# Things to do in Virginia Beach **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776 "2011-08-23T14:20:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/1 "2011-08-23T14:20:25Z")
So who’s been to, or lives in, Virginia Beach? I’m headed there in the near future with my wife. I can find lots of stuff online I suppose, but I’m looking for the doper favorites so I can separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Favorite restaurants? Favorite touristy stuff? I enjoy blues music; if there’s that type of scene there. We’re fairly active in our late 40s, BTW. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/2 "2011-08-23T14:34:23Z")
Go see the old coast guard facility. It’s on the boardwalk, and they have a museum inside of sea rescue gear as well as at least one item that was salvaged from a ship that was wrecked locally. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/3 "2011-08-23T16:04:29Z")
There is a good aquarium. Bring or rent bikes to ride along the boardwalk. Lots of bars and restaurants. If you like fishing there is a big pier you can go out on for a few bucks. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/4 "2011-08-23T17:24:48Z")
If you like zoos, there is a small but nice one there. I thoroughly enjoyed it! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/5 "2011-08-23T17:40:29Z")
Well, when I was 20 I spent the whole summer in Virginia Beach, living with a bunch of other college students in a rented house. I got a job on the breakfast shift at Mr. Submarine, worked 5 am - 2 pm, slept on the beach the rest of the afternoon, and went out at night. Met a nice girl who I dated for about a year aftward. It was a great summer. That’s probably not much help to you. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/6 "2011-08-23T23:07:48Z")
Haven’t been to VB in awhile, but The Jewish Mother is a good restaurant/blues club, right down near the beach. Great for brunch, drinks. Never saw live music there but looks like a pretty active scene. Maybe a good starting point for ya. Pocahontas Pancake House is great for breakfast too, also right down on the strip. There was another place we went that was good, the name’s escaping me now, “Doc Something’s” in like a house right there near the water. Great food & service sorry, I’ll try and remember. :smack: If you have any interest in woowoo stuff, as I do, you’ve got the Edgar Cayce Center for Reasearch & Enlightenment right there, w/a good wierdo bookstore. 😉 They also do alot of live music events down on the boardwalk throughout the summer, which can be fun. As for the beach itself, my friends & I tended to prefer the northern part, kind of away from all the hustle. We usually could find parking in the residential area there. Nice area to live for the most part. ---
**Author:** ![mo50](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@mo50](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mo50)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/7 "2011-08-23T23:14:13Z")
Doc Taylor’s was the place I was thinking of, worth a look. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/8 "2011-08-29T18:18:51Z")
Well my VB weekend has come and gone. ☹ Thanks Irene for cancelling my plans. Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Hopefully I’ll be able to get up there sometime soon. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-to-do-in-virginia-beach/593776/9 "2011-08-29T18:54:14Z")
You had a chance to see a hurricane up close and missed it! VA Beach is my hometown so I don’t have much idea what the tourist do. When I’m there an want to get away from relatives I might: Go to Sandbridge (not an actual bridge as far as I know.) It is a more isolated beach area to the south. There is some kind of tram tour that goes into Back Bay park that is supposed to be nice. I’ve never done it. Or try Seashore state park. If you like camping near the beach with sand and flies, this is the place. The park is pretty cool with mile sof trails and a nature center. In the same area is Fort Story. There is a lighthouse there that is worth a trip. Not too far from Seashore state park is the Adam Thoroughgood House. They used to call this the “oldest house in America” but that apparently is not true. Still very old though. Downtown Norfolk has lots of attractions if you are tired of the beach. The Chrysler Museum, Douglas Macarther’s museum (or is it his tomb?), and the whole Nauticus area are worth visits.