Portsmouth has several theatres: the New Theatre Royal in Guildhall Walk, near the city centre, which specialises in professional drama, and the newly restored Kings Theatre in Southsea, which features amateur musicals as well a number of national tours. Another theatre is the Groundlings Theatre, which was built in 1784 and is housed in The Old Beneficial School, Portsea. New Prince's Theatre and Southsea's Kings Theatre were both designed by Victorian architect and entrepreneur Frank Matcham.

Many of the city's former defences are now museums, or venues for hosting events. Several of the Victorian era forts on Portsdown Hill are now tourist attractions: Fort Nelson, which lies on the summit of Portsdown Hill, is home to the Royal Armouries museum. The Tudor era Southsea Castle has a small museum, and much of the seafront defences leading up to the Round Tower are open to the public. The castle was withdrawn from active service in 1960 and was subsequently purchased by Portsmouth City Council. The southern part of the Royal Marines' Eastney Barracks is now the Royal Marines Museum, and was opened to the public under the National Heritage Act 1983. The museum was awarded a £14 million grant from the National Lottery Fund, and is set to relocate to the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2019. The birthplace of Charles Dickens at Mile End Terrace, is now the Charles Dickens' Birthplace Museum. The four-storey red brick building became a Grade I listed building in 1953. Other tourist attractions include the Blue Reef Aquarium, which houses an "underwater safari" of aquatic life in Britain, and Cumberland House Natural History Museum, which features a variety of wildlife featured in the area.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.