If you're a resident of the city of Hampton than you don't need to look very far for entertainment options. The downtown area offers everything from staple attractions like museums and shopping to festivals and events throughout the year. People come to the area for vacation or a conference with fitness gyms Toronto to Tulsa based and can always find something exciting to do with their down time. Here are some of the best options when you're exploring the downtown core no matter if you're a resident or visitor.

History buffs and those that love learning something new will find lots of attractions to suit them in downtown Hampton. Bring your whole family to the Virginia Air and Space Center or come and see the Historic Hampton Carousel, which is from the 1920s. You can also take a break from modern home design and contemporary bathroom vanities by stepping back on time at the Hampton History Museum or the Hampton University Museum. The latter is one of the oldest museums in the state and is the oldest African-American museum in the country. It was built in 1868 and has artifacts and art devoted to the African, Pacific Inlander, Asian, and Native American peoples.

Those that are more the type to spend their weekends outdoors participating in sports or working with gardening hand tools than staying cooped up inside might prefer taking part in one of the iPod walking tours offered by the city. This allows you to download the tour onto your mp3 player and then you can take a nice walk through downtown and learn about everything that you see. While your strolling through the streets you might also want to press the pause button on your tour and check out some of the great downtown shops and art galleries.

Hampton definitely likes to take advantage of its gorgeous location along Chesapeake Bay. If you want a chance to get out on the water you could spend the afternoon on the Miss Hampton Boat Tour or the Hampton Roads Charter. There are also a couple of festivals in the summer months to celebrate life along the water. Take a vacation from trading platinum bullion to head out to Bay Days in September or Celebrations by the Bay throughout the summer season.

If you're planning to leave the bottles and cloth diapers with the babysitter for the night and head out on the town than there are lots of great options that might interest you. There are several amazing dining options to start off your evening and you could finish it with a trip to the American Theatre or just take a walk down to the pier. There really is always something great to do in downtown Hampton.