Virginia is a vast state full of history and diverse lifestyles,

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A state of great pride and long memory, Virginia has both modern cities that look towards the future and whole towns just devoted to remembering the past. Head to Richmond where the sleek downtown skyscrapers are surrounded by historic neighborhoods and monuments. Visit Gettysburg where it's the Civil War that attracts attention. With so much to see and do, Virginia is a popular place to visit year round, so book your flight and rent a car well in advance to be sure you get the best deal.

While hospitality and natural beauty typify nearly anywhere in Virginia, each city does have its own special characteristics that make it stand out. At Virginia Beach, that is the wonderful beach resort atmosphere. When you're in Richmond it's the merging of Civil War history with big-city culture. Williamsburg is famous for its historic downtown known as Colonial Williamsburg while Alexandria is right across the river from our nation's capitol.

The ocean plays a major role in Virginia's economy. Southern Virginia's beach towns are always a hit with families and summer vacationers, offering sandy beaches and warm ocean water. In addition, the naval station in Norfolk is the largest in the world, with many large naval ships harbored in the bay.

Historically, Virginia had a strongly agricultural economy, but over the past decades this has changed into an economy built on technology manufacturing. Some of the largest employers, however, are federal agencies. The Pentagon is the most famous of these, but military bases like those at Quantico and Fort Belvoir make Virginia home to more active military than any other state in the nation.

Situated between the metropolitan areas of the north and the natural beauty of the south, Virginia's east coast location puts it close to other diverse and fascinating states. To the south, North Carolina is famous for its beaches and its universities. Just a short distance north past Maryland, see the Colonial history and cultural centers of Pennsylvania. Head southwest to explore the mountain ranges and musical legacy of Tennessee.Virginia is divided into 95 counties and 39 independent cities, which both operate the same way since independent cities are considered to be county-equivalent.[89] This method of treating cities and counties equally is unique to Virginia, with only four other independent cities in the United States outside Virginia.[90] Incorporated towns exist and operate under their own town governments, but are also part of a county. There are also hundreds of other unincorporated communities within the counties. Virginia does not have any further political subdivisions, such as villages or townships.

Virginia has 11 Metropolitan Statistical Areas; Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, and Richmond-Petersburg are the three most populated. Richmond is the capital of Virginia, and its metropolitan area has a population of over 1.2 million people.[91] As of 2008, Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the Commonwealth, with Norfolk and Chesapeake second and third, respectively.[92] Norfolk forms the urban core of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, which is home to over 1.6 million people and the world's largest naval base, Naval Station Norfolk.[91][93] Suffolk, which includes a portion of the Great Dismal Swamp, is the largest city by area at 429.1 square miles (1,111 km2).[94]Although it is not incorporated as a city, Fairfax County is the most populous locality in Virginia, with over one million residents.[95] Fairfax has a major urban business and shopping center in Tysons Corner, Virginia's largest office market.[96] Neighboring Loudoun County, with the county seat at Leesburg, is both the fastest-growing county in the United States and has the highest median household income ($107,207) as of 2007.[97][98] Arlington County, the smallest self-governing county in the United States by land area, is an urban community organized as a county.[99] The Roanoke area, with a population of 292,983, is the largest Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Virginia.