3 Best Sights in Portsmouth, The South

Here three galleries tell the absorbing story of the planning and preparation for the Allied invasion of Europe during WWII and the actual landings on D-Day—June 6, 1944—through an eclectic range of exhibits including maps, uniforms, and even the last surviving landing craft tank, as well as filmed testimonies from those who were there. The museum's centerpiece is the Overlord Embroidery ("Overlord" was the invasion's code name), a 272-foot-long embroidered cloth with 34 panels illustrating the history of the operation, from the Battle of Britain in 1940 to victory in Normandy in 1944.

This museum, one of six sites that make up the National Museum of the Royal Navy, is located in a Georgian building used by the Royal Navy to store weapons and ammunition since 1771. It explores the history of warfare at sea with interactive touch-screen exhibits on naval armaments, from cannonballs to mines, missiles, torpedoes, and even a decommissioned nuclear bomb. The museum also tells the story of the local people who manufactured the weapons. It can be reached by water bus from the Historic Dockyard, 

Here you can learn about submarine history and the rigors of life below the waves with the help of family-friendly interactive games. The highlight is a tour of the HMS Alliance, the only surviving World War II–era submarine in the United Kingdom, and the midget-class HMS X24, from the cramped living quarters to the engine rooms. Also on the large site is the first Royal Navy sub, Holland 1, built in 1901, and a Biber, a German WWII midget submarine. From Portsmouth Harbour, take the ferry to Gosport and walk along Millennium Promenade past the huge sundial clock. From April to October, an hourly free waterbus runs from Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.