UltimateCity Guide Brighton
Our favourites
Old Portsmouth and the Round Tower at the harbour mouth, seen from the water on a sunny day

Beyond Brighton · about 90 minutes west by train

Portsmouth & Southsea: Our Favourites

Portsmouth and Southsea, about 90 minutes west of Brighton by train: the Mary Rose and the Historic Dockyard, the Round Tower and the Hotwalls, Southsea Castle and Canoe Lake, the Kings Theatre and Albert Road, and pubs on the harbour mouth.

The back story

  1. Town guide

    Portsmouth and Southsea: the back story

    Portsmouth·In depth

    An island city built around a naval harbour: Tudor warships, Georgian defences, a Victorian resort, and a theatre and music scene that once premiered Pink Floyd.

    Explore View on map

  2. Town guide

    Old Portsmouth and the Hotwalls

    Old Portsmouth·In depth

    The Round Tower, the Sally Port, Point Battery and the Hotwalls: the harbour mouth, its pubs and its artists.

    Explore View on map

  3. Town guide

    Southsea seafront: castle, common and Canoe Lake

    Southsea·In depth

    From the common to Eastney: Southsea Castle, the D-Day Story, Canoe Lake, the tearooms and the Natural History Museum.

    Explore View on map

  4. Town guide

    Albert Road: theatre, music and tapas

    Southsea·In depth

    The Kings Theatre of 1907, the Wedgewood Rooms and a long road of bars and restaurants: Southsea’s night out.

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  5. Three ships, three ages

    Portsmouth and the Royal Navy: the back story

    Portsmouth Harbour·In depth

    The Mary Rose, HMS Victory and HMS Warrior: three great ships from three ages of the Navy, a short walk apart in the Historic Dockyard.

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  6. Remembering 1940–41

    Portsmouth and Southampton in the Blitz

    Portsmouth and Southampton·In depth

    Two naval and port cities that were bombed again and again in the Second World War, and the places that remember them.

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  7. Christmas

    Christmas in Portsmouth

    Portsmouth and Southsea·In depth

    The Pompey Panto at the Kings Theatre, candlelit carols at Portsmouth Cathedral, winter skating in recent years in Guildhall Square, and the Historic Dockyard by the water.

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Where to stay

  1. Views to the Isle of Wight

    The Queens Hotel

    Clarence Parade, Southsea·Seafront hotel

    Southsea’s grand seafront hotel, looking over the Common and the Solent to the Isle of Wight.

    2 Osborne Road, Clarence Parade, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 3LJExplore View on map

  2. Portsmouth’s original boutique hotel

    Florence House

    Malvern Road, Southsea·Boutique hotel

    An individually designed boutique hotel three minutes’ walk from Southsea seafront.

    2 Malvern Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 2NAExplore View on map

  3. Sixteen rooms

    Ashby’s

    Auckland Road West, Southsea·Boutique hotel and spa

    Sixteen individually decorated rooms with an Art Deco touch, a short walk from the beach.

    Auckland Road West, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 3NYExplore View on map

  4. A Southsea favourite

    Becketts Townhouse

    Bellevue Terrace, Southsea·Boutique hotel and bar

    Boutique bedrooms above one of Southsea’s best-loved bars and restaurants.

    10–11 Bellevue Terrace, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 3ATExplore View on map

  5. Independent

    G! Boutique Hotel

    Southsea·Boutique hotel

    A colourful independent boutique hotel in Southsea, run by much-travelled owners.

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Where to eat

  1. Laid back

    Abarbistro

    Old Portsmouth·Restaurant and wine bar

    A laid-back restaurant and bar in Old Portsmouth, a few steps from the harbour.

    58 White Hart Road, Old Portsmouth PO1 2JAExplore View on map

  2. Menu by Ruth Hansom

    Boathouse Kitchen

    Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth·Restaurant

    The lunch restaurant in Boathouse 4 at the Historic Dockyard, with a menu created by the chef Ruth Hansom.

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  3. Open seven days

    Brasserie Blanc Portsmouth

    Gunwharf Quays·French brasserie

    Raymond Blanc’s French brasserie at Gunwharf Quays, by the harbour.

    1 Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth PO1 3FRExplore View on map

  4. Family-run

    The Briny

    Southsea seafront·Beach restaurant

    A family-run restaurant on Southsea seafront with sea views from every table.

