The Virginia Beach Convention Center

First constructed in 1888, the Virginia Beach Boardwalk has received national acclaim in recent times as one of America's favorite boardwalks by the Discovery Channel, and in magazines such as Coastal Living, Southern living, and National Geographic Traveler. In its various forms, the thoroughfare has seen it all: Prohibition and German U-boats, Big Bands and surfer girls, shag contests and roller blades. Throughout time, the Boardwalk has remained an enduring symbol of Virginia Beach. Built from wooden planks during the nation's "gilded age," the five-block promenade attracted thousands of Victorian vacationers. At the famed Peacock Ballroom, couples swooned to the music of legendary artists such as Duke Ellington, Cap Calloway and Tommy Dorsey. Today's Boardwalk is now 28-feet wide and stretches three-miles featuring a seperate bike path, making it ideal for strolling, rollerblading and biking. Entertainment is offered nightly during the summer months and four oceanfront stages at 7th, 17th, and 24th and 31st Streets provide live musical acts. Along the boardwalk there is a variety of quaint outdoor restuarants and vendors offering bike and surrey rentals. Nautical sculptures adorn many of the side streets which lead to Atlantic Avenue. While there, don't forget to swing by and see King Neptune which is a twenty-four foot, twelve ton bronze statue that stands at the gateway to Neptune Festival Park on 31st Street. This is perhaps one of the most popular photo oportunities in the resort area. For handicapped, accessibility ramps from the boardwalk to the beach are available at every block. Located at 8th, 17th, 24th and 30th Streets are eight-foor wooden walkways that reach the water's edge. Accessible restrooms are located at 17th, 24th and 30th Streets. Handicapped parking can be found along the main thoroughfare.

With an eclectic mix of shopping, dining, entertainment, and living options covering 17 city blocks, Town Center is fast becoming one of Hampton Roads' hottest destinations. Enjoy world-renowned performers at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, or free live entertainment and festivals in the plazas. Grab a bite at a local eatery or a national restaurant. Shop at popular brand retailers and upscale boutiques. Treat yourself to a night at the 4-star Westin Hotel. Or, check out one of our premiere residences for your permanent home in Town Center. It's all here waiting for you - so go ahead and live it up!

The VirginiaZoologicalPark seeks to increase understanding of the world's flora and fauna and to add to the growing body of knowledge about them; to display animals respectfully, in a way that encourages their natural behavior; to conserve animals and their habitats; and to offer opportunities for learning and enjoyment to the public. It will strive to fulfill this mission through education, conservation, research and recreation. The mission of Virginia Zoological Society is to ensure that the Virginia Zoo thrives as a superior zoological institution, reaching its fullest potential to serve people, animals and the environment through programs that emphasize recreation, education and conservation.

Come explore over 700,000 gallons of one of the best aquariums and live animal habitats in the country at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. Check out our hundreds of hands-on exhibits, outdoor aviary, nature trail, and marshlands. Plus you won't want to miss our 3D IMAX® Theater.

The Virginia Beach Fishing Center located at the Rudee Inlet has the largest charter and party boat fleet on the Virginia coast. All of our competitively priced charter boats have U.S. Coast Guard-licensed captains and are outfitted with the latest safety, navigation and fish-finding equipment. Our marina is a full service, deep water marina equipped to handle boats up to 100'. Charter packages are designed for up to 6 people, so call up five of your friends. Your charter adventure fee includes ice, bait, tackle, and even someone to bait your hook! Come have a great day on the ocean.

In recent years, Virginia Beach has developed a strong and growing market for the performing arts, and the demand has increased tremendously as more visitors, residents, and businesses are drawn to the area. In 2001, existing regional facilities were limited, lacking the optimal size, quality, and functionality to meet the needs of current and potential tenants. Emerging and long-standing local arts organizations desperately wanted access to well-equipped facilities with rehearsal and teaching spaces, reservation scheduling, and reasonable rental rates. It soon became apparent to the Virginia Beach City Council that the city needed its own cultural center, and the Council began its plans to replace the 1000-seat Pavilion Theatre with a facility deemed "equal or better." After 6 diligent years, the city completed its architectural masterpiece. The Sandler Center for the Performing Arts was dedicated in November of 2007, and is now not only heralded as one of the region's most stunning structures, but also among the nation's most acoustically sound venues for the arts

Located just 5 minutes from the oceanfront, The Shops At Hilltop is the premier shopping destination in Virginia Beach. Discover a fascinating mix of shops, boutiques, specialty stores, services, and restaurants - more than 120 in all! Enjoy a unique blend of shops brimming with contemporary and classic apparel, exquisite gifts, and taste-tempting restaurants. Find the latest fashion trends, gorgeous jewelry, and decorative home accents in a beautiful and inviting setting.

Back Bay Refuge contains over 9,000 acres, situated on and around a thin strip of coastline typical of barrier islands found along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Habitats include beach, dunes, woodland, farm fields, and marsh. The majority of refuge marshlands are on islands contained within the waters of Back Bay. Approximately 10,000 snow geese and a large variety of ducks visit Back Bay Refuge during the peak of fall migration, usually in December. The refuge also provides habitat for a wide assortment of other wildlife, including threatened and endangered species such as loggerhead sea turtles, piping plovers, peregrine falcons, and bald eagles. Back Bay provides scenic trails, a visitor contact station, and, with advance scheduling, group educational opportunities.

