Newport News stretches along the northern shore of the James River on the Virginia Peninsula and has been defined by shipbuilding for over a century. Newport News Shipbuilding, now part of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the only yard in the United States that builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and the military presence shapes the city's economy and culture. It is not a tourist town by nature, but it has a couple of attractions that are genuinely worth your time.
The Mariners' Museum and Park is the standout. It holds one of the largest maritime collections in the Western Hemisphere, and the centerpiece is the USS Monitor Center, where the remains of the Civil War ironclad are being conserved in an enormous tank. Watching the painstaking conservation work through the viewing windows is fascinating. The surrounding park has five miles of trails around Lake Maury, which makes for a pleasant walk or bike ride.
The Virginia Living Museum combines a zoo, aquarium, and science center focused on Virginia's native wildlife, and it is well done, particularly the outdoor boardwalk through a recreated Chesapeake Bay habitat. The city's parks along the James River are underrated, especially Huntington Park and its beach, and at the north end Newport News Park — 8,000 acres of woods, lakes and a preserved Civil War battlefield — is one of the largest municipal parks in the country. Newport News is part of the Hampton Roads metro area, so Norfolk, Virginia Beach, and the Colonial Williamsburg area are all within easy reach.