Location: Norfolk
Top Things to do in Norfolk
The 10 Best Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Norfolk, Virginia (VA)
An early English settlement, Norfolk is filled with historic sites and monuments. Norfolk is also home to the oldest U.S. naval port, as well as the Battleship Wisconsin, which was in service from World War II through the Persian Gulf War. Locals and visitors head to Town Point Park for outdoor concerts and annual events such as the Bayou Boogaloo and Cajun Food Festival. Families enjoy relaxing in Norfolk Botanical Garden and touring the harbor on a 19th-century Mississippi riverboat.
Restaurants in Norfolk
1. Chrysler Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 978 reviews
Reviewed By CMDA - Danville, United States
Beautiful building with 220,000 square feet of exhibit space with an excellent collection of American and European artists and some timely current exhibitions. Strong showing of Hudson River School. Located in Ghent district which is well worth a stroll around.
2. Slover Library
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 60 reviews
Reviewed By deh99 - Norfolk, United States
Extensive collection, well-organized, great staff. Pretty good reading room with magazines and papers.
3. Virginia International Tattoo
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 19 reviews
The largest tattoo in the United States, the Virginia International Tattoo is an annual event that brings military bands from around the world to one spot in Norfolk, VA, to perform a spectacular show of music, majesty, and might! Presented annually in Norfolk, Virginia, the Virginia International Tattoo is an exhibition of marching bands, massed pipes and drums, drill teams, Scottish dancers, choirs and more. Each year, a cast of over 900 artists from several countries creates an unforgettable spectacle under one roof for four breathtaking performances. The Virginia International Tattoo is the largest show of its kind in the United States.
4. Nauticus
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,062 reviews
Nauticus inspires and educates with engaging & interactive experiences that celebrate our connections with today's maritime world. We are a contemporary museum that uses the natural setting of Norfolk's harbor to showcase global maritime commerce and the world's largest Navy. Touch a shark, learn about marine life, explore naval history, catch a 3D educational movie, and climb aboard a battleship. Memorial Day – Labor Day: Open Daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Rest of the year: Closed Mondays, Open Tuesday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday, Noon – 5 p.m. Nauticus and the Battleship Wisconsin are closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Please call for other holiday hours.
Reviewed By BethWI - Muskego, United States
We came here with our four kids, ages 7,9,12, and 13. We did a tour of the Battleship, but this review is for the Nauticus museum part. The kids enjoyed this science and technology museum. They were able to man a robotic arm to pick up a ball and put it into a bowl. They also were able to man a seabot in a tank to pick up a ball. They could touch a shark and horseshoe crab. There were a few aquarium tanks with other ocean life. Plenty to learn, touch, and experience here. They love these types of hands on activities. We spent about two hours in Nauticus. My kids could have stayed longer, but we were all getting hungry.
5. MacArthur Memorial
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 303 reviews
Memorial to the five-star US Army General who served in three major wars: WWI, Korea and WWII.
Reviewed By JohnKBachmann - Port Orange, United States
With both the museum and mausoleum for Five Star General MacArthur and his wife and father Three Star General Arthur the Memorial commemorates their family. Located in downtown Norfolk it is a excellent presentation of their lives with personal momentous, honors and of course the final resting place for both the General and his wife, Jean. With three buildings on the square a visit covers the ability to research their lives as well as the aforementioned museum and mausoleum.
6. Naro Expanded Cinema
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 62 reviews
7. Moses Myers House
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 39 reviews
Reviewed By steven22222018 - Seattle, United States
I had three knowledgeable ladies Cindy Karen and Mary who all combined to give me a complete tour of the house and a feeling for the Jewish life in revolutionary times I was lucky to be there at closing time on a dreary rainy Sunday where I had these three knowledgeable women as My personal tour guides I am from Seattle and being of Jewish family was interested in the life of a Jew before the civil war Especially in the south. I wish I had more time here in Norfolk but I have to drive back to seattle Monday. I find that southern people are more friendly than we are in seattle and hope I didn’t ask too many minutiae questions! Ladies it was a pleasure The only comment that I would add would be to put more light in the rooms so that you could see some of the detail better but then again I got a Picky!
8. Virginia Symphony
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Recognized as one of the nation's leading regional symphony orchestras, the Virginia Symphony has enriched the cultural life of the Hampton Roads community for more than nine decades. Recent great achievements of the Virginia Symphony under the baton of Music Director JoAnn Falletta include five compact disc recordings for national release, a performance of Peter and the Wolf which was aired on National Public Radio, and groundbreaking performances at the Kennedy Center and New York's Carnegie Hall. Performances are held in various venues: Chrysler Hall, Norfolk, Sandler Center for the Performing Arts, Virginia Beach, Regent University, Virginia Beach, Harrison Opera House, Norfolk, St Bede Catholic Church, Williamsburg
9. MacArthur Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 168 reviews
The MacArthur Center shopping mall in Norfolk, VA. hosts shops and restaurants including the area's premier Dillard's department store. At our Norfolk shopping center we have shops you won't find anywhere else in the area like Lush, Pottery Barn, and The Art of Shaving. The mall is off Interstate 264, just west of Norfolk State University.
Reviewed By retireeVancouver - Vancouver, Canada
We referred among ourselves to this shopping mall as "Dillards" which is the anchor department store. The mall is very convenient for cruisers to walk to from the cruise terminal. Perhaps it is called "MacArthur Center" because it is located across the street from the swanky MacArthur Memorial which was once City Hall, now restored. The Moses Myers House is on the other side of the mall on Freemason Street while the historic St. Paul's Episcopal Church is located at its parking garage entrance on Cumberland Street. This modern 3 level A/C mall provided a welcome relief from the outdoor heat. Shoppers will find a variety of their familiar chain clothing stores in this mall. Escalators whip visitors quickly up to the 3rd level food court and WC, located closer to the Freemason Street entrance. There seemed to be plenty of undercover parking - perhaps with a charge. At street level, we also enjoyed looking at the mall's 16 display windows each filled with an important event from Virginia's 400 year history, from 1624 to present day. This display called Windows on History was very interesting for me as a visitor and someone unfamiliar with the history of the locale. The timeline was continuous along the length of these windows on City Hall Avenue. Individual windows had photos of important people and buildings, quotes from important personages, or copies of documents. I liked the display about the revolutionary times with a picture of Lord Dunmore who had shot the cannonball that still remains in St. Paul's Church. I found this shopping mall a pleasure to visit. Its proximity to core attractions in Norfolk was a definite plus as I could use my time in visiting the attractions, not getting to them.
10. Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 107 reviews
Reviewed By carmenaA9014PP
Fantastic pictures, displays and objects from the US and the Vietnamese relating to that time. There are ship models, clothing exhibits, All types of memorabilia from naval personnel. There are recordings from interviews with Vietnam veterans.
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