THe Port City of Norfolk is a great spot to spend a weekend!

NFK Tips:

Norfolk is a bit spread out so be sure to plan your travels out ahead of time to avoid backtracking across the area.
Virginia Beach neighbors Norfolk, check out a couple of top recommendations for the city at the bottom of this guide.
Visit hungry. Everything we ate in Norfolk was extraordinarily good!
Norfolk is just 1.5 hours from both The Outer Banks and Richmond—check out my guide to OBX here and RVA here.

Adventures & Ales Top Recommendations:

Codex: A wildly delicious restaurant in the heart of downtown Norfolk. I cannot emphasize enough how great everything was—the food was superb and portions were large, the cocktails were fantastic, and the team was super nice. Highly recommend!
The Veil Brewing Company: The Norfolk taproom of Richmond’s hype brewery The Veil has great beers and a ton of space. Lil Za Pizza is inside making delicious ‘za and they have a small patio out front that is dog-friendly. Stouts, Barleywines and Sours are what they do best here.
Explore the Chelsea District:
- Benchtop Brewing: A nice spot with a wide variety of beers. They have indoor and outdoor seating at this taproom and a location in Richmond.
- Smartmouth Brewing Company: A popular brewery with solid beers and frequent events. Ghost Kitchen food truck lives onsite for eats and they also have a taproom in Virginia Beach.
- The Birch: A great spot for craft beer, cider, mead, grilled cheese and charcuterie. They have a beautiful space and a small front patio.
- Grandiflora Wine Garden: A wine bar at an inn with a vegetarian food menu. The use of the word “garden” feels a bit strong here and the wine is very pricey.
Commune: A great spot for breakfast, lunch, coffee, or happy hour. The food here is fantastic and the team is very nice. They have indoor seating with coffee shop vibes and a small front patio. Commune also has a location in Virginia Beach right next to Esoteric.
- This is located in Norfolk’s NEON District, an area with street art and shops.
Handsome Biscuit: A fun old school style spot for sweet potato biscuits that are delicious.
Cure Coffeehouse: A cute spot downtown for coffee with a small food menu.
Reaver Beach Brewing: A solid brewery with a nice team. They have frequent food trucks and events and are dog-friendly inside and out. IPAs are what they do best here! They’re Norfolk taproom is a 3 minute drive from The Veil and they also have a space in Virginia Beach.

The Classic Tourist Spots Actually Worth Visiting:

Norfolk Botanical Gardens: Beautiful gardens to explore! Tickets are $16 and on Sundays they are dog friendly! They have a massive layout and it is fun to explore.
Check out the Elizabeth River Trail: This is a 10.5 mile long trail along the waterfront that is great for walking, running and biking.
American Rover Sunset Cruise: These daily sunset river cruises offer a relaxing journey down the Elizabeth River. The schooner operates via wind on the way out of the harbor and motor on the way back. There is a bar and a bathroom onboard plus a musician. Tickets are $40 Sunday-Thursday and $45 on Fridays and Saturdays. There are a few other companies offering various versions of river cruises as well.
Town Point Park: A waterfront park with frequent live music and events.

Virginia Beach & The Surrounding ARea:

Esoteric: A delightful beer bar and restaurant located in the Vibe Creative District. They have a great tap list, cocktails, and wine along with delicious food. This is a very cute spot with a great back patio as well.
Commonwealth Brewing Company: A fantastic brewery specializing in IPAs and Sours. They are just north of the airport and worth detouring for. Commonwealth also has coffee and tea in the morning and a pizza kitchen. Their taproom is a popular spot and they have a nice large outdoor space too.
Oozlefinch Beers and Blending: A Sour-focused brewery in Fort Monroe. Their taproom is right off Fort Monroe National Monument and the outside seating has some water views.
Coastal Fermentory: A great brewery in The Yard District of Newport News. Their Hazy IPAs are delicious and they have a nice taproom and small patio. A second taproom will be opening in Newport News soon.