Newport News: where American aircraft carriers are born

On Chesapeake Bay in Virginia, Newport News is home to the largest and most active military shipyard in the entire western hemisphere.

A private car remains useful for moving between the city's various distant neighborhoods.

The Mariners' Museum, among the largest maritime museums in the United States, displays wrecks, models of historic ships and maritime artifacts gathered from around the world.

A few minutes away, the Newport News Shipbuilding shipyard has built nuclear aircraft carriers for the United States Navy since as far back as 1886.

Walking along the coast, you reach Newport News Park, among the most extensive city parks in the eastern United States, with wooded trails and artificial lakes.

In the evening, the downtown waterfront comes alive with seafood restaurants with views of the broad Chesapeake Bay.

The Newport News Shipbuilding yard, founded in 1886 by a railroad magnate, remains the only shipyard in the United States capable of building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, a strategic advantage fundamental to American defense.

The Mariners' Museum also houses remains recovered from the seafloor of the USS Monitor, the protagonist of the first battle between ironclad warships in naval history in 1862.