{"id":31537,"date":"2026-05-08T11:38:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/31537\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:38:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T11:38:38","slug":"the-old-school-resort-with-a-cool-indie-streak-and-fascinating-naval-history-that-is-one-of-the-uks-best-seaside-towns-to-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/31537\/","title":{"rendered":"The Old-School Resort with a Cool Indie Streak and Fascinating Naval History That Is One of the UK\u2019s Best Seaside Towns to Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"

With its South Parade Piers, rows of colourful beach huts and cobbled streets, Southsea brims with British retro seaside charm. But, to be worthy of a place on Time Out\u2019s list of the UK\u2019s best seaside towns to visit<\/a>, it needs a little more to it than that. Sure enough,\u00a0Southsea has\u00a0also got fascinating historical landmarks, an enviable cluster of pubs and a brilliant programme of summer events.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So what exactly does the perfect trip to Southsea look like? For\u00a0a slice\u00a0of history visit the Southsea Castle (it\u2019s free entry), which was built by Henry VIII in 1544 out of concern over French attack. Stop by\u00a0The D-Day Story to be taken through the\u00a0story of Operation Overlord during the Normandy D-Day landings, or\u00a0catch a boat to the Solent Forts, which were\u00a0commissioned by Lord Palmerston in the 1860s to ward off Napoleon III.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Southsea\u00a0was recently declared one of the UK\u2019s greatest pub towns<\/a>\u00a0by the\u00a0Telegraph,\u00a0so sitting down for a pint or few is a must.\u00a0The paper\u00a0called it a place of \u2018elaborate ceramic facades and well-run pubs\u2019 and particularly\u00a0recommended\u00a0the Hole in the Wall and the Lawrence Arms with its massive beer garden. There\u2019s also the beloved Phoenix, a near-century-old theatre pub\u00a0full of references to stars of the British stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Southsea,
\nPhotograph: Pablo L Mendoza \/ Shutterstock.com <\/p>\n

For sustenance, pick up some pie, mash and liquor from Pies and Vinyl, flammek\u00fcche from Belgian bar and kitchen Huis, sushi from Sakura or a selection of sweet treats from artisan bakery\u00a0Bread Addiction.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the summer, the sky over Southsea\u00a0becomes a collage of blow-up animals, multicoloured diamonds and flailing ribbons for the Portsmouth International Kite Festival,\u00a0the largest and longest running kite event in the UK. And on the August bank holiday the likes of Richard Ashcroft, Scissor Sisters and Faithless will be in town for Victorious Festival 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A \u00a3180\u202fmillion coastal project<\/a> that\u00a0will double the beach\u2019s size in currently underway so, very soon, there\u2019ll be\u00a0even more space to take in the views of the Solent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elsewhere in Time Out\u2019s latest guide to the most unmissable seaside towns in Britain,\u00a0Saundersfoot in Pembrokeshire came out on top, <\/a>and the sister towns of Hastings and St Leonards came in second<\/a>. You can\u00a0find a map of all the featured destinations here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

ICYMI:\u00a0England\u2019s most \u2018deprived\u2019 seaside town is getting a colourful carnival this summer<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Plus:\u00a0This\u00a0epic British seaside walking trail is officially one of the greatest hikes in Europe<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Stay in the loop:\u00a0sign up to our free Time Out UK newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for the latest UK news and the best stuff happening across the country.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With its South Parade Piers, rows of colourful beach huts and cobbled streets, Southsea brims with British retro…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31538,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[248,249,247,5,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-31537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"tag-categories-things-to-do","9":"tag-news-city-life","10":"tag-things-to-do","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116538763000713656","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31537"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31537\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}