Cape May sits at the very southern tip of New Jersey, where the Delaware Bay meets the Atlantic. It is one of the oldest seaside resorts in the United States — presidents from Lincoln to Harrison holidayed here — and the entire town is a National Historic Landmark district, packed with elaborate Victorian houses painted in bright colours.
The beach is wide and sandy, and the town has a genteel, unhurried quality that feels more New England than New Jersey. Walking the streets past the gingerbread-trimmed cottages and grand old hotels — like the restored Congress Hall and the Emlen Physick Estate — is the main activity. The Washington Street Mall, a pedestrian shopping street, runs through the centre. The 1859 Cape May Lighthouse at the point is climbable, and the concrete WWII bunker on the beach and the wreck of the SS Atlantus at Sunset Beach are atmospheric reminders of the bay's strategic past.
Cape May is also one of the best birdwatching spots on the East Coast, sitting on a major migratory flyway. In autumn, hawks, warblers, and shorebirds pass through in enormous numbers. The Cape May Bird Observatory draws serious birders from across the country.
The off-season (October through April) is worth considering: the Victorian charm is still there, the crowds are not, and prices drop considerably.