Norfolk. Virginia

With the world's biggest naval base, Norfolk's reputation as a rowdy port town filled with drunken sailors isn't surprising. Recently, the city has worked to clean up its image through development, gentrification and promoting its blossoming arts scene.

Norfolk is located in the Hampton Roads metropo area, named for the large natural harbor located at the entrance of Chesapeake Bay. The city is bound to the west by the Elizabeth River and to the north by the Chesapeake Bay. It also shares borders with Chesapeake to its south and Virginia Beach to its east. It's among the oldest cities in the Hampton Roads, and considered the historic, urban, financial, and cultural center of the area.

The city has a history as a strategic military and transportation town. The city also contains the corporate headquarters of the Norfolk Railway and Maersk Line Ltd, which manages the world's largest fleet of US-flag vessels. Norfolk has miles of riverfront and bayfront property, including beaches on the Bay. It is linked to its neighboring cities by a network of highways, bridges, tunnels, and bridge-tunnel complexes—the only bridge-tunnels in the US.