Photo: Chensiyuan (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons
Things to do in Portsmouth
Wondering what to do in Portsmouth? This guide lists the area's attractions — zoos, museums, theme parks and more — with distances, so you can plan every day of your trip. Highlights include Motoring in Miniature - On Tour, Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum and City Museum.
🎟️ This weekend near Portsmouth
Events from
Skiddle
Fri 13 Nov · 12:00
Portsmouth Audio Tour: Legends, Landmarks, and Legacy
HMS M33, Portsmouth · 0.9 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
![Late Night Brunch [BOOK VIA WEBSITE]](https://d31fr2pwly4c4s.cloudfront.net/e/3/f/2249839_8ce54031_late-night-brunch-book-via-website-.jpg)
Fri 13 Nov · 18:00
Late Night Brunch [BOOK VIA WEBSITE]
Medbar Southampton, Southampton · 15.1 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 19:00
The Vintage Explosion
EngineRooms, Southampton · 15.7 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Fri 13 Nov · 19:00
The Big Indie Fest | Portsmouth
The Gaiety Southsea, Southsea · 1.5 mi
Tickets on Skiddle ↗
Aquariums
Museums & Galleries
0.5 mi from Portsmouth
Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum
This modest house in Portsmouth is where Charles Dickens was born on 7 February 1812, and it's been recreated in Regency style to reflect how his parents would have kept it. Inside...
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0.6 mi from Portsmouth
City Museum
Portsmouth Museum is a local museum in Museum Road in the city of Portsmouth, southern England. It is one of six museums run by Portsmouth Museums, part of Portsmouth City Council.... — Wikipedia
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0.9 mi from Portsmouth
Royal Naval Museum
The Royal Naval Museums; Portsmouth, formerly known as the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth, is a museum of the history of the Royal Navy located in the Portsmouth His... — Wikipedia
0.9 mi from Portsmouth
Mary Rose Museum
The Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, Hampshire, tells the story of Henry VIII's favourite ship, displaying the largest collection of Tudor objects in the world, from a recovered can...
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1.4 mi from Portsmouth
D-Day Museum
The D-Day Story tells the personal accounts of those who took part in D-Day and the Battle of Normandy, bringing the history to life through audio-visual presentations and over 10,...
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1.5 mi from Portsmouth
Southsea Castle
Southsea Castle is a Tudor fortification built in 1544 for Henry VIII, and today it's a free-to-visit historical attraction open Tuesdays to Sundays between April and October. You...
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1.5 mi from Portsmouth
Cumberland House Natural History Museum
Portsmouth Natural History Museum is a family-friendly favourite where you can take a walk through the A-Z of Natural History, get up close with a huge dinosaur, and visit the wond...
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1.6 mi from Portsmouth
Royal Navy Submarine Museum
The Royal Navy Submarine Museum at Gosport is a maritime museum tracing the international history of submarine development from the age of Alexander the Great to the present day, a... — Wikipedia
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1.7 mi from Portsmouth
Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower
The Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower is situated in the former Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Priddy's Hard, in Gosport, Hampshire, England. It now forms part of the National Mu... — Wikipedia
2 mi from Portsmouth
Eastney Gas Engine House
Grade II listed former municipal pumping station with historic gas engines and pumps as well as a collection of stationary engines. Generally open to the public with free admission...
3 mi from Portsmouth
Fort Brockhurst
Fort Brockhurst is one of a number of Victorian forts built in the 1850s and 1860s to protect Portsmouth harbour from French invasion, and it survives largely unaltered. You can ex...
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3.6 mi from Portsmouth
The Diving Museum
The Diving Museum sits in a Victorian military battery on the shores of the Solent in Gosport, and is the UK's only museum dedicated entirely to diving. Inside you'll find diving b...
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3.7 mi from Portsmouth
Little Woodham Living History Village
Little Woodham, also known as "The Living History Village of Little Woodham" or "The Seventeenth Century Village", is a living museum dedicated to recreating life in a rural villag... — Wikipedia
4.8 mi from Portsmouth
Fort Nelson
Fort Nelson, in the civil parish of Boarhunt in the English county of Hampshire, is one of five defensive forts built on the summit of Portsdown Hill in the 1860s, overlooking the... — Wikipedia
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5.3 mi from Portsmouth
Hovercraft Museum
The Hovercraft Museum sits on the seafront at Lee-on-the-Solent, on the site of the old Daedalus naval base, and is the only museum of its kind in the world. Inside, you can climb...
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Theme Parks
1.1 mi from Portsmouth
Clarence Pier
Clarence Pier is Southsea's well-known seaside amusement park on the Portsmouth seafront, offering fairground rides, arcades, indoor crazy golf and a Wimpy restaurant. The fairgrou...
