We continue our search for inclusive communities where you don’t always expect to find them! A hotbed for Black, indigenous, and women’s history, Hampton, Virginia, brings all of its intersections to the forefront. And if you visit during June, you’ll also be able to see Hampton Roads celebrate Pride in the most unique and nautical way!
All Roads Lead to Hampton
Virginia is for lovers, and we’ve fallen for Hampton! It’s a place with an old soul, old charm, and old beauty. At the same time, this city looks to the future because it knows the potential of its communities based upon its history.
Hampton is a part of Coastal Virginia. In fact, its location is part of the reason why its history runs so deep. It was here that the first English settlers landed before heading further down the James River. There, they would establish their first permanent English settlement in the new world of the Americas, Jamestown. For the next 400 years, Hampton would continue to play a pivotal role in wars, African American history, the waterways, the space race, and beyond.
Finally, our time in Hampton, Virginia was made possible thanks to our friends at the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau. They generously hosted us during our time in Hampton and the greater Hampton Roads area. A big thank you to them for organizing our activities, meals, and accommodations so that we could share what this destination has to offer LGBTQ+ folks and others alike! Make sure to also check out the resources on their website. Ultimately, all opinions in this article are our own.
How to Get to Hampton, Virginia
Hampton is among the collective of cities that make up Hampton Roads. Located 75 miles South from Virginia’s capital of Richmond, the most convenient way of getting to and around Hampton is by car. You can also get there by way of Amtrak to the Newport News station.
If you’re coming from the north like we did, we suggest taking the scenic Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. It’s a series of suspension bridges and tunnels that connect mainland Virginia and the Eastern Shore. When you’re not beneath the bay, you have an amazing panoramic view of the Chesapeake unlike any other. And make sure you keep your eyes peeled – you might just see dolphins!
Downtown Hampton
The Landing at Hampton Marina Hotel
First and foremost, here’s where to stay! Located right in the quaint heart of Downtown Hampton, Virginia, this boutique hotel was our homebase. Outside our front door, unmatched views of the Hampton Marina awaited us. You can only get these views of Hampton from this hotel!
We had a king room on the penthouse level. It was a sleek, curated space with vaulted ceilings and a geometric window. It was almost like having an indoor balcony. The shower had Lockwood New York products with fresh scents of rosemary.
One of the best features is the Landing Hampton Marina Hotel’s pool! This absolutely stunning rooftop includes its own dedicated poolside bar, cabanas, and plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy either the water or the views. Self-parking is available in the garage next door for $12 a night with in and out privileges!
We dabbled in the breakfast buffet ($13.95 pp). The buffet selection included scrambled eggs, different kinds of sausages and bacon, oatmeal, fresh fruit, biscuits, gravy, and hashbrowns. It’s a great option if you’re looking for convenience. The views through the glass windows out to the Hampton Marina make for a scenic dining experience!
Hampton History Museum
After 400 plus years since its settlement, there’s a whole lot of history to catch up on. Fortunately, the Hampton History Museum was a perfect starting point for us to dive into the history of the area. All of the intersections of how meaningful this area is, came together for us there.
The museum’s coverage of the region starts well before colonial times and begins with its indigenous history. Long before European intervention, the land was home to the Kecoughtan Indians and the Powhatan people, led by Wahunsenacawh or Chief Powhatan. If his name sounds familiar, that’s because his daughter is one of the most well-known women from US indigenous history: Pocahontas. As we both continue to travel around the United States, it’s especially important to recognize indigenous land and remember the original stewards of our continent.
Afterward, we proceeded through the other eight galleries to learn more about Hampton from the 17th century to modern times. We learned of pirates in the region, what became of the city after it was burned down during the Civil War, the labor of African Americans in Hampton’s maritime industries and how they were able to thrive, and how contributions in Hampton shaped the scientific, cultural, and historical landscape of the country.
The Hampton Carousel
Built in 1920 for the Buckroe Beach Amusement Park, the Hampton Carousel is one of the few working merry-go-rounds left in the country. It’s also one of the few that has remained in the city in which it was built. You could say that’s awfully horse-some.
For a whopping $1.00, you too can ride a registered Virginia Historic Landmark. In our opinion, you’re never too old to ride a horse made of wood! Even the organ on the carousel still plays its original music to this day! The amount of detail painted onto every feature of the merry-go-round is captivating. We recommend observing them not when moving on the carousel – you might get a little dizzy! Truthfully, the amount of joy we felt taking a spin on the carousel was very reminiscent of childhood.
Virginia Air & Space Science Center
Hampton’s historical contributions aren’t just limited to the land and sea, but also air and space! The Virginia Air & Space Science Center serves as the visitor center for the NASA Langley Research Center. Air and space crafts are on display and suspended high above. Definitely so much more impressive than seeing them on your small screens at home!