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  5. Southsea’s first tapas bar, 2005

    Nicholsons

    Albert Road, Southsea·Tapas restaurant

    Spanish tapas and paella on Albert Road, in Southsea’s first tapas bar.

    245–247 Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 0JRExplore View on map

Cafés and tea rooms

  1. Sunrise to sunset

    Southsea Beach Cafe

    Clarence Esplanade, Southsea·Beach café

    A café on the seafront from sunrise breakfasts to sunset events.

    Clarence Esplanade, Southsea PO5 3AEExplore View on map

  2. Since 2016

    The Canteen

    Hotwalls, Old Portsmouth·Waterfront café

    A family-run café in the old barracks of the Hotwalls, with a deck at the mouth of the harbour.

    Point Battery & Barracks, Broad Street, Portsmouth PO1 2FSExplore View on map

  3. On Southsea Common

    The Parade Tearooms

    Western Parade, Southsea·Tearoom

    An independent tearoom in an old sub-station on the edge of Southsea Common.

    Western Parade, Southsea, PortsmouthExplore View on map

  4. Pies and records

    Pie & Vinyl

    Castle Road, Southsea·Record shop and café

    A record shop and pie café in one, on Castle Road.

    61 Castle Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 3AYExplore View on map

  5. Famous for its cakes

    The Tenth Hole

    Southsea seafront·Tearoom

    A busy seafront tearoom beside a nine-hole golf course, famous for its cakes.

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Bars

  1. 105 metres up

    Sky Bar at the Spinnaker Tower

    Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth·Cocktail bar

    Cocktails 105 metres above sea level, above the Spinnaker Tower’s viewing deck.

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  2. Since 2018

    The Portsmouth Distillery

    Fort Cumberland, Eastney·Distillery and bar

    An award-winning distillery inside the eighteenth-century Fort Cumberland, with tours and a bar.

    Fort Cumberland, Eastney, Portsmouth PO4 9LDExplore View on map

Pubs

  1. Fuller’s

    The Still & West

    Bath Square, Old Portsmouth·Harbourside pub

    A Fuller’s pub and restaurant on Bath Square, right at the harbour mouth.

    Bath Square, Old Portsmouth PO1 2JLExplore View on map

  2. Next door to the Still & West

    The Spice Island Inn

    Bath Square, Old Portsmouth·Harbourside pub

    A pub and restaurant on the old Spice Island waterfront, beside the harbour entrance.

    1 Bath Square, Portsmouth PO1 2JLExplore View on map

  3. The Camber

    The Bridge Tavern

    East Street, Old Portsmouth·Waterside pub

    A traditional waterside pub and restaurant on the Camber in Old Portsmouth.

    54 East Street, Old Portsmouth PO1 2JJExplore View on map

  4. Opposite the cathedral

    The Sally Port Inn

    High Street, Old Portsmouth·Pub

    A historic pub on the Old Portsmouth High Street, opposite the cathedral and a few yards from the sea wall.

    57–58 High Street, Portsmouth PO1 2LUExplore View on map

  5. Low and slow

    The King Street Tavern

    King Street, Southsea·Pub and smokehouse

    An eighteenth-century Southsea pub that became the city’s first smokehouse, with craft beer.

    70 King Street, Southsea, PortsmouthExplore View on map

  6. Since 2015

    Staggeringly Good taproom

    Rodney Road, Southsea·Brewery taproom

    The taproom of a Portsmouth craft brewery founded by three friends in 2015.

    Unit 10, St George’s Industrial Estate, Rodney Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 8SSExplore View on map

What to see and do

  1. HMS Victory and the Mary Rose

    Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

    Portsmouth Harbour·Naval heritage

    HMS Victory, the Mary Rose Museum, HMS Warrior and the Royal Navy museums at the Historic Dockyard.

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  2. Views over the Solent

    Spinnaker Tower

    Portsmouth Harbour·Viewing tower

    The sail-shaped tower above Portsmouth Harbour, with views across the harbour and the Solent.

    Explore View on map

  3. Built for Henry VIII

    Southsea Castle

    Clarence Esplanade, Southsea·Tudor fort

    The Tudor fort on Southsea seafront, run by Portsmouth Museums.

    Clarence Esplanade, Portsmouth PO5 3PAExplore View on map

  4. Cathedral of St Thomas

    Portsmouth Cathedral

    Old Portsmouth·Cathedral

    The Anglican cathedral of St Thomas of Canterbury in Old Portsmouth.

