Portsmouth Attractions

Book a Portsmouth hotel, where Walter Sir Raleigh first landed spuds and tobacco from the New World, Henry VIII’s Mary Rose sank and Dickens was born. To paraphrase one-time resident Arnold Schwarzenegger: you’ll be back.

Historic Portsmouth

At the Royal Navy Historic Dockyards you can board Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory. The Portsmouth City Museum is home to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle memorabilia. Why? Elementary, my dear Watson: he wrote two of his Sherlock Holmes novels here.

Art and museums in Portsmouth

There’s contemporary art, talks and screenings at the Aspex Gallery. The D-Day Museum is dedicated to the events of 6 June 1944, the date of the greatest seaborne invasion in history that embarked from Portsmouth.

Quirky things to do in Portsmouth

From the Spinnaker Tower there are 25-mile panoramic views through floor-to-ceiling windows across the Solent. It also has a glass viewing floor that’s the highest in the world. For even braver souls, Dark Encounters ghost walks through the historic city features costumed historical characters regaling gruesome tales. At the city’s Blue Reef Aquarium you can see tropical sharks in an underwater viewing tunnel.

Events in Portsmouth

City skies are darkened by hundreds of swooping flying objects at the Portsmouth International Kite Festival on Southsea Common in August. If you book your Portsmouth hotel in July, catch Portchester Castle’s Last Night of the Proms or take the kids to the Teddy Bears Beach Party held by the Blue Reef Aquarium.

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