Serviced Apartments in Portsmouth

Discover the best activities and attractions Portsmouth has to offer, and find out what makes this city a vibrant and exciting place to live or visit.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (HMS Victory, Mary Rose Museum, HMS Warrior)
The Historic Dockyard is the city’s flagship maritime museum complex, home to Nelson’s flagship HMS Victory, the Tudor warship Mary Rose and the Victorian ironclad HMS Warrior. It preserves and interprets Portsmouth’s naval heritage through conservation projects, interactive galleries and educational programmes. The Dockyard is a major driver of tourism, supporting local hospitality, guiding, and retail jobs, while attracting school visits and international visitors—feeding spending in nearby hotels, restaurants and transport services. Its living-history events, restorations and volunteer programmes also strengthen community identity and pride in Portsmouth’s seafaring past.

Gunwharf Quays (shopping & waterfront dining)
Gunwharf Quays is a large designer outlet and leisure complex built on reclaimed dockland, combining high-street and designer retail with a cluster of restaurants, bars and cinemas along the waterfront. Its waterfront promenade and evening economy make it a focal point for leisure and social life in the city. As a major retail and hospitality hub, it provides significant employment, encourages visitor stays from nearby attractions (including the Spinnaker Tower and Historic Dockyard) and helped regenerate a former industrial area into a vibrant commercial quarter, boosting local business rates and footfall.

Southsea Common & Southsea Castle (park, beach and historic site)
Southsea Common and the adjacent beachfront and Southsea Castle offer a mix of open green space, seaside leisure and Tudor history. The Common hosts sports, kite flying, picnics and seasonal events, while the castle—built by Henry VIII—provides a compact, accessible historic attraction with views across the Solent. These public spaces are vital for residents’ wellbeing, provide free outdoor recreation, and attract families and visitors year-round. Community events and informal leisure here sustain independent cafés, seafront traders and local tourism businesses, preserving the area as a social heart of Portsmouth.

The Spinnaker Tower
The Spinnaker Tower is an iconic 170-metre landmark on the harbour that offers panoramic views across Portsmouth, the Solent and the Isle of Wight, with glass-floor viewing platforms and a café/restaurant. As a distinctive visual symbol of modern Portsmouth, it draws day-trippers and photographers and features in marketing for the city. Ticket revenue, on-site hospitality and gift retail support jobs and local suppliers; the tower also helps diversify Portsmouth’s visitor offer beyond museums and shopping by providing an elevated experience and regular special events (sunrise sessions, seasonally themed nights).

Victorious Festival (annual music and arts festival)
Victorious Festival is a large annual multi-genre music and arts festival held on Southsea Common that attracts national and international acts alongside local performers, family zones, street food and artisan stalls. It injects a significant short-term economic boost into Portsmouth—boosting hotel occupancy, public transport use and spending in bars, restaurants and shops—and raises the city’s cultural profile. The festival also creates opportunities for local artists, caterers and event staff, supports community volunteering, and has become a major cultural highlight on Portsmouth’s calendar that draws repeat visitors each year.

Explore the diverse transport options available in Portsmouth, from efficient public transportation systems to convenient road networks. Whether you're commuting to work or exploring the city, this section will give you an overall look at the available transportation systems.

Public Transit System
- Rail (National Rail) - Portsmouth is served by three main stations (Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea, Fratton) with regular services to London, Southampton, Brighton and regional destinations operated mainly by South Western Railway and Southern; services include frequent commuter trains and connections to the wider UK rail network.
- Local buses - A dense bus network serving the city and surrounding areas, operated by major local operators (including Stagecoach and others), providing frequent services across Portsea Island, to Southsea, Cosham, Havant and onward regional routes; buses provide day, evening and limited night services.
- Ferries / Harbour services - Regular short passenger ferry services across the harbour to Gosport and leisure/cruise services around the Solent; operators run frequent crossings linking the city centre waterfront to the Gosport peninsular.
- Isle of Wight connections - Regular vehicle and passenger ferry services and hovercraft links connect Portsmouth with the Isle of Wight (operators include car ferries and the hovercraft service), providing fast foot-passenger options as well as vehicle carriage.
- Coaches (intercity) - Long-distance coach services (National Express and other operators) connect Portsmouth to London, Heathrow and other UK cities with scheduled coach departures from local coach stops.
- Park-and-ride / out-of-town commuter services - Park-and-ride and dedicated commuter bus routes operate at times to reduce city-centre car traffic and support links from peripheral car parks into the centre and waterfront areas.

Major Highways
- M27 - East–west motorway linking Portsmouth area to Southampton, Fareham and the M3, forming the main high-speed road corridor along the south coast.
- M275 - Short motorway spur providing direct motorway access into Portsmouth city centre from the M27.
- A3 - Trunk route linking Portsmouth with Guildford and London (via Petersfield and Surrey), an important road link north from the city.
- A27 - Major coastal trunk road running east–west along the south coast, connecting Portsmouth with Chichester, Worthing and Brighton.
- A2030 / A2047 (local arterial roads) - Principal arterial routes around and through Portsea Island and Southsea connecting neighbourhoods to the M275 and M27 and serving local commuter traffic.

Cycling Infrastructure
- Cycle lanes and routes - Portsmouth has a growing network of cycling provision including on-road cycle lanes, segregated/boarded sections on key corridors, shared-use paths (notably along the seafront), and sections of the National Cycle Network (Route 2) through the city; the council’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) has driven targeted improvements, cycle parking provision and wayfinding, plus local cycle training and some bike-hire/e-bike initiatives.

Recent and Upcoming Improvements
- Bus fleet and priority measures - Ongoing introduction of lower-emission and electric buses on local services alongside targeted bus priority measures and real-time passenger information upgrades to improve reliability and air quality.
- Rail station and service upgrades - Works in recent years and planned maintenance/upgrade programmes at Portsmouth stations (access improvements, platform and interchange enhancements) plus timetable and rolling-stock improvements on routes serving the city to increase capacity and resilience.
- Active travel and LCWIP delivery - Delivery of the city’s Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan has funded new segregated cycle lanes, improved pedestrian crossings, safer junctions and expanded cycle parking to encourage walking and cycling for short trips.
- Cross-harbour and Isle of Wight service enhancements - Fleet renewals, timetable optimisations and terminal improvements by ferry/hovercraft operators to improve frequency, reliability and passenger comfort on Solent services.
- Traffic management and low-emission initiatives - Local schemes to manage congestion, lower transport emissions and support cleaner travel (traffic signal optimisation, low-emission zones/controls for freight and commercial movements in sensitive areas, and promotion of car-share and park-and-ride).
- Integrated ticketing and passenger information - Continued rollout of contactless payment, mobile ticketing and improved real-time journey planning across buses, ferries and trains to make multi-modal travel easier for commuters and visitors.

Portsmouth is a hub for the maritime industry, engineering, and creative sectors, with professionals frequently visiting for short- and long-term stays. As a city with a growing number of business developments, serviced apartments are an ideal choice for those looking for flexible accommodation solutions during their business visits.

Comfy Workers provides serviced apartments in Portsmouth, with options in central areas such as Gunwharf Quays, Old Portsmouth, and nearby locations. Our fully furnished, self-catering apartments provide the perfect base for business travellers, whether staying for a few weeks or several months.