Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Man the guns and hide the rum!

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is the UK’s premier destination for naval history. It's a must-see for anyone visiting the South of England. A visit to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard takes you on a journey through time, allowing you to step on board world-famous ships.

Climb on-board majestic warships, explore heroic submarines and uncover some of the navy’s best-kept secrets with first-hand accounts from the Royal Navy’s finest, past and present.

The Full Navy Ticket is the best value ticket and gives you access to this exciting new exhibition. The ticket will also give you entry to our historic ships, including the star of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Vice-Admiral Lord Nelson’s world-famous flagship HMS Victory, Queen Victoria’s HMS Warrior and the only surviving ship from the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign, HMS M.33. Take the waterbus to Gosport and explore Cold War submarine HMS Alliance where you will have the opportunity to look through her working periscopes, and see, hear and even smell how life was lived under the sea.

Your day out won’t be complete without an adventure-packed trip to Action Stations, where you can train like a Royal Marines Commando or try the Ninja Force assault course, an attraction based on TV’s popular Ninja Warrior series – the first of its kind in the UK. Add in a Harbour Tour to cruise around Portsmouth Harbour and see the ships of the modern Royal Navy.

As well as all the maritime history you could ask for, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard also offers a wide range of catering options for when you are ready to take a break from exploring. Choose from a variety including Costa Coffee, Boathouse #4 and the café on board HMS Warrior.

• HMS Victory: The world’s most celebrated warship has undergone her biggest change. A major reinterpretation of her visitor route through the ship enables visitors to follow in the footsteps of Nelson, its most famous Admiral.
• HMS Warrior: The world’s first iron‐hulled, armoured warship launched in 1860 and never fired a shot in anger, yet changed naval warfare forever.
• Action Stations: Release your inner ninja on the Ninja Force assault course. Home to dozens of interactive adventures, including an indoor climbing tower, giving a taste of life in today’s Royal Navy and Royal Marines.
• The National Museum of the Royal Navy Portsmouth: Britain’s only museum dedicated to the men and women of the Royal Navy spanning several hundred years.
• Boathouse 4:  A great family attraction within the Historic Dockyard. There is the Forgotten Craft exhibition which pays tribute to the heroic small naval craft and crews of the past. You can also get a great birds‐eye view of students practising traditional boatbuilding skills as part of the International Boatbuilding Training College Portsmouth.
• Explosion Museum of Naval Firepower: Take the free waterbus over to the award‐winning museum – home to a unique collection that includes torpedoes, modern missiles ‐ and even a nuclear bomb.
• HMS Alliance at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum: Discover a world beneath the sea by walking onboard HMS Alliance ‐ it’s as if she is about to leave for sea. Take a peek through the working periscopes and see, hear and even smell how life was lived underwater.
• HMS M.33: Discover the only surviving ship from the First World War’s Gallipoli campaign.
• Waterbus: A complimentary boat ride from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard to the Royal Navy
  Submarine Museum and Explosion (subject to availability and available on a first come, first served
  basis).
• Harbour Tours: A sailor’s eye view of the Historic Dockyard, and the warships of the modern Royal Navy
• Dockyard Apprentice Exhibition: The story of Dockyard life during the early years of the 20th Century when the great Dreadnought battleships were being constructed

For those on the Isle of Wight who want to experience some of Britain's most historic attractions, you can fly from Ryde to Southsea in just 10 minutes on our hovercraft and with Portsmouth Historic Dockyard around a 15-minute walk along the seafront, you'll be there in no time!

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard
Visitor Centre
Victory Gate
HM Naval Base
Portsmouth
PO1 3LJ