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4.6 mi from Portsmouth
Funland Hayling Island
Funland Hayling Island is an amusement park close to Portsmouth, offering over 18 rides such as rollercoasters, a carousel and dodgems, alongside an amusement arcade, a pirate-them...
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10.2 mi from Portsmouth
Robin Hill
Robin Hill is a theme park set across 88 acres of parkland, woodland and countryside gardens at Havenstreet and Ashey on the Isle of Wight. You can take on the Botswana assault cou...
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15 mi from Portsmouth
Go Ape Southampton
Go Ape Southampton sits in Itchen Valley Country Park in West End, Eastleigh, offering high ropes courses, zip wires and axe throwing among 440 acres of water meadows and woodland...
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17.6 mi from Portsmouth
Blackgang Chine Theme Park
Blackgang Chine is the UK's oldest theme park, set on the Isle of Wight and combining storytelling with rides across themed areas including Pirate Cove, Fairyland, Cowboy Town and...
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18.7 mi from Portsmouth
Butlins Bognor Regis
Butlin's Bognor Regis is a holiday camp in the seaside resort of Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England. It lies 55.5 miles (89 km) south southwest of London. Butlin's presence in the... — Wikipedia
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22.6 mi from Portsmouth
Paultons Park
Paultons Park is a large family theme park set within 140 acres of parkland on the edge of the New Forest National Park in Hampshire. There's plenty to do, from rollercoasters and...
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22.8 mi from Portsmouth
The Needles Landmark Attraction
The Needles Landmark Attraction sits at Totland on the Isle of Wight, overlooking the famous Needles Rocks and Lighthouse. You can ride the iconic chairlift down to Alum Bay, take...
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23.9 mi from Portsmouth
Harbour Park
Harbour Park is a children's beach adventure attraction in Littlehampton, offering over 15 attractions including outdoor rides, interactive arcades, a pirate-themed escape room and...
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27.9 mi from Portsmouth
Go Ape Alice Holt
Go Ape Alice Holt sits in woodland near Binsted, East Hampshire, offering high ropes adventures including a 126-metre zip wire and the 41-crossing Treetop Challenge with its Tarzan...
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Water Parks
Zoos & Wildlife
9.8 mi from Portsmouth
The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary
The Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, formerly the Isle of Wight Zoo, is a rescue centre in Sandown where you can see bears, tigers, lions, lemurs and other rescued animals. Expect close...
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10 mi from Portsmouth
Monkey Haven
Monkey Haven is the Isle of Wight's primate rescue centre in Newport and Carisbrooke, where you can meet monkeys, owls, meerkats and reptiles, many rescued from tragic situations o...
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11.5 mi from Portsmouth
Amazon World
Amazon World Zoo Park is a zoo and wildlife attraction near Arreton on the Isle of Wight, home to around 200 different species spanning the animal kingdom. You can explore the anim...
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13.3 mi from Portsmouth
Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary
The Isle of Wight Donkey Sanctuary is a charity-run rescue home near Wroxall where you can meet over 100 donkeys, mules and Shetland ponies. There's no need to book — just turn up...
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15.7 mi from Portsmouth
Marwell Zoo
Marwell Zoo is a 140-acre zoological park near Winchester where you can see hundreds of animals, including giraffes, leopards, meerkats and penguins, alongside attractions like the...
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18.9 mi from Portsmouth
The New Forest Wildlife Park
The New Forest Wildlife Park at Denny Lodge is a family-friendly zoo and wildlife attraction where you can walk through Wallaby Wood, meet friendly deer in a walk-through encounter...
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28.5 mi from Portsmouth
Birdworld
Birdworld is the UK's only dedicated bird park, spread across 18 acres of landscaped gardens in Berkshire, home to 181 bird species including penguins, flamingos and owls, alongsid...
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29.9 mi from Portsmouth
Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Reptile Centre
Liberty's Owl, Raptor and Reptile Centre is an outdoor attraction in the New Forest, near Bournemouth, Dorset, built around its birds of prey and reptiles. The star resident is Lib...
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Where to stay near Portsmouth
Places to stay within easy reach of these days out.
More around Portsmouth
Haunted Britain
Portsmouth makes a sensible base for days out because so much sits within reach of it: city museums, island railways, farm parks and a couple of proper theme parks. There are 97 places to stay on BritStays in the region, which gives you room to pick somewhere handy for whichever direction you plan to head in each morning.
Below is a straightforward run-through of what's worth your time by type of day, how to group things sensibly rather than criss-crossing the map, and where to eat along the way.
Family days out
If you're travelling with children, two names will do most of the heavy lifting. Peppa Pig World in Hampshire is the obvious choice for under-sevens, and it's the sort of place that fills a full day without needing anything bolted on. Marwell Zoo, also in Hampshire, suits a wider age range and rewards an early start.
