Atlantic City

Atlantic City was developed into a resort town starting in 1850 and formally named in 1853, and it grew through the 19th and early 20th centuries into one of the country's most famous seaside destinations, hosting the Miss America pageant from 1921 to 2004 and again from 2013 to 2018. The city's defining feature came first, though: the Boardwalk, opened in 1870 as a temporary summer walkway, is described today as the first boardwalk built anywhere in the world.

In the early 1930s, a Philadelphia man named Charles Darrow learned a real-estate trading game from friends who had played it themselves; he adapted it using real Atlantic City street names and, according to Hasbro's own account, based the property values on real 1930s Atlantic City real estate. Baltic and Mediterranean avenues, the two cheapest properties on the board, were named for streets in a lower-income neighborhood, while Park Place and Pennsylvania Avenue represented wealthier ones — a map of the actual city, frozen into a board game millions of people have played without knowing it's a real place.

New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City in 1976, and the first casino opened two years later, reshaping the skyline along the Boardwalk and in the newer Marina District. The casinos are a genuine part of the city's identity and economy today, but this guide treats them the way it treats any adult-oriented business: described factually, not recommended as an activity.

The Boardwalk itself is the reason to come. Opened in 1870, it's described as the first boardwalk built anywhere in the world, and it now runs 5.5 to 5.75 miles along the Atlantic Ocean, past Boardwalk Hall, Steel Pier, and the string of hotel-casinos that have defined the skyline since the late 1970s. Rolling chairs, taffy shops, and the ocean itself have outlasted almost everything else that's opened and closed along it.

Salt water taffy is the one food nobody leaves without trying. James Candy Company, which also now sells taffy under the historic Fralinger's name, is one of the original Atlantic City brands still making and selling it today.

The Boardwalk itself is lined with classic seaside food stands — funnel cake, pizza by the slice, soft-serve — that change from block to block more than any one recommendation can keep up with.

One brewery within 10 miles of Atlantic City, though our source does not record a room you can sit in.

Brewpub locations from Open Brewery DB (MIT)

Atlantic City doesn't have a professional, minor-league or college team calling it home — the Boardwalk and the beach are the main event here, not a scoreboard.

20 more Highway Heads places lie within about 180 miles of Atlantic City in a straight line — far enough that most are a night away rather than an afternoon.

• Independence HallPennsylvaniaabout 55 mi
• LewesDelawareabout 55 mi
• Rehoboth BeachDelawareabout 55 mi
• DoverDelawareabout 60 mi
• TrentonNew Jerseyabout 60 mi
• WilmingtonDelawareabout 65 mi
• Ocean CityMarylandabout 80 mi
• New York CityNew Yorkabout 95 mi
• NewarkNew Jerseyabout 95 mi
• Statue of Liberty National MonumentNew Yorkabout 95 mi
• Museum of Modern Art — MoMANew Yorkabout 100 mi
• AnnapolisMarylandabout 110 mi
• BaltimoreMarylandabout 120 mi
• National Air and Space MuseumDistrict of Columbiaabout 140 mi
• Washington, D.C.District of Columbiaabout 140 mi
• Washington, D.C. — U.S. CapitolDistrict of Columbiaabout 140 mi
• HarrisburgPennsylvaniaabout 150 mi
• FrederickMarylandabout 160 mi
• New HavenConnecticutabout 160 mi
• Harpers FerryWest Virginiaabout 180 mi

• Lucy the ElephantOdd building / architectureMargate Cityabout 6 miles away

  Cost to see it

  Costs something — we did not find the price published

  When you can see it

  Only while it is open, and we did not find its hours published

  Nearest road

  Garden State Pkwy / Atlantic City Expwy

  Six-story 1881 elephant-shaped building you can tour inside

  Read on the page we checked

These are things you can go and look at, not a recommendation of any of them. Oddities move, get sold and quietly disappear more than anything else we list, so check anything you are driving a long way for. Where this list says we did not find a price or opening times published, that is exactly what we mean. A blank is not “free” and not “always open”. Some sit on private land and can only be seen from the road — please do not go onto anyone’s property. Every entry links the page we read it off.

Half a day covers the Boardwalk, Steel Pier and Absecon Lighthouse at a walking pace; add time if a beach day is part of the plan.

Summer brings a full lineup of events, according to Visit Atlantic City, and lifeguards are on duty from 10 AM to 6 PM from July 1 through Labor Day. We were unable to confirm which days of the week are busiest or how full the beach, the Boardwalk and the casinos run.

Parking downtown and near the casinos is a mix of garages and surface lots, according to Visit Atlantic City, and fees can change with the season or large events: Ocean Casino Resort's own parking page says its parking fees are subject to change based on season or high volume events. We were unable to confirm summer-weekend rates at the other garages.

New Jersey law sets the gambling age at 21, and anyone younger isn't allowed to remain on a casino's gambling floor — plan family time around the Boardwalk, the beach and Steel Pier instead.

Atlantic City Boardwalk

Address

Runs along the Atlantic Ocean through downtown Atlantic City, NJ

Hours

Outdoors, open anytime

Price

Free to walk

Link

acnj.gov

We checked fees and seasonal opening on 2026-10-13. These change without notice — confirm with ecode360.com, theoceanac.com and visitatlanticcity.com the week you travel.

Straight-line distance from Atlantic City, not drive time.

• Atlantic City International (ACY) — 10 miles
• Millville Municipal (MIV) — 35 miles
• Cape May County (WWD) — 36 miles