See & Do
Regional Attractions
The communities surrounding Suffolk make for great day trips. Plan your visit to Smithfield, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Hampton, Newport News, and Williamsburg.
Smithfield Attractions
Isle of Wight County Museum
103 Main Street
Smithfield, VA 23430
757-356-1223
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The Isle of Wight County Museum was founded in 1976 by a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation of county history. Interpreting local history, the museum’s exhibits include prehistoric fossils, Native American and Colonial artifacts, a country store and displays regarding the ham industry and perhaps the museum’s most notable artifact: the world’s oldest, edible cured ham.
Windsor Castle Park
301 Jericho Road
Smithfield, Virginia 23430
757-365-4200
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The park’s 209.8 acres are owned by the Town of Smithfield. Windsor Castle Farm was originally part of a 1450 acre parcel patented in 1637 by Arthur Smith and is situated on a knoll overlooking the Pagan River. The farm was purchased with the intention of preserving the rich historic heritage of the Castle, as well as providing a passive public park on the estate grounds.
Future Amenities & Plans
Future plans include:
- Canoe and Kayak Launch
- Picnic, Event and Demonstration Areas
- Historic Interpretation and Informational Displays
- Walking and Bicycle Trails
St. Luke’s Historic Church and Museum
14477 Benns Church Road
Smithfield, Virginia 23430
757-357-3367
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St. Luke’s, also known as The Brick Church, The Old Brick Church, and Historic St. Luke’s Church, has enjoyed a long and vibrant history supported by a passionate community. Built in the 17th-century, this National Historic Landmark is located four miles south of Smithfield’s Historic District. Explore the grounds of this renowned historic site on a journey through over 400 years of vibrant, American history. St. Luke’s now serves the public as a living, breathing symbol of religious freedom with a storied past.
Portsmouth Attractions
Children’s Museum of Virginia
221 High Street
Portsmouth, Virginia 23704
757-393-5258
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Specific Floor Features
On the first floor, rediscover some of the all-time Children’s Museum favorites. Stroll along the city streetscape with a grocery store, fire truck, pet park, and city bus. Go bonkers for bubbles, move cargo crates, board the tugboat, and track the model trains all over the state. The second floor showcases 3 all new distinct exhibit areas. In “My Backyard and Beyond” explore the inhabitants of your backyard, the wonders of water and weather, and the star-studded sky. “Dr. Forces Traveling Energy Extravaganza” brings you back to the days of a 3-ringed circus to discover forces, energy, and motion in all new ways. “CreArtivity” brings visual and performing arts to life by giving visitors an opportunity to create art while interacting with the exhibits.
Lightship Portsmouth
Corner London & Water Streets
Portsmouth, VA 23704
757.393.8591
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A National Historic Landmark fitted with period accessories. Launched in 1916, the Lightship Portsmouth was first stationed at Smith Island Shoals, Virginia and subsequently donated and dry docked at the London Pier in Portsmouth in 1964, where she took on her name. You can walk through one of the small number of surviving lightships, as the ship’s quarters are fitted out realistically with artifacts, uniforms, and more.
Rivers Casino Portsmouth
3630 Victory Blvd.
Portsmouth, VA 23701
757-840-2100
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Play bigger in Portsmouth! Rack up the jackpots with activities ranging from slots to table games to poker room to sportsbook at Virginia’s first free-standing casino! Onsite dining and entertainment. Ages 21+.
Chesapeake Attractions
Fun Forest at Chesapeake City Park
900 City Park Drive
Chesapeake, VA 23320
Phone: 757-382-6411
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On three acres of City Park is Fun Forest, the ultimate children’s playground, imagination center, and family adventure area! Originally built in 1995 by over 1,800 volunteers from private, public, and community sectors, and winner of the Virginia Recreation and Parks Society “Best New Facility in Virginia” award in 1996, the playground has an older children’s area which encourages gross motor-skill development and features a dragon, three-way underground telephone, shaky bridge, dolphin tunnel slide, and many more challenges for the older child.
Many of the attractions are handicapped accessible, with paved paths, slides, swings, picnic tables, and benches to accommodate wheelchairs.
Northwest River Park & Campground
1733 Indian Creek Road
Chesapeake, Virginia 23322
757-421-3145
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Amenities
Amenities include the following and more:
- Bicycling
- Camping
- Kayak excursions
- Fishing
- Hiking
- Playgrounds
- Trails
Rental cabins and camping facilities include:
- Dump Station
- Fresh Water
- Hot Showers
- Laundry
Great Bridge Battlefield and Waterways Museum
1775 Historic Way
Chesapeake, Virginia 23320
757-482-4480
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Visitors will experience life in 18th century Virginia, learn about the water that defined the landscape, visit a Three Tun Tavern and find themselves in the middle of the Battle of Great Bridge which led Virginia on the course for independence.