For something gentler, Fishers Farm Park in West Sussex and Cowdray Model Farm near Chichester both lean towards animals and play rather than queues and rides. Funland Hayling Island, over in the Chichester area, is the one for a seaside afternoon with older children in tow.
- Toddlers and early primary: Peppa Pig World, Cowdray Model Farm
- Mixed ages: Marwell Zoo, Fishers Farm Park
- Teenagers: Funland Hayling Island
Rainy day options
Portsmouth's weather can turn, so it helps to have indoor plans you'd happily choose anyway. The City Museum in Portsmouth itself is the easiest fallback if you're staying in town and don't want to drive. Further afield, Haslemere Educational Museum near Chichester is a good all-rounder for curious children, and Bognor Regis Museum is a smaller, quieter stop.
Over on the Isle of Wight there's an unusually good cluster of indoor museums: the Isle of Wight Glass Museum, the Lilliput Doll and Toy Museum, and Train Story. The Allen Gallery, listed in Berkshire, is further out and better treated as part of a journey rather than a day trip in its own right.
Heritage and the outdoors
Heritage here often comes with fresh air attached. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway is the standout: a working railway you ride rather than simply look at. Brading Railway Heritage Centre and the West Wight Heritage Centre round out the island's history offering, and Little Woodham Living History Village gives children something more hands-on than display cases.
Marwell Zoo doubles as your outdoor day if the forecast is kind, and Funland Hayling Island puts you by the coast. Farm parks like Fishers Farm Park are mostly outdoors too, so pack boots and a change of clothes rather than relying on the weather behaving.
How to group them into a sensible day
The main thing to get right is not mixing the mainland and the island in one day. The Isle of Wight attractions need a ferry crossing, so give them a full day of their own and link two or three together — the Isle of Wight Steam Railway with Train Story and Brading Railway Heritage Centre makes a neat railway-themed day, or pair the Isle of Wight Glass Museum with the Lilliput Doll and Toy Museum for a wet-weather loop.
On the mainland, keep Hampshire days separate from Chichester and West Sussex ones. Marwell Zoo or Peppa Pig World will each absorb a day. Cowdray Model Farm, Haslemere Educational Museum, Bognor Regis Museum and Funland Hayling Island all sit around Chichester, so they combine more comfortably with each other. Keep the City Museum in Portsmouth as your flexible half-day for arrival or departure.
Where to eat
All of these hold a 5-star food hygiene rating, which is worth knowing when you're feeding tired children:
- Trading Post Coffee Roasters — a tea room stop for coffee and something quick before setting off
- Cafe Paradiso — another tea room, useful for a sit-down lunch between attractions
- The Old House at Home, The Old Cross and The Barley Mow — pubs for a proper evening meal after a long day
Book a table at the pubs if you're eating at a weekend or with a group, and don't assume food is served all afternoon.
Turning it into a short break
Three nights is about right. Day one: arrive and do the City Museum, then dinner at The Old Cross or The Barley Mow. Day two: the island, with an early ferry and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway as your anchor. Day three: Marwell Zoo or Peppa Pig World depending on ages, with coffee at Trading Post Coffee Roasters on the way out.
Book ferry crossings in advance if you're taking a car, check opening days before you travel — smaller museums often close midweek or out of season — and keep one indoor option in reserve for each day you've planned outdoors.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Portsmouth itself on a wet day?
The City Museum is the most convenient indoor option if you are staying in Portsmouth and would rather not drive. It works well as a half-day on an arrival or departure day.
Which attractions are best for young children?
Peppa Pig World in Hampshire suits under-sevens and fills a full day. Cowdray Model Farm near Chichester and Fishers Farm Park in West Sussex are gentler, animal-focused alternatives, while Marwell Zoo in Hampshire works across a wider age range.
Can I combine Isle of Wight attractions with mainland ones in a single day?
It is better not to. The island attractions require a ferry crossing, so set aside a full day for them and group two or three together, such as the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, Train Story and Brading Railway Heritage Centre.
Which museums are on the Isle of Wight?
The Isle of Wight Glass Museum, the Lilliput Doll and Toy Museum, Train Story, Brading Railway Heritage Centre, the West Wight Heritage Centre, Little Woodham Living History Village and the Isle of Wight Steam Railway are all listed on the island.
Where can I eat with a 5-star hygiene rating?
Trading Post Coffee Roasters and Cafe Paradiso are tea rooms, and The Old House at Home, The Old Cross and The Barley Mow are pubs and inns. All hold a 5-star food hygiene rating. Book ahead at the pubs for weekends or larger groups.
How many places to stay are there in the region on BritStays?
There are 97 places to stay listed in the Portsmouth region on BritStays, so you can choose somewhere positioned for the direction you plan to travel each day.
More ways to explore
Not booked yet? See the best places to stay in Portsmouth.