's clothing to home decor and jewelry, to quality clothing including Coach, Banana Republic, and Brooks Brothers. Enjoy the many restaurants and clubs located within this complex.

This city boasts the best concentration of first-class restaurants in the state, as well as outstanding Philly cheese steak sandwiches, pizza, and family restaurants.

For golf enthusiasts, there are several championship golf courses nearby, including Blue Heron Pines East and West, The Links at Brigantine Beach, Harbor Pines, Mays Landing Golf and Country Club, Sand Barrens Golf Club, Shore Gate Golf Club and Twisted Dune Golf Club.

If you'd like to learn more about the city in its glory days, visit the Atlantic City Art Center (New Jersey Avenue & Boardwalk). Its one of Atlantic City's secret treasures. It showcases the work of noted national and regional artists with the beautiful Atlantic Ocean as a backdrop for the past 40 years.

The Absecon Lighthouse, built in 1857 at 171 feet, is the tallest in New Jersey. You can climb 228 steps for an unbeatable view of the casinos, boardwalk, and shoreline.