Norfolk Attractions
Battleship Wisconsin
1 Waterside Drive
Norfolk, Virginia 23510
757-322-2987
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The City of Norfolk has assumed stewardship of the Battleship Wisconsin, which is now included in regular Nauticus admission. Admission fees help preserve and maintain the battleship for future generations. Berthed at Nauticus, the Battleship Wisconsin is one of the largest and last battleships ever built by the U.S. Navy. Explore its deck through a self-guided or audio tour that will take you back in time to experience this majestic ship that earned 5 battle stars during World War II.
Operator
The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is owned and operated by the United States Navy and located on level 2 of Nauticus.
Museum Collection
The museum houses a rich collection of:
- Artwork
- Authentic Uniforms
- Detailed Ship Models
- Underwater Artifacts
- Weaponry
Chrysler Museum of Art
245 West Olney
Norfolk, Virginia 23510
757-664-6200
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Housed in an Italianate-style structure facing the picturesque Hague Inlet of the Elizabeth River, the Chrysler Museum of Art is home to an encyclopedic collection of nearly 40,000 objects spanning nearly 5,000 years of history.
Highlights
Highlights include an impressive and comprehensive survey of European and American painting and sculpture, a world-renowned glass collection, a rich photography program, Art Nouveau furniture, as well as African, Asian, Egyptian, Pre-Columbian and Islamic art.
Virginia Zoo
3500 Granby Street
Norfolk, Virginia 23504
757-441-2374
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From mighty Monica, an African elephant, to their flock of small love birds, the Virginia Zoo is home to over 350 of our furry, feathered and scaly animal friends on 53 acres of beautifully landscaped grounds. Animals include exotic representatives from the African savannah, as well as friendly goats that you would find on a Virginia farm.
Virginia Beach Attractions
Virginia Aquarium
717 General Booth Boulevard
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451
757-385-3474 or 757-385-FISH
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Explore over 800,000 gallons of one of the best aquariums and live animal habitats in the country at the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center. Check out hundreds of hands-on exhibits, outdoor aviary, nature trail, and marshlands. Plus you won’t want to miss the 3D IMAX Theater.
Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art
2200 Parks Avenue
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451
757-425-0000
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Virginia MOCA is home to the vibrant art of today as well as welcome to what art can be. We are rooted in community and we work hard to do right by it—with our eyes on a more expansive art world and compassionate culture. Here, art can be mysterious, but never exclusive. Here, art makes way for us to connect.
As a contemporary, non-collecting museum, we are what we curate. We seek out the most soulful, rigorous art and artists, adapting and reinventing our space with each exhibition, because we believe in a shared space between different perspectives. As an accredited member of the American Alliance of Museums, we will continue to work tirelessly to share what we know, what we’re learning, and how best to navigate the art world. We are here to add meaning to the very idea of what a museum is. This is where art works its magic.
First Landing State Park
2500 Shore Drive
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23451
757-412-2300
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As Virginia’s most-visited state park, First Landing State Park is an oasis within urban Virginia Beach. The park has 20 miles of trails and 1.5 miles of sandy Chesapeake Bay beach frontage. First Landing offers many recreational and educational activities and has many unusual habitats, including bald cypress swamps, lagoons, and maritime forest, as well as rare plants and wildlife. The park has cabins, yurts, water and electric hook-up campsites, tent campsites, picnic area, boat ramps and a camp store.
Hampton Attractions
Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe
Casemate 20, Bernard Road
Fort Monroe, Virginia 23651
757-788-3391
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The largest stone fort ever built in the U.S., Fort Monroe is headquarters for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Within the historic fort’s stone walls is the Casemate Museum, which chronicles the history of the fort and the Coast Artillery Corps. During the Civil War, more than 6,000 slaves escaped to Union-held Fort Monroe, earning it the nickname “Freedom’s Fortress.”
Virginia Air & Space Center
600 Settlers Landing Road
Hampton, VA 23669
757-727-0900
800-296-0800
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This is the visitor center for NASA Langley Research Center and Langley Air Force Base. This world-class facility features the Space Quest and Adventures in Flight galleries, and more than 100 “hands-on” exhibits that tell the story of air and space exploration. See the Apollo 12 Command Module, a Mars meteorite and a 3-billion year-old moon rock! Visit the technologically advanced Riverside 3D IMAX Theater and see a 3D IMAX film on a giant 5-story screen with 16,000 watts of digital-sound.
