Bronze mermaids welcome passengers to Norfolk. Scattered by the dozens through the streets for a quarter of a century, these sculptures painted by local artists have become the city's emblem, a maritime wink from a city that lives off the sea in all its forms: merchant port, shipyards and the largest naval base in the world. For cruisers, the best news fits in one sentence: here, everything can be done on foot.

A terminal right downtown

Ships dock at the Half Moone Cruise Center, on the Elizabeth River, literally attached to downtown — the building even shares its pier with the Nauticus maritime museum. No shuttle is needed: you walk through the terminal doors and you are already in the city, which remains rare on the U.S. East Coast. Here is what awaits a short distance away:

A steel giant at the pier

The USS Wisconsin is impossible to miss: 270 metres of battleship moored next to the terminal, one of the largest ever built by the U.S. Navy, a veteran of the Pacific, Korea and the Gulf. The visit, self-guided or with an audio guide, takes you from the forecastle to the passageways, beneath turrets that each weigh more than a city block's building. The adjoining Nauticus museum completes the picture with its interactive exhibits on navigation, weather and the naval power of Hampton Roads — children love to linger here, and you can easily spend two hours without noticing the time go by. Wear good shoes for the battleship deck: distances on board are surprising, and the passageways must be earned. Military history buffs will continue on to the MacArthur Memorial, where the general is buried beneath the rotunda of the former city hall, surrounded by his archives, his limousine and his famous embroidered cap.

Art and old streets

A complete change of atmosphere at the Chrysler Museum, where admission is free: European and American paintings, antiquities and above all one of the richest glass collections on the continent, extended by a studio where glassblowers shape their pieces in front of the public at set times. On the way back, the Freemason district lines up cobbled streets, 19th-century homes and brick churches beneath the magnolias. This is Norfolk's original heart, elegant and shady, perfect for a walk after a plate of blue crab at Waterside or on Granby Street, the restaurant strip. Along the way, have fun counting the mermaids: each sculpture is different, painted or covered in mosaic, and residents will gladly point out their favourite — it is a conversation starter that never fails.

The navy on show

Those who want to grasp the scale of the port will board a harbour sightseeing cruise: aircraft carriers, destroyers and hospital ships parade along the base, the stage for a constant ballet of tugboats and helicopters. A simple ferry also links the two banks of the Elizabeth River to Portsmouth, for a few dollars and a fine view of the shipyard cranes; the crossing takes about ten minutes and lets you, if you feel like it, stroll through old Portsmouth before returning on the next boat. At the end of the day, as the ship pulls away from the pier, the city can be summed up in a glance: bronze mermaids, grey hulls and old bricks. A port call with no downtime, at sidewalk level, that makes you want to come back to explore the rest of Chesapeake Bay.