When to Visit Portsmouth

Post-Christmas lull. Ferries to the Isle of Wight run half-full, and the Historic Dockyard's covered halls let you escape the raw Channel wind. Expect slate-grey skies but only sporadic drizzle.

Slightly drier than January, with lengthening afternoons. Locals claim February often serves the clearest winter sun. Good for photographs of HMS Warrior against a crisp sky.

Daffodils appear along Southsea Common and café terraces start setting out chairs, though you'll still want a fleece. First cruise-ship calls resume, so midweek is quieter.

Showers alternate with bright spells. The kind of month where you leave the hotel in sunglasses and return under an umbrella. Easter school holidays lift crowd levels, at the Mary Rose Museum.

Often the sunniest month. Sea breezes keep temperatures comfortable for walking the Millennium Promenade. Portsmouth restaurants unveil first outdoor tables - still best reserved in advance.

Long daylight hours, occasional sea-mist mornings that burn off by 10 a.m. Expect queues for the Spinnaker Tower at sunset; Southsea Festival and Victorious Festival tickets sell out fast.

Warmest month. Yet rarely muggy thanks to on-shore winds. Portsmouth beaches fill with families; ice-cream vans circle every hour and hotel prices peak - book early for August.

Similar feel to July but slightly more unsettled. Sudden 20-minute downpours interrupt sunbathing. Great for sailing - numerous regattas off the harbour entrance.

The "second summer"; sea still warm, crowds thin after schools return, and the Great South Run training routes along the seafront are pleasantly uncrowded.

First Atlantic storms can whip waves over the sea wall. Yet crisp sunny days still appear. Museums roll out autumn exhibitions and hotel rates edge downward.

Wettest month. Rain often arrives in steady horizontal sheets carried on a south-westerly. Good for indoor attractions - dockyard ships, submarine tours, and cosy Portsmouth restaurants.

Christmas lights in Commercial Road and a German-style market on Victoria Park compensate for short, damp days. Ferries can delay in gales. Always check the harbour status app.