Newport News

The Mariners' Museum and Park, also known as America’s National Maritime Museum, is dedicated to all things nautical and maritime history. Established by Archer Milton Huntington and Homer L. Ferguson in the 1930s, the museum explores the history of seafaring from the age of European exploration to the modern-day United States Navy. The museum is home to the largest nautical library in the western hemisphere and features over 35,000 maritime pieces in a variety of fascinating exhibits, including antique vessels, models of ships, ancient documents, and paintings. The museum explores the history of seafaring.

100 Museum Dr, Newport News, VA 23606, Phone: 757-596-2222

Hailed as the jewel in the crown of the state, the Virginia Living Museum is a combination of a botanical garden, an animal sanctuary, an aquarium, a science center, and a nature park that showcases the fauna, flora and natural beauty of the state of Virginia. The interactive center features a wide range of exhibits, displays, and hands-on activities for visitors of all ages, from habitats for animals like red wolves, otters, bobcats, and bald eagles to observing the night sky in the state-of-the-art digital planetarium theater. The center features a Butterfly Garden, a Conservation Garden, and Green Living House, which house an extensive array of local flora and native plants from Virginia. Other attractions include self-guided tours of the natural gardens and the boardwalk.

524 J Clyde Morris Blvd, Newport News, VA 23601, Phone: 757-595-1900

The U.S. Army Transportation Museum is dedicated to collecting, preserving, exhibiting the history of transportation in the U.S. Army by showcasing transportation-related equipment, vehicles, and memorabilia. Located on the grounds of Fort Eustis in Newport News, the museum boasts an extensive collection of over 7,000 artifacts and 1,000 exhibit props, ranging from helicopters, planes, and landing craft to jeeps, trucks, hovercraft, and trains. Signature items in the collection include the only surviving hovercraft to see combat and the single surviving gun truck from the Vietnam War, as well as the first helicopter to fly at the South Pole.

300 Washington Blvd, Fort Eustis, VA 23604, Phone: 757-878-1180

Newport News Park is an 8,000-acre park with two freshwater reservoirs and one of the largest city-run parks in the United States. The natural oasis is home to a broad diversity of fauna and flora, including lush woodlands, flowering meadows, and lush wetlands, along with native wildlife such as beavers, otters, deer, raccoons, and foxes. Recreational activities and facilities include a golf course, a five-star archery range, a horse show arena with a stage, a disc golf course, a ropes and initiative course, and over 30 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Newport News Park is open daily from sunrise to sunset.

13560 Jefferson Ave, Newport News, VA 23603, Phone: 757-886-7912

Recommended Activities for Families

Based at the Mariners’ Museum and Park, the USS Monitor Center is one of the most famous ships in history. The iron-hulled steam-powered warship was built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War and played a vital role in several decisive battles during the war. Today, visitors can explore the ship on guided tours and partake in several interactive activities such as walk on the deck of a full-scale replica of a Monitor and take part in a battle in the state-of-the-art high-technology battle theater. Self-guided and guided tours of the vessel are available, and the attraction is open year-round.

100 Museum Dr, Newport News, VA 23606, Phone: 757-596-2222, (website link)

Located in Huntington Park Beach, the Virginia War Museum is dedicated to documenting American military history through several collections of unusual historical antiques dating back to 1775. The museum houses exhibitions and displays featuring weapons, vehicles, personal artifacts, uniforms, documents, posters, and other U.S. military-related items from 1775 through the present. Signature displays include a piece of the outer wall from Dachau Concentration Camp and the Berlin Wall, and photographic and articles exhibits such as Marches Toward Freedom and Women at War. The museum hosts a variety of evening programs and special events throughout the year.

9285 Warwick Blvd, Newport News, VA 23607, Phone: 757-247-8523

Lee Hall or Lee Hall Mansion is one of the last remaining antebellum homes on the Virginia Peninsula and an excellent example of Victorian architecture. Built between 1851 and 1859, the mansion was home to prominent resident Richard Decauter Lee and has been beautifully restored to its former glory to stand as a house museum that takes visitors back in time to the mid-Victorian era. The historic brick plantation house also served as the Confederate headquarters of Genera Magruder and General Johnston and boasts a range of exciting exhibits and period antiques. Visitors can enjoy guided tours of the house and grounds to learn more about the historical relic.

163 Yorktown Rd, Newport News, VA 23603, Phone: 757-888-3371

Attractions for Couples

Forming part of the Christopher Newport University, the Ferguson Center for the Arts has been firmly established as a shining light for all Virginia performing arts fans. Since opening in 2004, the center has hosted more than 2 million people and continues to draw patrons of the arts from both near and far. The center encompasses 3 separate and distinct concert halls starting with the Diamondstein Concert Hall which can seat 1725 guests, the 453-seat Peebles Theatre and the intimate Studio Theatre with seats just 200. There is always something on the go at the center and you can find a list of performances and buy on-line tickets on their website.

Ferguson Center for the Arts, 1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News, VA 23606, 757 594 8752

Historic Endview is an 18th-century home that highlights the historical and cultural significance of the area. Built in 1769, Historic Endview was the former home of Dr. Humphrey Harwood Curtis, where he began to run his medical practice before the home was turned into a hospital during the Confederate era. Today, the house is a museum that stands as an informative exhibit of colonial and Civil War life, and visitors can explore the house on guided tours and learn more about life during the Antebellum era.

362 Yorktown Rd #1017, Newport News, VA 23603, Phone: 757-887-1862, (website link)

Located in Victory Landing Park, the Newport News Victory Arch is a monument built in 1919 in honor of those who served in the American armed forces during wartimes. The arch was reconstructed in 1962, and an eternal flame that was donated by the American Legion was added to the arch on Memorial Day in 1969. Today, the Newport News Victory Arch serves as a memorial with the continually burning eternal flame for all the men and women of the armed forces.

West Ave, Newport News, VA 23607