Portsmouth - The Home of the Royal Navy, and HMS Victory

While Southampton along the coast may be the larger town, and the center of the British maritime industry as its largest natural port, Portsmouth has traditionally been the seat of the United Kingdom Navy, and as such is a great place to visit in order to taste the important heritage and military traditions of the country, as well as to see some of the most historic ships in the fleet.

Perhaps the most famous British naval figure was Admiral Nelson who fought the French at Trafalgar, and whose statue dominates the skyline of London. His flagship was HMS Victory, and this ship has been carefully preserved and holds pride of place in the center of the Portsmouth harbor. Visitors can go on board the ship and see the way in which sailors at the time lived on board ship, along with paying their respects to Nelson at the place where he died. The guides on the Victory are extremely good, being mostly ex-navy people they have plenty of stories to tell, and are able to bring the past to life for tourists who are interested in history.

Close to the HMS Victory exhibition it is possible to see the remains of a British Navy flagship from an entirely different era. The Mary Rose was commissioned by Henry VIII as the most powerful ship of its era, however as it originally sailed out of Portsmouth it sank due to its poor design. The wreck was raised in 1985, and has spent almost a quarter of a century being treated to prevent it from rotting. The timbers from the ship are now on display, along with many of the artifacts such as cannon that have been raised from the seabed in the same place.

Because of its association with the British Navy, Portsmouth also has a reputation for having a fairly lively nightlife scene, and this is relatively accurate. The bars close to the waterfront offer people the chance to enjoy some quiet drinks while the ones on the city center do tend to attract a fairly rowdy crowd.

One of the Millennium, projects in the UK was the construction of the Spinnaker Tower in the center of Portsmouth. The building, which has stunning views of the English Channel, is a particularly daring piece of architecture with a restaurant at the top. It was completed 5 years late and almost 10 million pounds over budget, however was thought to be worth the money thanks to its elegant style and the benefits it has brought to the local economy.