Portsmouth travel guide

Portsmouth, UK - Overview: Irresistible blend of history & heritage

Packed with several things for tourists to enjoy and rapidly becoming the favorite waterfront destination of Britain, Portsmouth is offering more and more to everyone with each passing year. You are sure to get great pleasure from an irresistible blend of heritage and history of the city. Again by visiting Portsmouth, you get a chance to enjoy lively arts, excellent shopping facilities, great restaurants & bars along with several attractive events happening throughout the year.

History

In 1192, Portsmouth acquired city status, when England was ruled by Richard The Lionheart. There is some dispute with the origin of the word ‘Portsmouth’. Legends hold that it was given the name, as the city was a ‘mouth of the port’, with Portchester (previously referred as Portus Adurni) being the port. The other idea is that it came from chieftain having the name ‘Port’ combined with ‘mutha’ (a Saxon word).

Notable Sights

Portsmouth is also known as Pompey and homes 3 immensely imperative historic ships:

1.   HMS Warrior, First Ironclad Warship,

2.   The Mary Rose, Warship of Henry VIII, which sank in Solent (a small distance from Southsea Castle), and,

3.   HMS Victory, famous flagship of Nelson used during the Battle of Trafalgar.

All these 3 ships are housed in its Historic Dockyard. The city is also home to the ‘first dry dock of the world’ and the Royal Navy. Its Historic Dockyard is amongst the top ten attractions for visitors coming to UK.

Great Men from Portsmouth

One of the famous writers, Charles Dickens, was born in Portsmouth. Tourists coming to the city never forget paying a visit to Old Commercial Road House, where Charles was born. It is now known as Charles Dickens Birthplace Museum. Another great achiever, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was born in the city. Brunel was a pioneering engineer of his time. Unfortunately, there is no existence of the street where he lived.

Spinnaker Tower

If from the above description you felt that Portsmouth was all about history, then you were wrong. The city is also cosmopolitan and has much to offer for all its residents and visitors. An imperative attraction of the city is Spinnaker Tower, which is the tallest structure that is accessible to public in UK. The Tower is built in Gunwharf Quays on Portsmouth Harbor’s edge.

Apart from all the above, Portsmouth has a football team that plays in the world famous ‘Barclays Premier League’, excellent shopping facilities, magnificent seafront area and a range of pubs, bars and restaurants for you to enjoy.