From the moment they arrive in Hampton, visitors find the city very different from her neighbors. The clean, glistening waterfront, the Virginia Air & Space Center seemingly poised for flight, the eclectic shops of Phoebus, Downtown and Coliseum Central, the history of Fort Monroe and Hampton University, and the serenity of the Chesapeake Bay are features that set Hampton apart. And in 2009, visitors to Hampton will find even more to enjoy.
Hampton has just launched a series of iPOD walking tours that interpret the city’s historic past while helping visitors discover present gems. The tours’ content includes a mix of history, actor-voiced quotes and commentary, period and relevant music, historic images, video, and Hampton “insider information.” There are five total routes: Downtown Hampton, Virginia Air & Space Center, Hampton University campus, Fort Monroe/Phoebus/Veterans Affairs Medical Center and Victoria Boulevard/Little England/Olde Wythe.
The Hampton Roads Convention Center boasts 344,000 square feet of versatile convention and exhibit space with enough room for 14,000 delegates. The center’s spacious 108,000-sq.-ft. exhibit hall divides into three sections and the grand ballroom provides banquet seating for more than 2,000 people. Anchored by a John Q. Hammons Embassy Suites hotel, the center is poised for a number of first-class events and conventions in 2009 and the years ahead.
Just blocks from the Hampton Roads Convention Center and the majority of Hampton’s hotel inventory, construction on the Peninsula Town Center is underway. The center will replace Hampton’s Coliseum Mall with a new lifestyle activity hub featuring shopping and dining unique to the Hampton Roads region. The PTC is scheduled to open in 2009.
The Power Plant of Hampton Roads retail and entertainment complex, developed by the Cordish Company, is now open and ready for business. McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon, and Saddle Ridge Rock N’ Country Saloon provide great nightlife opportunities for those looking to unwind while in Hampton.
The Cousteau Society has made Hampton its U.S. Headquarters, opening an attraction featuring a display of Cousteau Society photography, models of the Alcyone and the Calypso, artifacts from their underwater marine exploration programs, and gift shop. The attraction is located on the Downtown Hampton waterfront and is free.
The Virginia Air & Space Center recently opened Space Quest: Exploring the Moon, Mars & Beyond! The gallery features giant planets floating overhead. Visitors enter the Space Gallery through a Mars Transport Module, a three-minute simulation of space travel that represents an eight-month trip to the red planet. Passengers exit the transporter and are greeted by a number of interactive displays, actual space vehicles, and large video projections of dynamic flyovers of the moon and Mars. The center also features over 100 hands-on exhibits, suspended aircraft, and a 3-D IMAX Theater.
The Space Quest: Exploring the Moon, Mars & Beyond is a perfect compliment to the center’s Adventures In Flight gallery. This gallery highlights the story of the Wright Brothers told through interactive exhibits. A Commercial and Civil Aviation area features a full-size section of a Boeing aircraft, a Test Flight Pre-Show Theater, Flying Lab simulator and a “Day in the Life of a Suitcase.”
Hampton University, founded in 1868, is a short walk from the downtown area. Hampton University Museum maintains a collection of more than 1,200 cultural artifacts and traditional and contemporary works of art. Visitors can enjoy six National Historic Landmarks by self-guided walking tour, including Emancipation Oak, under whose limbs the Emancipation Proclamation was first read to Hampton citizens.
Explore Civil War history at the Casemate Museum on Fort Monroe. Located within the fortress walls, the Casemate Museum traces Fort Monroe’s history in Hampton Roads. The attraction is free and the view of the harbor is spectacular!
In addition to several free attractions, Hampton ups the ante with the Hampton Day Pass Value Card. Accessible at the Hampton Visitor Center, the free pass provides shopping and dining discounts at locations throughout the city. For a free Hampton visitor guide, special event information, and assistance in planning your Hampton getaway, go to www.visithampton.com or call 800-800-2202. |
