One of the busiest of the east coast ports,
Norfolk
sits midway along the coast at the point where the Chesapeake Bay empties into the Atlantic Ocean. Virginia's only heavily industrial center, it is not a particularly pretty place, but it does have a rich maritime and naval heritage, as well as the Chrysler Museum, one of the nation's best art galleries. Fifteen miles east of Norfolk, along the open Atlantic, low-key
Virginia Beach
draws summer sun-seekers to the state's only real resort, surrounded by broad beaches and tidal marshlands.
The rest of Virginia's Atlantic coast is on its isolated and sparsely populated
Eastern Shore
, where the attractive little island town of
Chincoteague
serves as the headquarters of a wildlife refuge that straddles the Maryland border and forms part of the Assateague Island National Seashore.
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. The Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd.
Copyright © 2006 United States.biz
