The Essential Freshers' Guide To Portsmouth

Features

Becca Drage

22 Mar 2018

An essential guide to student life in Portsmouth. We take you on a tour of the best hangouts, clubs, pubs and things to do around Pompey.

Portsmouth is a great place to live as a student – it’s a seaside city with plenty to keep you busy, amazing nights out and lots of little quirks. But with so many things to do and places to go making a decision can be hard, and navigating Pompey can take a little getting used to. So we’ve put together a Fresher’s Guide to Portsmouth to give you a little helping hand; take a look at this comprehensive list of the hippest bars, the hottest venues and the coolest places around Pompey:

Guilldhall Walk

© Copyright The Astoria, all rights reserved.

The place to be! A plethora of bars, pubs and clubs running down an entire street. With a Sainsbury's to keep you stocked on cigarettes and pre-drinks. This is one of the first places you will come to know in Portsmouth, possibly the very centre of your social life. Home to student favourite The Astoria, which hosts some of the best weekly club nights. Concrete Thursdays is always off the chain, a night of absolute bangers and big name guests across garage, house, bassline and more. The legendary student block parties held here are notorious for being absolute carnage.

The Seafront

© Copyright David Dixon and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The seafront is one of Portsmouth’s best assets. Alongside obligatory summer beach sessions, venturing down to Clarence Pier for to hang out in the arcade and grab some Fish ‘n’ Chips is always a winner. It’s a rite of passage to have a summer BBQ on the common, music and beers are essential! We recommend checking out The Parade Tea Rooms for some of the best food in the area.

Palmerston Road (Southsea High Street)

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This road close to the sea front holds some of Portsmouth’s coolest bars, restaurants and shops - this is the place for all your vintage fashion essentials. You’ll find Palmerston Road tucked away just behind the seafront, and while it is a fair distance from campus, it’s sometimes refreshing to be away from the student areas.

Gunwharf Quays

© Copyright Curtis Bateman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The high-end shopping district of Portsmouth, lots of brand name fashion and premium chain restaurants. It’s easy to lose a good chunk of your student loan here, so you’d better start learning to love instant noodles now. Gunwharf Quays also spills out onto the harbour and the sunset view from here is spectacular on the right day. Gunwharf is home to everyone’s favourite nightclub chain Tiger Tiger, as well as a bunch of other great bars and clubs - we recommend staying away from the casino if you’re more than five Jagerbombs in.

Spinnaker Tower

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The jewel in the crown of Portsmouth and the most recognisable symbol of the city. This 170-metre observation tower is visible from almost anywhere in Portsmouth and may well serve as your guiding star in those confusing first couple of weeks navigating Portsmouth's long, winding roads. It is in the heart of Gunwharf Quays, towering over the harbour and shops below. It’s not cheap to go up to the observation platform but the view definitely makes up for the price.

Sprinkles

This dessert bar is just at the top of Commercial Road, not far from the University and is a popular date night spot. The milkshakes and waffles here are incredible, so even if you can’t get a date it’s an absolute must at least once in your university life.

Albert Road

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If you’re looking for quirky bars and pubs, then this is the place to go. Some of the coolest amongst them are The Fat FoxThe One-Eyed Dog and The Wine Vaults. Albert road is also home to some of the best venues in Portsmouth for live music. Make sure you don’t miss Icebreaker Festival, an annual weekend-long showcase of the best local bands and artists. Most of the venues on Albert Road and the surrounding area take part in the yearly festival, which is definitely one of the highlights of living in Portsmouth.

Elm Grove

It certainly isn’t as vast and vibrant as Albert Road but as a major route to the university, and home to some of the best post-night out takeaways, it can’t go unmissed. Go here for more cool pubs and hangouts like The Honest Politician and popular rock and metal spot The Deco.

The Pyramids

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If you’re a live music fan then this venue needs to be on your radar, it’s the biggest in Portsmouth and regularly hosts an eclectic variety of well-known artists. It’s also home to a swimming pool, a gym and spa facilities. Why even bother going home? It’s right on the seafront, a couple of minutes from Palmerston Road - look out for the giant glass pyramid!

Wedgewood Rooms

© Image copyright THOR under this Creative Commons license.

Okay, so it’s also located down Albert Road, but we thought The Wedgewood Rooms deserved a special mention. A much more intimate venue than the Pyramids but still big enough to pull established artists, The Wedgewood Rooms has everything from comedy nights to black metal shows. One of the best club nights here is District, a monthly alt-rock party that has previously held giveaways for McDonald’s chicken nuggets and festival tickets - it’s hard to decide which is better.

The Mary Rose/Historic Dockyard

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If you’re a history buff then you’re lucky to be moving here, Portsmouth is steeped in it. There is a rich naval background to Portsmouth that the locals are very proud of. Visiting the Mary Rose or the Historic Dockyard is a bit touristy, but if you’ve never been then it should be on your to-do list. The HMS Victory is also docked here, an old naval warship under the command of Lord Admiral Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar - trust us, you’ll know when you see it.

Old Portsmouth

© Image copyright Patrick GUEULLE and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The quaintest part of the city, while there isn’t as much to do here it’s worth a look around at the old forts and grabbing a drink at one of the local pubs of cafés. The dated architecture, fortress walls and cobbled roads harken back to a very different Portsmouth of the 1700s.

So there you have it, our freshers’ guide to Portsmouth. There is something for every crowd and lots of culture to soak up in this quirky little seaside city. So don't worry, you definitely made a great decision to study (and party) here for the next three years.