Welcome to Hampton, Virginia!
In years of old, colonists from surrounding areas came to Hampton to purchase the latest imports and hear the news of their homeland from the ship’s crew. Today, Downtown Hampton is a bustling waterfront city with enough distinctive shopping, dining, and world-class attractions to please just about anyone!
This winter 2009, the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau will launch six brand-new IPOD® Walking Tours. Available at the Hampton Visitor Center, the self-guided multimedia experience will enable visitors to tour Hampton at their own pace. Tours are available for free at www.visithampton.com or i-TUNES. If you need to rent an I-pod, they are available at the visitor center for $10.
Discover a world of knowledge at the Hampton History Museum, the current site of the Hampton Visitor Center, located in downtown. The museum explores the rich history of the city from its inhabitance by the Kecoughtan Tribe to its role as the founding site of the U.S. space program. While there, be sure to pick up a Hampton Day Pass Value Card, good for discounts and area shops and restaurants.
Hampton University, founded in 1868, is a short walk from the downtown area. Hampton University Museum maintains a collection of more than 1,200 cultural artifacts and traditional and contemporary works of art. At the Casemate Museum at Fort Monroe, visitors can see the cell where Confederate President Jefferson Davis was imprisoned.
The Power Plant of Hampton Roads retail and entertainment complex, developed by the Cordish Company, is now open and ready for business. McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon and Saddle Ridge Rock N’ Country Saloon provide great nightlife opportunities for those looking to unwind while in Hampton.
The Virginia Air & Space Center has opened the first phase of a new gallery, Space Quest: Exploring the Moon, Mars & Beyond! The introductory phase features giant planets floating overhead. Visitors enter the Space Gallery through a Mars Transport Module, a three-minute simulation of space travel that represents an eight-month trip to the red planet. The center also features over 100 hands-on exhibits, suspended aircraft, and a 3-D IMAX Theater. The Space Quest: Exploring the Moon, Mars & Beyond is a perfect compliment to the center’s Adventures In Flight Gallery, which opened in November 2003. This gallery highlights the story of the Wright Brothers told through interactive exhibits. A Commercial and Civil Aviation area features a full-size section of a Boeing aircraft, a Test Flight Pre-Show Theater, and Flying Lab simulator.
The Miss Hampton II, Hampton’s double-decked tour boat, offers daily-narrated cruises of the Hampton Roads Harbor & Chesapeake Bay. Get a taste of Hampton’s seafaring culture as you take to the water to see local fishing boats, mighty commercial cargo ships,
Blackbeard’s Point, Old Point Comfort, Fort Wool, and more. Other Hampton attractions include the Cousteau Society, Hampton Carousel, Ocean Eagle Charters, and St. John’s Church, among others.
For further information on Hampton, visit www.visithampton.com or call the Hampton Visitor Center at 757-727-1102 or 800-487-8778.