Cape May

Cape May is one of the oldest seaside resorts in the country, and it looks the part: whole streets of painted Victorian houses, many of them guesthouses, and the entire city is a National Historic Landmark. Walk the side streets, the pedestrian Washington Street Mall and the beachfront promenade, or tour the Emlen Physick Estate, an 1879 mansion designed by Frank Furness.

At the southern tip of the state, Cape May is also one of the best places in North America to watch bird migration, especially in fall. Cape May Point State Park, with its lighthouse and hawk-watch platform, is a short drive west, and the ferry to Lewes, Delaware leaves from just outside town.