A tour of Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world, shows how the ships, the sailors and the harbor shape this Navy town on the water. About 231,000 people live here, in a Hampton Roads metro of nearly 1.8 million. Virginia Beach is about 20 miles away and Richmond about 95.
Visitors head to Nauticus and Battleship Wisconsin, the Chrysler Museum of Art, the Botanical Garden and the Virginia Zoo, and walk the Elizabeth River Trail. The NEON District has public art, Ghent and Freemason are the neighborhoods for restaurants and old houses, and Ocean View has a beach. Costs run about at the national norm. Violent crime is above the national average, higher in parts of Berkley and east of downtown, so stay in the busy waterfront, Ghent and Freemason after dark. Flooding is the long-term story. The city sits just a couple of meters above sea level, nuisance tidal flooding is frequent and hurricane season runs June to November.
