The Atlantic City Boardwalk is the original — the first wooden promenade built over a beach in the United States, opened in 1870 and still the longest in the world at six kilometres. Walking it from end to end takes about an hour at a strolling pace, past the casino tower hotels that replaced the Victorian-era grand hotels of the early resort era, the souvenir shops, the fudge and taffy stands that have been here in various forms since the 1880s, and the Steel Pier extending over the ocean.
The most interesting part of the boardwalk is the southern end, where the old resort character survives most strongly: the Irish Pub, the Absecon Lighthouse at the northern edge, and the wide beach accessible at every point along the walk. The boardwalk's rolling chairs — two-person carts pushed by attendants — have been operating since the 1880s and remain one of the more unusual transport options in American tourism. Rates are negotiable; agree on a price before you sit down.