Portsmouth
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At the heart of Portsmouth is Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Here you can explore Lord Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory and tour Queen Victoria’s battleship, HMS Warrior 1860. You can see Henry Vlll’s Mary Rose and trace the history of the Royal Navy at the Royal Naval Museum. Then come right up to date with “Action Stations” an interactive attraction on today’s navy.
Why not take a harbour tour to see the naval ships, and harbour fortifications from the water. Other attractions include Charles Dickens’ birthplace, the D-Day Museum featuring the Overlord Embroidery, Southsea Castle, the Royal Marines Museum, and Portsmouth Cathedral. Porstmouth Harbour is a convenient launching-off point, too: you can take a ferry or hydrofoil from here to Ryde on the Isle of Wight or to St Malo, Caen or Cherbourg in France.
Portsmouth has its own resort area, Southsea, offering four miles of beach and promenade, including gardens and piers. You can take an undersea safari at the Blue Reef Aquarium or splash around at the Pyramids with their fun pools, flumes and waves. At the harbour entrance lies Gunwharf Quays, a world-class waterfront shopping and leisure development. Spinnaker Tower is also situated here – a striking new attraction soaring 170m into the air and offering spectacular views over the south coast.