Mall Hours: Monday-Saturday: 10:00am-9:00pm Sunday: 12:00pm-6:00pm Located in the heart of Virginia Beach, and just 10-minutes from the beautiful oceanfront, the Lynnhaven Mall offers visitors an enormous selection of shopping, dinning and entertainment options with over 180 stores, 17 restaurants and eateries, and a state-of-the-art AMC Theatres with 18 screens and all stadium-style seating. The list of stores at Lynnhaven Mall reads like a Who’s Who of shopping with an enormous selection of the most popular retailers including Macy’s, Dillard’s, JCPenney, Brookstone, Ann Taylor Loft, Gap, Charlotte Russe, Express & ExpressMen, Limited, New York & Company, Sephora, and Victoria’s Secret, as well as large super stores like Barnes & Noble, H&M, Old Navy, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, along with choice retailers such as Banana Republic, Jessica McClintock, The Disney Store, Yankee Candle Company, and Build-A-Bear Workshop. After a full day of shopping satisfy your appetite at one of our five restaurants or twelve eateries. Whether your tastes run to the fine dinning of Carrabba’s Italian Grill or you want to soak up the beach atmosphere at Cheeseburger In Paradise, you’ll find enough options to satisfy even the finickiest eater.

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY! Motor World is “your place to race” in Virginia Beach, Virginia featuring 11 go-kart tracks, 250 Karts with 16 different style Go-Karts to choose from. Now Open at Motor World is our adventurous Adult Speed Track, our brand new European-style racetrack that is guaranteed to get your adrenaline going! Open year-round at Motor World is Splat Zone. With 2 paintball fields, inflatable bunkers, shooting range and pro shop, you’ll never run out of ammo or things to shoot. Be sure to check out our heart-pounding Skycoaster, Gravity Storm, Bumper Boats, Kiddie & Thrill Rides and our unique but challenging Shipwreck Mini-Golf. Open 7 days a week 10am, March 1st thru September. Open `til midnight Memorial Day to Labor Day. Open weekends year-round, weather permitting.

Originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, First Landing State Park is located on the Chesapeake Bay. The park, which is Virginia’s most visited state park, is nestled in Virginia Beach. First Landing offers boating, swimming, nature and history programs, hiking, biking, picnicking, a boat launch, cabins and 19 miles of trails on 2,888 acres. It also has campsites that have water and electric hook-ups and nearby access to restrooms and showers. The park's name was changed in 1997 from Seashore State Park to First Landing State Park to reflect its heritage as the first place where members of the Virginia Company landed. They went on to settle Jamestown.

Ocean Breeze Waterpark is Virginia Beach's ONLY water park. Located less than 2 miles south of the Oceanfront, it's a quick trip from wherever you are Ocean Breeze Waterpark offers 16 waterslides, the 1 million-gallon Runaway Bay wave pool, the Buccaneer Bay Water Playground and other fantastic attractions. Enjoy our private poolside cabanas, Island Trader Gift Shop or any of our annual events and daily activities!

The Atlantic Wildfowl Heritage Museum, located in the historic de Witt Cottage on the Virginia Beach oceanfront, displays art and artifacts documenting migratory wildfowl that pass through Eastern Virginia. Exhibits of wildfowl and shorebird carvings trace the evolution of this American art form from the simple traditional decoys to the contemporary lifelike carvings. Make sure to visit our museum when you are in Virginia Beach

Today, the old Cape Henry Lighthouse silently guards the entry way into the Chesapeake Bay. Standing near the spot where in 1607 Captain Newport raised a cross to offer thanks for their safe crossing of the Atlantic, the Lighthouse is opened to the public on a seasonal schedule. The architectural integrity of the tower is representative of one of John McComb's best and most important constructions. The Light also symbolizes the first bold steps the nation's new government took to fulfill its obligations to its people. With the construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse, the waters of the Chesapeake Bay became navigable and safe ensuring steady trade and commerce on the Virginia and Maryland coasts. There had been a need for a lighthouse since before the Revolution. The Colony of Virginia and then the state of Virginia could never raise the funds needed to build the structure. By November 1789, the Virginia General Assembly provided conveyance of the land "lying and being in the County of Princess Anne at the place commonly called the head land of Cape Henry" to the new government "for the purpose of building a lighthouse." Alexander Hamilton contracted with John McComb, Jr. of New York on 31 March 1791. McComb had been the designer of the Government House, the planned residence for the President, in New York City.

The Contemporary Art Center of Virginia is a nonprofit, noncollecting institution founded in 1952 to foster awareness, exploration and understanding of the significant art of our time. Regularly changing exhibitions feature painting, sculpture, photography, glass, video and other visual media from internationally acclaimed artists as well as artists of national and regional renown. By balancing its four primary activities--gallery exhibitions, studio art classes, educational outreach programs and outdoor art shows--the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia seeks to involve a diverse regional public in the rich and active language of contemporary visual art. The Contemporary Art Center of Virginia is funded in part by the citizens of Virginia Beach through a grant from the City of Virginia Beach Arts & Humanities Commission. Additional support is provided by Virginia Commission for the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Business Consortium for Arts Support and The Norfolk Foundation.

The Old Coast Guard Station honors and preserves the history of Virginia’s coastal communities and maritime heritage. The scope of the Station’s exhibits begins with the Virginia Beach Community and extends to subjects related to Virginia’s oceanfront, coastal and water related heritage. The museum's two galleries depict the history of theUnited States Life-Saving and Coast Guard Services and shipwrecks on the Virginia Coast. The Old Coast Guard Station is housed in the most important artifact in the museum’s collection: the 1903 Life-Saving Station. It houses a collection of 1,800 artifacts and over 1,000 photographic images of the United States Life-Saving and Coast Guard Services, and the resort community of Virginia Beach. There is also an on-site research library containing books, papers and oral histories. The museum overlooks the Atlantic Ocean along the Boardwalk at 24th Street within the popular resort city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. This historic Life-Saving/Coast Guard Station is a Virginia Historic Landmark also on the National Register of Historic Places.