|
Practicalities
|
|
|
Portsmouth's main
train station
is in the city centre, but the line continues to
Harbour Station
, the most convenient stop for the main sights and old town. Passenger
ferries
leave from the jetty at the Harbour station for Ryde, on the Isle of Wight and Gosport, on the other side of Portsmouth Harbour. Wightlink car ferries depart from the ferry port off Gunwharf Road for Fishbourne on the Isle of Wight. There are three
tourist offices
(all tel 023/9282 6722,
) in Portsmouth, one on the Hard, by the entrance to the dockyards (daily: Easter-Sept 9.30am-5.45pm; Oct-Easter 9.30am-5.15pm); another in the library at Guildhall Square, near the main train station (Mon-Sat 10am-5pm); and a third on Southsea's seafront, next to the Sea Life Centre (daily 9.30am-5.45pm).
One of the nicest places to stay is the Sally Port , opposite the cathedral at 57-58 High St (tel 023/9282 1860; A?60-70), an old inn with sloping floors. Fortitude Cottage , 51 Broad St (tel 023/9282 3748, fortcott@aol.com ; A?40-50) is a beamed harbourside cottage overlooking the boats. Southsea has a better choice of B&Bs, and also has Portsmouth and Southsea Backpackers , 4 Florence Rd (tel 023/9283 2495 or 9282 2963, ), a fifty-bed hostel at the east end of Clarence Esplanade (bus #5, #6, #7 from the Harbour station, or any bus to South Parade Pier). Portsmouth YHA is at Wymering Manor, Old Wymering Lane, Cosham (tel 023/9237 5661, ), an attractive Tudor manor ten minutes west of Cosham train station (bus #5 and #12 from the Harbour station as far as Cosham Health Centre, from where take the first left). You'll find more unusual accommodation at Spitbank Fort (tel 01329/664286 or 07771/666 6289, ; A?40-50), a mile from Portsmouth Harbour and accessible by ferry, where two very basic rooms are available between April and September (weather permitting).
Places to eat
are surprisingly scarce in the old town; the best restaurants are all in Southsea. Among these,
Bistro Montparnasse
, 103 Palmerston Rd, Southsea (tel 023/9281 6754) is distinguished for its good-quality French and seafood dishes, while
Country Kitchen
, 59 Marmion Rd (tel 023/9281 1425) is a more relaxed vegetarian and vegan restaurant with newspapers on hand and free coffee refills. In Old Porstmouth, head for the
Spice Island Inn
and the next-door
Still & West Country House
, in Bath Square, old hostelries with tables outside overlooking the Solent and a great range of hot and cold dishes. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
United Kingdom,
|