Virginia Beach | Hampton Roads | Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce

For more information about vacationing in the city of Virginia Beach, please call the Visitor Information Center at 1-800-822-3224.

Helpful Links

The City of Virginia Beach: www.vbgov.com

Visitor Information Center: www.vbgov.com/visitors/

The history of Virginia Beach, goes back to the English colonists who landed at Cape Henry in April 1607 and established their first permanent settlement at Jamestown a few weeks later. In 1952, when 2 square mile resort Town of Virginia Beach became an independent city, followed by the rest of Princess Anne County with whom it was reunited and politically consolidated by mutual approval of residents to form a new independent city in 1963. Selecting the better-known name of the oceanfront strip area, Virginia Beach has since grown to become the most populated cities in Hampton Roads.

It’s easy to see why people are talking about Virginia Beach. Not only is it one of the best places to live in America, it’s also one of the best places to work. Virginia Beach is the 41st largest city in the United States, and in 2006 Money magazine ranked it among the 10 best big cities in America.

Its prime location along the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay makes it a popular destination for travelers and a beacon for people seeking a lifestyle that is rich with recreational, educational and professional opportunities. USA Today named it the best place to live in America in 2003.

Virginia Beach has 38 miles of shoreline, 79 miles of scenic waterways and 60 miles of biking trails. The city maintains 208 municipal parks encompassing 4,000 acres. A towering bronze sculpture of King Neptune flanks Neptune Park, one of three oceanfront parks.

Recreational offerings include swimming, surfing, sailing, scuba diving, horseback riding, fishing, canoeing, jet skiing,parasailing, tennis, and a dozen public golf courses.

The Virginia Beach metropolitan region has the largest concentration of military installations in the country, and its corporate employer base offers competitive salaries and a wealth of professional opportunities.

And, with the cost of living that is 70 percent that of Washington, D.C., it’s no wonder Virginia Beach attracts a highly skilled workforce to the city. In 2006, Forbes magazine named Virginia Beach among the nation’s 10 best cities to get a job.

The National Policy Research Council ranked Virginia Beach the most livable large city for women in 2004; and the FBI consistently ranks it as one of the
safest cities in the country. In 2008, it was ranked #2 on the Best 100 places to raise a family list by Best Life magazine, June/July 2008.