Portsmouth is a city of about 189,000 people located in the county of Hampshire on the southern coast of England.
A significant naval port for centuries, it is home to the world's oldest dry dock still in use and too many famous ships.
Portsmouth is an island (though it is separated from the mainland only by a roughly 3-metre-wide salt-water 'moat', so is perhaps more accurately thought of as a peninsula) on the southern coast of England.
Historically, Portsmouth has always been an important naval port, and has many naval museums etc; it has a number of pebbly 'beaches' and a Dunkirk memorial, but by far the biggest attraction is the Historic Dockyard.
Portsmouth has declined as a military port in recent years but remains a major dockyard and base for the Royal Navy.
There is a commercial port serving destinations on the continent for freight and passenger traffic.
The Portsmouth Urban Area covers an area with a population well over twice that of the city of Portsmouth itself.
This area includes Fareham, Portchester, Gosport, Havant (which includes the large suburb Leigh Park), Lee-on-the-Solent, Stubbington and Waterlooville.
Portsmouth is also a university city, so it has a largish population of younger people (and several internet cafes). Given the small size of the island, Portsmouth is very densely populated.
Get around
Several bus companies operate within Portsmouth and the surrounding areas.
A day travel ticket can be bought for £3 (£2.40 concessions). It is also possible to travel between the harbour and the city centre using the train.
It is a compact city however and nowhere is a very long walk.
At night, if you can find an elevated position, you can navigate via the chain of blue lights along the sea-front, to the south.
