This city is part of the Port of Hampton Roads. It is a bustling trade center and has many historic, cultural, and resort areas nearby to attract the tourist. Harbor tours depart from Norfolk's downtown waterfront.

In 1682, the General Assembly bought from Nicholas Wise, a pioneer settler, 50 acres on the Elizabeth River for "ten thousand pounds of tobacco and caske." By 1736, the town that developed was the largest in Virginia. On January 1, 1776, Norfolk was shelled by the British and later burned by the colonists to prevent a British takeover. The battle between the Merrimac and the Monitor in Hampton Roads in March 1862 was followed by the fall of the city to Union forces in May of that year. In 1883, the first shipment of coal to the port by the Norfolk and Western Railway (now Norfolk Southern) began a new era of prosperity for the city.

Norfolk and Portsmouth are connected by bridge tunnels and a pedestrian ferry. Norfolk houses the largest naval facility in the world. It is also headquarters for the United States Navy's Atlantic Fleet and NATO's Allied Command Atlantic. Norfolk has shipbuilding and ship repair companies, consumer and industrial equipment manufacturers, and food-processing plants. The city ships coal, tobacco, grain, seafood, and vegetables. It is also the region's cultural center, home to the Virginia Opera, Virginia Symphony, Virginia Waterfront International Arts Festival, and Virginia Stage Company.

Old Dominion University (1930), Virginia Wesleyan College (1967), Norfolk State University (1935), and Eastern Virginia Medical School (1973) are located here. This area is also the headquarters for year-round resort activities. Within a 50-mile radius are ocean, bay, river, and marsh fishing and hunting; nearby there are 25 miles of good beaches. The 17.6-mile-long Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel between Norfolk and the Delmarva Peninsula opened in 1964; toll for passenger cars is $10, including passengers.