Portsmouth.

Portsmouth sits where the Solent opens into the English Channel, a naval city built around one of the world's oldest dry docks. The Historic Dockyard holds centuries of maritime history, anchored by HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship, kept much as it stood at Trafalgar. Nearby, the Mary Rose Museum displays the remains of Henry VIII's warship, raised from the seabed after centuries underwater. The Spinnaker Tower is the landmark of the city's skyline, its curved white mast visible from the waterfront below. At its foot, Gunwharf Quays mixes shops and restaurants with open quayside space, where old dock buildings stand beside newer glass and steel.

Southsea, Portsmouth's seafront district, keeps a quieter pace: a shingle beach, a long promenade, and the D-Day Story museum, which tells of the city's part in the 1944 Normandy landings through the accounts of those who sailed from here. Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, and his birthplace, a modest Georgian terraced house, is preserved as a small museum furnished in period style. Across the city, the mix of naval heritage, harbour views and everyday seaside life gives Portsmouth a character distinct from England's other port towns.