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  5. Sank 1545, raised 1982

    The Mary Rose

    Portsmouth Historic Dockyard·Museum ship

    Henry VIII’s favourite warship, sunk off Portsmouth in 1545 and raised in 1982, with thousands of Tudor objects.

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Arts & Culture

  1. The story of D-Day

    The D-Day Story

    Clarence Esplanade, Southsea·Museum

    Portsmouth’s museum of the D-Day landings, with the Overlord Embroidery, on Southsea seafront.

    Clarence Esplanade, Portsmouth PO5 3NTExplore View on map

  2. Where Dickens was born

    Charles Dickens’ Birthplace Museum

    Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth·House museum

    The modest Portsmouth house where Charles Dickens was born in 1812.

    393 Old Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 4QLExplore View on map

  3. Butterfly house

    Portsmouth Natural History Museum

    Cumberland House, Southsea·Museum

    The wildlife of Portsmouth, past and present, beside Canoe Lake, with a tropical butterfly house.

    Eastern Parade, Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 9RFExplore View on map

  4. Since 1907

    Kings Theatre

    Albert Road, Southsea·Theatre

    Southsea’s Edwardian theatre: touring shows, comedy, music and the city’s pantomime since 1907.

    Albert Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO5 2QJExplore View on map

  5. The Beatles to Pink Floyd

    Portsmouth Guildhall

    Guildhall Square, Portsmouth·Concert and events venue

    The city’s great hall for concerts, where Pink Floyd first played The Dark Side of the Moon live.

    Guildhall Square, Portsmouth PO1 2ABExplore View on map

  6. 400 capacity

    The Wedgewood Rooms

    Albert Road, Southsea·Music venue

    “The Wedge”: a 400-capacity venue for new bands and comedy on Albert Road.

    147b Albert Road, Southsea, PortsmouthExplore View on map

  7. In the old arches

    Hotwalls Studios

    Point Battery, Old Portsmouth·Artists’ studios

    Artists’, designers’ and makers’ studios in the old arches of Point Battery and Barracks.

    Point Battery & Barracks, Broad Street, Portsmouth PO1 2FSExplore View on map

Parks and gardens

  1. Since 1886

    Canoe Lake

    Southsea seafront·Park and boating lake

    A seafront park of 1886 with a boating lake, flower beds and the old walls of Lumps Fort.

    Explore View on map

  2. Kept clear for the guns

    Southsea Common

    Southsea·Common

    The great open lawn of Southsea, kept clear in the early nineteenth century as a field of fire.

    Explore View on map

  3. Fifteen acres

    Victoria Park, Portsmouth

    Portsmouth city centre·Park

    Fifteen acres of lawns and flower borders by Portsmouth and Southsea station, with an 1878 fountain.

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  4. Wildfowl

    Baffins Pond

    Baffins, Portsmouth·Pond and park

    A 4.35-hectare pond with reed beds and a crowd of ducks and wildfowl.

    Explore View on map

Walks

  1. Wildlife Trust

    Farlington Marshes

    Langstone Harbour, Portsmouth·Nature reserve walk

    A 123-hectare Wildlife Trust reserve of grazing marsh on Langstone Harbour, famous for its birds.

    Solent Way, Portsmouth PO6 1UNExplore View on map

Shopping

  1. 80+ outlet stores

    Gunwharf Quays

    Portsmouth Harbour·Outlet shopping centre

    The waterfront outlet centre beside Portsmouth Harbour station, with more than 80 outlet stores, over 30 places to eat and drink, a cinema and the Spinnaker Tower.

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Health and wellness

  1. Exclusive use

    Spa Retreat Southsea

    Clarendon Road, Southsea·Private spa and stay

    A private spa with accommodation in Southsea, booked for exclusive use.

    106–108 Clarendon Road, Southsea, Portsmouth PO4 0SDExplore View on map

Property

  1. By the harbour mouth

    Old Portsmouth

    Portsmouth·Neighbourhood

    A few historic streets at the harbour mouth, around the cathedral, the Round Tower and Bath Square.

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  2. By the sea

    Southsea

    Portsmouth·Neighbourhood

    Victorian and Edwardian streets between the common, the seafront and Albert Road.

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  3. Waterfront apartments

    Gunwharf Quays waterfront

    Portsmouth·Neighbourhood

    Apartments around the marina and shops of Gunwharf Quays, beside the Spinnaker Tower and Portsmouth Harbour station.

    Explore View on map

Share your Portsmouth & Southsea tips

Been there? Share your experience and tips with other visitors.

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