The flash of Florida is fun, but sometimes you want a break that’s a little more laid-back. Virginia Beach, Virginia, could be this new happy place. Growing from a tiny resort town to a modern metropolis with about half a million people, this US Navy town offers pockets of community creativity, ecotourism sensibility and seafood succulence.
Sink into beach culture
It’s billed as the longest pleasure beach in the world at 56 kilometres, with a boardwalk that’s almost five kilometres – on Virginia Beach, you have room to roam. Park yourself in a lounger and let the breeze settle into your soul, or find a chair at one of the many beach cafés.
Sitting still is not a requisite, however. You can enjoy beach bliss, but you’ll also find a vivacious oceanfront culture, particularly during peak season, from late May to early September. An exceptional concert series always draws a crowd – this is a big town for live music. Cultural events fill the calendar, including art shows, car rallies, food and wine festivals, and outdoor movies, even the Jackalope action sports festival. Fall’s Neptune Festival takes over the boardwalk with artisans, music, sand sculptures, athletics and regattas.
Play to your creative side
The city’s pedestrian-friendly ViBe District – an artistic enclave just a few blocks in from the beach at 18th Street – is home to artists and artisans, leather smiths and candle-makers, graphic artists and marketers, baristas and bakers. Explore the fashion boutiques for jewellery and vintage clothing, and stop for sustenance at hot spots like Java Surf Cafe & Espresso Bar, the Beach Bully BBQ or Commune restaurant.
There are sculptures and murals everywhere you look, including painted parking meters and utility boxes. Poking around can take an hour or all day – whatever you have time for – and offers farmers’ markets, artist workshops, street fairs and music. Local artists are also featured in rotating exhibitions at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, in the ViBe’s northwest corner.
Discover maritime agritourism
There are few things more relaxing than being out on the water. And one of the most intriguing places to do this is just outside Lynnhaven Bay, on tour with Pleasure House Oysters. Oysterman Chris Ludford grows and harvests oysters on leased marshland along the Lynnhaven River by the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and takes small groups out on his boat for an hour or two of aquaculture immersion. It’s an educational, behind-the-scenes look at the intricacies of oyster farming, with everything managed by hand.
The Lynnhaven oyster is famous – big and salty, fat and firm. Bivalves from this region fed entire communities a few hundred years ago and were coveted by European royalty for more than a century. Today, Ludford supplies oysters to restaurants and will shuck a few right off the side of the boat for you. After the tour, sit on the patio at Chick’s Oyster Bar, one of the original waterfront seafood shacks.
Drink in the beverage scene
The beach and a beverage go hand in hand, even more so at one of the numerous distilleries and breweries throughout the Virginia Beach region.
Tarnished Truth Distilling, in the basement of the historic Cavalier Hotel, will walk you through their distilling process before sitting you down before a dazzling flight of bourbons, each one more subtle than the last. After which, you can enjoy a cocktail in the hotel’s storied Raleigh Room. If your tastes run to sour ales, Italian pilsners or bourbon-barrel stouts, stop at Aslin Beer Co., an East Coast craft brewery with a new Virginia Beach location. Taste your way through a flight or two, but stick around for a snack on the colourful outdoor patio. And if there was a Virginia Beach signature drink, it would be the Orange Crush, a mix of vodka, orange liqueur, lemon-lime pop and fresh orange juice. Find the basis of this ready-made at Waterman Spirits, makers of organic, coral-filtered vodkas.
When you go
Virginia Beach is a foodie favourite. Step out to these top spots for superb, healthy dining:
Orion’s Roof at the top of the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront hotel delivers Asian fusion, particularly sushi and sashimi in the Japanese-Peruvian Nikkei tradition.
Tides Coastal Kitchen inside the Delta Marriott Hotel is the gathering place for sunset cocktails overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, followed by the freshest seafood.
Becca Restaurant & Garden in the Cavalier Hotel features modern American cuisine via its local and seasonal menu. beccavb.com
Aloha Snacks is best for breakfast, offering a modern take on traditional Hawaiian food with Asian and Southern influences. alohasnacksvb.com
Moxy Virginia Beach Oceanfront is perfect for the young-at-hearts, whether you’re wandering in for cocktail hour or checking in for the weekend. tinyurl.com/25y5hsk5