The NASA Langley Research Center was also the setting and workplace of mathematicians Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson. They were literal human computers and did calculations long before the convenience of laptops and iPhones. Their contributions directly aided NASA in the space race, all thewhile facing discrimination and segregation as African-American women. Their story was made famous by the book and film of the same name, Hidden Figures.
The center is a perfect place for anyone curious about what’s above and beyond our world. While all of the exhibits were fascinating, some were even interactive. There was a gaming module that simulated operating a machine on Mars. Hey, maybe we should have a future career shift!
The Vanguard Brewpub & Distillery
What was once the Hampton National Guard Armory is now a brewery and restaurant, home to Caiseal craft cocktails & beer. The interior has vaulted ceilings with towering drapes and a deck that towers above the bar. To boot, there’s live music on the stage every Friday and Saturday night which makes for a really fun atmosphere!
Alex sipped on a Peach Apricot Creamsicle Ale – a blonde ale with peach and apricot puree and a touch of vanilla bean. If you’re practicing sobriety, fret not – Chris had their non-alcoholic hop water! To eat, we shared the smoked salmon dip. One of us got the mahi mahi sandwich and the other, the bulgogi bowl. The crust on the mahi was grilled to perfection and the flavors of the bulgogi bowl sang together on the tastebuds. Of course, we left not a crumb.
Fika Coffeehouse and Cafe
Named after the Swedish custom of Fika, Fika Coffeehouse and Cafe in Hampton, Virginia, is like a warm hug on Queens Way. The yellow brick facade is guaranteed to add sunshine to your morning. If you want to learn more about Fika or exploring Stockholm, Sweden as a foodie, check out our article on it!
This cozy coffee shop in downtown Hampton serves up creative coffee, scrumptious pastries, and many a smile. Paired with either a leek and parmesan or spinach and ricotta pastry, you’re destined for a great start to your morning!
We made a special point of visiting Fika because of their themed coffee flights, which rotate regularly. Their June Pride flight featured 4 different carefully crafted coffees that also served as an ode to the LGBTQ+ community. The flight included Love is Love (rose, vanilla, and strawberry with whipped cream), Larry Stylinson (vanilla and matcha blackberry cold foam), Girl in Red (dark chocolate and cherry with cherry cold foam), and Born This Way (lavender and vanilla with whipped cream).
Glazed Doughnuts
Glazed Doughnuts is where the donut aficionados go. Which means we had to head there for ourselves!
Baked daily with a selection of both yeast and cake doughnuts, these Hampton baked goods are a feast for the eyes and the stomach. With great restraint, we modestly chose a s’mores yeast doughnut and a chocolate caramel cake doughnut. They also have a generous vegan and gluten sensitive menu – rejoice, ye of dietary restrictions!
Our best recommendation is to preorder on their website or stop by early because doughnuts are first come first serve. Once they’re gone, they’re gone! Be sure to get your mitts on them before they sell out for the day!
Venture Kitchen & Bar
Venture Kitchen and Bar is the perfect place to satiate anyone’s picky palate in your group. Located on historic Queens Way, the menu is an electric collection of pizza, tacos, and other shareables. A choose your own venture, if you will!
We went for lunch and opted for their yellowfin tuna poke bowl, shovelhead lobster taco, and the shrimp enchilada taco. If you’ve still got room, hold out for their cookies and cream bread pudding if it’s on the special’s menu. Alex shamelessly ate almost the entire portion herself. Without a doubt, she would do it all over again.
Explore Fort Monroe
You might be thinking, “What’s so special about a fort?” or “That’s not really my thing. Do I really need to see that?” After our visit, we’ll be the first to tell you it’s so much more than just a fort. We promise there is something here for anyone to get excited about! If you love nature, coffee, architecture, or even live music, Fort Monroe is for you!
It goes without saying, Fort Monroe is a place for learning about military history and past wars. But that’s only scratching the surface. It’s specifically an important site for Black and African American history. It’s the site of two pivotal turning points in history that create a full circle: the site where the very first enslaved Africans landed in English North America which subsequently started slavery throughout the colonies, and it’s simultaneously the same site where enslaved African Americans seeking emancipation would later be protected as “Contrabands of War”.
What makes the Fort Monroe story even more full circle is that President Barack Obama designated it as a National Monument in 2011. To know that the first Black president was the one to federally protect is a powerful thought.
The Fort’s History
Firstly, Fort Monroe itself is the largest fort in the entire Western Hemisphere. It’s part of the United States’ 42 fort system and was intentionally made to be a blueprint for the forts created after it. Not only is it a monument within the National Park Service, it’s also a UNESCO world site due to its extensive and diverse past. Captain John Smith, Harriet Tubman, Abraham Lincoln, and Edgar Allen Poe are only a few of the noted figures who are part of the historical tapestry of the fort.
