The famed Virginia Beach Boardwalk provides nearly three miles of bustling activity. Each evening during the summer, the Boardwalk and the adjacent Atlantic Avenue turn into "Beach Street USA" with nightly entertainment and festivities. From 8 p.m. until midnight, the area transforms itself into a little bit of Key West, Mardi Gras and Main Street USA. Each block features professional musicians, puppets, jugglers, bands and theatrical productions from 17th to 25th Street. Fireworks light up the sky many evenings in July and August, and multiple special events and festivals bring even more activity nearly every weekend.
Return visitors will notice the completion of our brand new Virginia Beach Convention Center, which was completed in full this past January. The $202.5 million center offers more than 500,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including a 150,000 square foot column-free exhibit hall and 2,230 free parking spaces. A 10-story observation deck towers over the Oceanfront, while the design inside captures the essence of the coast, using water, wood and natural light as a theme throughout the venue.
Golfers are drawn to Virginia Beach because of the climate, the scenic beauty, and the eight top-rate golf courses designed by world famous course architects. Bay Creek (on the Eastern Shore) and the Signature at West Neck, both designed by Arnold Palmer, offer spectacularly sculpted courses amidst nature's bounty of lakes, wetlands and trees. Bay Creek has recently added a course designed by Jack Nicklaus.
Eco-tourism is alive and growing in Virginia Beach. Beyond the rural southern reaches of the city lies the Back Bay Wildelife Refuge. This is one of the East Coast's most picturesque destinations and is now accessible for day visitors via electric tram, which carries visitors from Little Island City Park, through the wildlife refuge and to False Cape State Park. The more outdoorsy-types will enjoy kayaking the hundreds of miles of inland waterways, biking the numerous trails and primitive camping in one of the last undisturbed coastal environments on the East Coast.
Beyond the beach, visitors will find so much to do they may just have to plan another trip. The Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center, one of the top aquarium facilities in the country, boasts more than 700,000 gallons of aquariums and live animal habitats, more than 300 hands-on exhibits, ten acres of marsh habitat and a 1/3-mile nature trail. See an abundance of animals including river otters, sharks, sea turtles, harbor seals and stingrays. Dolphin-watching trips and an IMAX® 3-D Theater make the Virginia Aquarium a top-notch destination for learning and fun.
Journeying just a few miles inland reveals an area that is rich beyond compare in history, heritage and culture. Historic downtown Norfolk showcases a bustling, revitalized waterfront city with a "Restaurant Row" of world-class eateries, unlimited shopping opportunities, theaters, bars, art galleries and museums, including the Chrysler Museum of Art, one of the premier art institutions in the country. Just across the harbor is historic Olde Towne Portsmouth, and Downtown Hampton and Newport News lay a quick drive across the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Each present their own unique attractions including the Children's Museum and Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in Portsmouth, the Virginia Air & Space Center and Charles H. Taylor Arts Center in Hampton and the newly expanded Virginia Living Museum and the Mariner's Museum in Newport News. Opened March 2007 is the new Monitor Center, displaying Civil War battleship the Monitor at a cost of $30 million, with its artifacts, history and accounts of its career displayed in a 63,500-square foot space. Virginia's Historic Triangle is just an hour west of the oceanfront with the original Jamestown Settlement (celebrating its 400th anniversary next year), the Yorktown Battlefield and Colonial Williamsburg. So much of every American's history is found in this small corner of Virginia.
A visit to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA is a day-trip every visitor will want to make. Busch Gardens has more than 40 exciting rides and attractions, including the new and thrilling Griffon. Set amid the ruins of a medieval French Village, Griffon carries riders up 205 feet, then hurtles them 90 degrees straight down at 70 mph. This diving, driving force in roller coaster engineering will be debuted at Busch Gardens this spring.
Water Country USA is the mid-Atlantic's largest family water play park featuring state-of-the-art water rides and attractions set to a 1950s and '60s surf theme.
With all there is to do in and around Virginia Beach, it's no surprise that nearly 3 million people visit our sandy shores year after year.