Hampton History Museum
120 Old Hampton Lane
Hampton, VA 23669
757-727-1102
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Galleries represent Hampton history, including the city’s early inhabitance by the Kecoughtan tribe and contributions of African-American residents. View ten permanent galleries that bridge the past with the present, spanning Hampton’s settlement to the city’s role as the founding site for the U.S. space program.
Experience four centuries of national history and view how Hampton evolved as “America’s Gateway” from Native American days to the Space Age. Ten galleries illustrate a narrative beginning with the Virginia Colony and continue through phases of Coastal Virginia life with surprises along the way. Meet Blackbeard the Pirate, experience the burning of Hampton during the Civil War and see how the Contraband decision was the first step toward freedom for millions of African-Americans. The museum also shares space and a gift shop with the Hampton Visitor Center.
Newport News Attractions
The Mariners’ Museum
100 Museum Drive
Newport News, VA 23606
757-596-2222
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From bow to stern, The Mariners’ Museum is filled with fascinating stories, captured in priceless artifacts that celebrate the spirit of the open sea.
Gallery Space Features
Explore over 120,000 square feet of gallery space featuring:
- Rare Figureheads
- Handcrafted Ship Models
- Civil War Ironclad USS Monitor Artifacts
- Paintings
- Small Craft From Around the World
- Navigational Instruments
Virginia Living Museum
524 J. Clyde Morris Boulevard
Newport News, Virginia 23601
757-595-1900
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View endangered red wolves. Get up close to a loggerhead turtle and moon jellies. See fish with no eyes and frogs that change colors. Touch live spider crabs and fossilized dinosaur tracks. It’s all at the Virginia Living Museum, Newport News, where living exhibits depict Virginia’s natural heritage from the mountains to the sea. The Museum introduces visitors to more than 250 living species native to Virginia through exhibits, discovery centers and interactive hands-on exhibits.
Ferguson Center for the Arts
1 Avenue of the Arts
Newport News, Virginia 23606
757-594-8752
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Christopher Newport University’s Ferguson Center for the Arts has become an international force, presenting the finest cultural attractions in the world. More than 2 million patrons have experienced hundreds of performances in our acoustically superb theaters.
Audiences from throughout Virginia and beyond enjoy year-round attractions that have included such headline talent as tenor Andrea Bocelli, John Legend, Josh Groban, Joan Baez, Tony Bennett, Wynton Marsalis, Jay Leno, Ziggy Marley, Liza Minnelli, Blue Man Group, and Broadway shows like “Jersey Boys,” “The King and I” and Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast,” among others.
The Center features the 1,700-seat Diamonstein Concert Hall, the 500-seat Peebles Theatre and the 250-seat Studio Theater. It houses the Departments of Fine Art and Art History, Music, and Theater and Dance. The facility also includes art galleries, art studios, workshops and rehearsal spaces.
Williamsburg Attractions
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
1 Busch Gardens Boulevard
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
800-343-7946
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Journey to the unexpected. Busch Gardens offers guests a line-up of events, concerts, a new Irish show and a brand new family thrill ride, “Europe in the Air,” a motion simulator ride that takes guests on an unforgettable journey through some of Europe’s most beautiful landscapes. And the fun doesn’t stop there. Summer, fall and winter are packed full of excitement with a nighttime light show production, “IllumiNights: A Busch Gardens Encore,” “Howl-O-Scream,” celebrating all things Halloween and “Christmas Town,” the newest holiday spectacular that transforms the European-themed park into winter wonderland.
Colonial Williamsburg
Located in the center of the city of Williamsburg
101-A Visitor Center Drive
Williamsburg, VA 23185
757-229-1000 or 1-800-HISTORY
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Visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area and step back more than 220 years to the eve of the American Revolution. From 1699 to 1780, Williamsburg was the political and cultural center of Britain’s largest colony in the New World.
Colonial Williamsburg is the nation’s largest living history museum encompassing 301 acres including some 500 buildings, homes, stores and taverns reconstructed and restored to their 18th-century appearances; tradesmen practicing 30 historic trades and domestic crafts; historical interpreters and character actors; and 90 acres of gardens and greens, and now featuring the live action drama, Revolutionary City, daily from mid-March to the holiday season.
Williamsburg Premium Outlets
5715 Richmond Road
Williamsburg, VA 23188
757-565-1119
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Find impressive savings at Williamsburg Premium Outlets, with over 120 stores including Adidas, Michael Kors, Nike, Kate Spade, Under Armour, The North Face, and Nautica. Conveniently located off Route 199 off of Richmond Road, the outdoor shopping destination serves the nearby Virginia areas of Williamsburg and Richmond, as well as all across the southeast.
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