You can walk or bike around freely to explore the 500+ acres worth of grounds and beachfront or hop on a ranger-guided tour. If you’re wildlife lovers like us, you’ll be delighted to observe vibrant wildlife around the park! We saw ospreys, bats, and the goofy looking yellow-crowned night heron!
Firehouse Coffee
Do you take your coffee with a splash of history? This cozy cafe is not just located in any old firehouse. In fact, it’s in the US Army’s oldest firehouse because it was the very first.
Fortunately, the only fire here now is their selection of coffee brews, teas, and lemonades! But if you still want to beat the heat, you can always cool down with their lineup of ice cream flavors! We partook in a dirty chai and a lavender lemonade and had a lot of fun taking in all of the firehouse memorabilia!
Old Point Comfort
Just across from the fort on the southeast side and along the shoreline is a landmark that commemorates the advent of the long and painful history of slavery in Virginia and beyond. Old Point Comfort is the documented landing place of “20. and odd” enslaved African people in 1619 in the colony of Virginia. They were the very first enslaved Africans to land in English North America.
Not far from the commemoration plaque is a line of sand that trails off to face the Chesapeake. This line may seem like it leads to nowhere, but past the bay and the Atlantic Ocean, what’s on the other side of this horizon is the country of Angola. This African country was where the first Africans originated from before they were abducted and enslaved. There are plans for this area to become a full-scale memorial which means we’ll have to return to see it finished.
Grand Contraband Camp
Where Point Comfort marked the first landing of African slaves in English North America, the Grand Contraband Camp was where slavery would begin to come undone. After Virginia seceded from the Union, the Army maintained control of Fort Monroe, and escaping slaves sought refuge there. They would be labeled as “contraband”, and they would be settled in the Grand Contraband Camp, called Slabtown. There is an ongoing archaeological investigation to look for surviving evidence beneath Downtown Hampton between Lincoln Street and Armistead Avenue.
Algernourne Oak
Fort Monroe has as much natural history as it does human history. This Algernourne oak tree on Fort Monroe’s Parade Ground is estimated to be 500 years old. You can really only appreciate the scale of it and its tentacle-like branches by standing right underneath it. A reminder that people come and go throughout history, but nature will often be what bears witness to the change around it. This is also the sister tree of the Emancipation Oak, located on the campus of Hampton University.
Phoebus
Located in Hampton, Phoebus is an eclectic town-turned-neighborhood. It’s also listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is as vibrant as it is historic. Restaurants, murals, and cute shops line the streets, and we saw our favorite thing in abundance down Mellen Street: rainbows!
See Which Bookstore
Did you See Which way the book gays went? To See Which Bookstore, of course!
Not only do they have an impressive catalog of books, they uplift often underrepresented authors and topics like self-help, LGBTQ+, and neurodiversity. We spent some time browsing the youth and children’s book section in the back, and boy do we wish some of these titles were around when we were kids!
Our favorite section highlighted and sold banned books, both in local counties and across the country. It is wild for us to see so many books we grew up reading on this shelf. It makes us respect bookstore owners like Kristine that much more to make sure these titles stay accessible in Hampton, Virginia!
Mango Mangeaux
What do you get when you put mango preserves in a Shark Tank? You get a business empire, of course!
When three Black, women entrepreneurs came together to create ‘Mango Mango’ preserves, they took their success to ABC’s Shark Tank to strike a deal. They walked away from the show without a partnership, but they emerged with thousands of orders and notoriety that would launch their business to the next level.
Together, they formed Simply Panache Groupe which includes a boutique hotel, a spa, a venue, a lounge, a restaurant, and more! Mango Mangeaux is the bistro brainchild of these three entrepreneurs, and many dishes and drinks on their menu feature their famous preserves, like the mango iced tea or mango margarita. We’re happy to report that not only is this business successful after Shark Tank fame – it’s also delicious! We recommend splitting the Creamy Collard Green Dip for starters. For mains, Chris dined on the Chicken Fried Chicken and Alex ordered the Creole Stuffed Portobello.
And fellow vegetarians and vegans, you’re in for a treat! There’s no compromising of flavor with the plant-based and vegan dishes, meaning you’ll have an equally authentic and delicious Creole, Neosoul food experience. You have to do the Vegan Gumbo!
Sly Clyde Ciderworks
Sly Clyde Ciderworks is the self-proclaimed “Gayest Taproom in Hampton Roads” and our visit confirmed that! Before we even entered, a huge rainbow banner featuring the Sly Clyde logo greeted us. The inside was even more colorful! The taproom hung progress pride flag banners and a rainbow flower banner over the bar.
