The Largest US City by Area — the Atlantic boardwalk, the first English landing in America at Cape Henry, the world's largest naval base next door, and a 35-mile stretch of Atlantic coast from boardwalk to wild barrier island
Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia and the largest US city by total area — a city of 460,000 that stretches 35 miles along the Atlantic coast, from the high-rise boardwalk resort district in the north to the wild Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park (accessible only by foot or boat) in the south. The Virginia Beach Boardwalk (3 miles, Atlantic Avenue) is the city's social spine — beach bars, seafood restaurants, the Virginia Aquarium, the Neptune statue, and an annual Concert Series (free outdoor music all summer). Cape Henry (First Landing State Park)…
The Virginia Beach area was the landing point for the Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery on April 26, 1607 — the first landing of the Virginia Company settlers who went on to found Jamestown. The Cape Henry Memorial marks this landing. The area remained rural and sparsely settled for three centuries — Virginia Beach was incorporated as a city only in 1952 and consolidated with Princess Anne County in 1963 to form the current vast city boundaries. The city's resort character developed in the early 20th century when the Norfolk & Western Railway began beach excursion service, and the board…