Portsmouth
From World travel guide
If you are interested in British Naval history or British history in general, Portsmouth (pronounced "ports-muth") is well worth a visit. It is on the south coast of England, close to Southampton and The Isle of Wight. Population 190,000.
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Understand
It is has a number of beaches and a Dunkirk memorial, but by far the biggest attraction is the Historic Dockyard.
Portsmouth has a university, so it has a largish population of younger people (and several internet cafes).
Get in
Portsmouth can be reached by train from London, by motorway from anywhere in England and by ferry from France and Spain.
By plane
Nearest airport is Southampton Airport [1], located around 20 miles from Portsmouth in Eastleigh. There is a regular train service from Southampton airport train station (Parkway) to Portsmouth.
By train
Portsmouth is on the National Rail network. Direct trains from London take about 90 minutes from London Waterloo, a cheap day single is about £21. Other major services include Brighton (1 hour 40 minutes), Cardiff (3 hours 10 minutes) via Bath and Bristol; and Southampton (1 hour).
Alight at Portsmouth Harbour for the Historic Dockyard, Gunwarf Quays, Ferries to the Isle of Wight. Alight at Portsmouth & Southsea for Portsmouth City Centre. Alight at Fratton for the football stadium
By car
By bus
By boat
There are ferry services from four ports in France as well as Bilbao in Spain.
- Saint-Malo
- Brittany Ferries/up to 2 daily/9 hrs http://www.brittanyferries.com/
- Cherbourg
- P&O Ferries/up to 4 daily/5 hrs http://www.poportsmouth.com/
- P&O Ferries/up to 3 daily/2hrs45min
- Condor Ferries/1 Sunday service/5 hrs http://www.condorferries.co.uk/
- Caen
- Britanny Ferries/3 daily/6 hrs
- Le Havre
- P&O Ferries/3 daily/5hrs30min
- Bilbao
- P&O Ferries/2 weekly/35 hours
There are also services to the Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey.
The Isle of Wight is a under an hour's journey by ferry or a few minutes by hovercraft.
- Fishbourne
- Wightlink/half-hourly during day/35 mins http://www.wightlink.co.uk/
- Ryde
- Wightlink/half-hourly during day/15 mins
- Or catch the hovercraft every 15 minutes from southsea seafront, operated by Hovertravel
The ferry to Gosport (for Submarine and Explosion museums) runs every 7 minutes at peak times and every 15 minutes at other times until midnight. Cost is £1.60 return.
Get around
Several bus companies operate within Portsmouth and the surrounding areas. A day travel ticket can be bought for £3 (£2.40 concessions). It is also possible to travel between the harbour and the city centre using the train
See
- the Historic Dockyard [2] - located in the naval base, the Historic Dockyard has a number of historic ships including the Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior. In the Historic Dockyard there is also Royal Naval Museum and Action Stations, which is aimed at younger visitors
- Mary Rose
- HMS Victory' [3] -
- HMS Warrior
- the Spinnaker Tower [4], Gunwharf Quays, open Mo-Sa from 10am, Su from 11am, admission adult £4.95, child £4, concessions £4.50, family £16- this striking and highly-visible £21 million landmark tower rises some 170 m above the redeveloping harbour of Portsmouth, symbolising the wind filling a spinnaker sail... Visitors can use the tower to view from 3 levels: at 100m, 105m and 115m - one slow panoramic lift and a high speed internal lift assist with access.
- Southsea Castle
- Southsea Seafront
- Royal Marines Museum
- D Day Museum
- Sea Life Centre
- Southsea model village
- Southsea Rose garden
- Charles Dickens Birthplace
- Cumberland House Museum
- City Museum
Do
- Clarence Pier - A small fairground close to the Hoverport with some rides and amusement arcades
- Relax on Southsea Common
Learn
The University of Portsmouth (formerly Portsmouth Polytechnic) is a thriving modern university.
Work
Buy
- Portsmouth City Centre - Usual high street names (Dixons, Top Shop, WHSmith)
- Gunwarf Quays - A recent developement that boast many factory outlets for major names at reduced prices
- Southsea Shopping Centre - A variety of small specialist shops, boutiques, art shops, delis, home furnishings. Also Debenhams, Knight & Lee
- Albert Road - A good bet for smaller (non-chainstore) shops, second hand goods, antiques.
Eat
Portsmouth and Southsea have literally hundreds of restaurants catering to all tastes. Further out towards Fareham, the marina Port Solent offers a variety of restaurants in a pleasant environment with a multiplex movie theatre nearby.
Some of the best include:
- A Fistful of Tacos - Mexican (Albert Road)
- Yellow River - Oriental (Gunwarf Quays)
A really great place for a light lunch is a small cafe by the mini golf course behind the sea wall at the eastern end of beach past the eastern pier. It is called the 19th hole and serves lovely salads and main courses. It's main highlight are the cakes which are home made and simply fantastic.
A trip to Fareham is recommended to sample the wares of Soothill's bakery. A small place with a long history of doing great pasties, bread and pastries.
Drink
Sleep
Contact
Stay safe
Cope
Get out
- Portchester Castle - about 5 miles from Portsmouth, this is the site of the first landings by the Romans in the UK. The castle itself was built in Norman times, the original church is still in use and is popular in summer for weddings.
External links
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