In our opinion, the best way to experience any cidery, brewery, or winery is to sample a variety of flavors so we ordered a flight of course. A cupcake baking tray of four 5 oz cider pours comprised our flight: Inkjet, Vitamin Sea, Cap’n Kushberry, and Sandbar. The bright and vibrant flavors persuaded Alex in ordering a full pint of Dark Pride of the Moon.
Sly Clyde’s really feels like it’s one of the focal points of the Hampton Roads community. One of the tables was occupied by a group of friends playing Dungeon and Dragons and folks with dogs were mingling at tables out on the back deck while a community market buzzed on the back lawn. They partner weekly with different food vendors and host rotating events like karaoke, trivia, and bingo! Among them is their collaboration with See Which – they have an ongoing boozy book club!
Phabulous Phoebus
Remember when we mentioned all of the rainbows? Annually in June, the town of Phoebus hosts its own Pride, Phabulous Phoebus Street Festival! It’s a Pride Festival with small business vendors, performers, music, and more! We’ll have to come back another time to celebrate!
Unfortunately, the timing didn’t work out for us to attend Phoebus Pride, but we saw signs of it all over town. But if you’re looking to celebrate Pride in Greater Hampton Roads, check out our article on attending Hampton Roads Pride!
Buckroe Beach
Green Wave Watersports
Two friends wanted to turn their love of the water and where they grew up into a profession, and Green Wave Watersports is their brand-new business venture. Head to one of Virginia’s beautiful beaches – Buckroe Beach – where Jason and Patrick and the rest of the attentive team will set you up for your own adventure on the Chesapeake Bay. You can choose between paddleboard or a single or tandem kayak. If you’re up for the challenge, they have their own coveted eFoil board for you to take a spin on!
As our luck would have it, the water turned particularly rough when we arrived for our kayak booking, but Jason made sure to set us up with the right gear to suit the occasion, switching out the sit-in kayaks for sit-on. We were a little nervous as neither of us have ever kayaked in a beach/ocean setting before but the Green Wave Sports team gave us direction, and Patrick set out on their jet ski near us in case we ran into any issues!
The experience exceeded our expectations! It was so fun to ride the swells of the waves, and to our absolute delight, a pod of dolphins thought it was just as fun to check us out! A playful pod of dolphins were within a few feet of us breaching the waves. Patrick even spotted a sea turtle! It was one of the most magical moments of our weekend!
Green Wave Watersports was nice enough to create a discount code for you all to use when booking an eFoil lesson, use code “itschrisandalex” for $20 off a single board lesson or $50 off a group lesson!
They give daily updates on their Instagram to let you know water conditions before you head out. Just make sure you bring a waterproof phone case, a pair of sunglasses, and water shoes if you choose!
Our Takeaways
After a few days of bliss on the Chesapeake, our time in Hampton came to a close. We loved learning about Hampton’s story because it’s an empowering one. It felt really impactful to be standing at the intersection of so much history. Learning how the local Black community was able to turn the beginnings of oppression into thriving, successful communities, getting the indigenous narrative, and seeing how women were able to make names for themselves when the odds were against them.
Personally, we would recommend at least three days to get a taste of what this city has to offer. It’s a perfect place to have a getaway weekend or a local staycation!
And finally, would we come back to Hampton, Virginia? Absolutely positively! We still need to do a sightseeing boat tour, camping, beach hopping, and many more eating and drinking opportunities! The city also serves as an ideal stepping stone to the rest of Coastal Virginia. There’s so much on the horizon in Hampton – we can’t wait to see what’s next!
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As a lifelong Hamptonian, thank you for visiting and sharing information on our amazing city. We love visitors – especially repeat visitors so please do come back!
I work for the Hampton Convention & Visitor Bureau and I loved reading about your experiences and viewing your many pictures. I’m thinking you visited when we were experiencing unusually hot weather – my sister and I went to Buckroe Beach then stopped by the Phoebus Pride event and whew, it was toasty after the cool ocean breezes. You’ve presented the City of Hampton in the very best way and I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit.
Thank you for this delightful directory of places to see in my hometown! And you are correct! There are still more things to see and do in Hampton. Please come back!
Great story, but you’re right, there’s so much more to see and do! I grew up coming to visit my grandparents here in Hampton. Now I’m lucky enough to live in their home and welcome my own grandchildren to visit!
Love love love your article ❤️
I have lived in Phoebus all my life. We take pride in the fact that Hampton has such a unique place in history. First from the sea first to the stars. I also love that Hampton is such a diverse city. I have grown up with people of every ethnicity from all over the world. Many who have chose to call Hampton home after spending time here. Thank you 😊 Hope you come back soon.
Wow! You’ve done an excellent job of capturing the essence of the city I grew up in. Thank you for this wonderfully written piece!