Location: Portsmouth
Top Things to do in Portsmouth
Top 10 Budget-friendly Things to do in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (NH)
Don your walking shoes, breathe in the ocean air and set out to discover this picturesque maritime town. You can join one of several organized walking tours or explore on your own. Portsmouth is filled with old homes and museums, and you'll have your pick of fascinating historic sites. Climb aboard the USS Albacore, a retired U.S. Navy submarine offering tours and exhibits. View an 18th-century garden, striking stairway and period furniture at the Moffatt Ladd House, the home of William Whipple, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, or follow a costumed guide through the John Paul Jones House, home of the Revolutionary War naval hero. For a broader look at the city's history, visit Strawbery Banke Museum, where over 40 buildings have been assembled to depict Portsmouth life from 1695 to 1950, complete with costumed actors. If you know architecture, Portsmouth's array of Colonial, Federalist and Neo-classical styles will dazzle you. Weary of walking? Sit down for a meal at one of Portsmouth's fine eateries or relax on a narrated harbor or whale-watching cruise.
Restaurants in Portsmouth
1. Gundalow Company
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 191 reviews
Sail aboard the Piscataqua, a traditional reproduction of the flat-bottom gundalow barges that were once prevalent along local waterways. Educational, informative and fun, a sail is a great way to explore the sights and sounds of the Piscataqua River. Morning, afternoon, and sunset sails run Memorial Day through Columbus Day, and we offer weekly specialty sails featuring music, guest speakers, local tastings, and more. Private charters are also available.
2. New England Lighthouse Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 38 reviews
Join Jeremy D'Entremont, author of more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on lighthouse history, for a minivan tour of some of New England's most beautiful and historic beacons. A portion of the proceeds from all tours is donated to help lighthouse preservation. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS BUSINESS IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING TOUR BOOKINGS.
3. Granite State Growler Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 278 reviews
Granite State Growler Tours, the first craft brewery tour bus in New Hampshire and a Best of NH 2013 winner chosen by NH magazine, is roaming for foam! Hop on our bus, affectionately named 'Greta the Growler Getta', and visit the best craft breweries on the NH seacoast. Your four-hour adventure includes exclusive personal tours given by the brewers themselves so you can talk to them one on one. Tastings are included in the ticket price. If you like what you tried, grab a growler and we'll keep it iced down for you. As we roam from tap to tap, our knowledgeable guide will entertain and intrigue you with unique facts and little-known stories about the rich and foamy history of brewing in NH. With great hops at every stop, meet us for beer every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Are you looking for a private or group tour a custom itinerary for your special event? We can visit over 27 different breweries and distilleries.
4. PortCity Bike Tours
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 160 reviews
CDC protocols in place. All guides are vaccinated. Bikes are sanitized before and after use. We all ave a passion and a love of the area & the rich history. Our small team of tour guides live in the area and are experienced riders with a deep love of NH history & historic preservation. I'm sure when you take one of our tours, you'll experience the enthusiasm & excitement as we turn each corner on one of our tours. The beauty in what we do is constantly changing, from the gardens of Prescott Park to the repainted historic homes, to the rapid tides of the Piscataqua River...we fall in love all over again. Call us geeks, call us whatever, but, you can tell we all love the Seacoast! At PortCity Bike Tours, we want all of our customers to rave about their time with us and in Portsmouth. All of our bike tours are created from our experiences in traveling around the world trying different tours. We want to share the entire PortCity Bike Tour experience with you. We hope you will join us.
5. Portsmouth Historical Society
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 28 reviews
Founded in 1917, the Portsmouth Historical Society is a nonprofit devoted to the history, arts, and culture of the Portsmouth region, through acquisitions, preservation, museum exhibitions, programs, and publications. It operates the Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center and the 1758 John Paul Jones Historic House Museum and Garden, a national historic landmark. The Society also serves as the home of the Portsmouth Advocates for Historic Preservation, and the Portsmouth Marine Society Press.
Reviewed By Maurene_K - Dover, United States
After visiting the Discover Portsmouth Welcome Center, I went into the attached Portsmouth Historical Society building to see the 2021 art exhibits. The one on the first floor was titled: Twilight of American Impressionism. The featured artists were Alice Ruggles Sohier and Frederick A. Bosley. Alice Ruggles Sohier was born in Massachusetts. She had an extensive education in art. Among her instructors for advanced studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston were Edmund C. Tarbell and Frank Weston Benson. I liked most of her work shown in the exhibit. The oil painting titled Dahlias was my favorite. The yellow dahlias looked so delicate. I also liked the painting titled Yellow Day Lilies. Frederick A. Bosley was from Lebanon, New Hampshire. He also studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts with Edmund C. Tarbell and Frank Weston Benson. Works in this exhibit included portraits and landscapes. Most of his palette was in subdued darker shades, except for the portrait of a woman in a red kimono titled “Elizabeth in Red” which I liked. Bosley's palette was on display in a case. The exhibit upstairs was titled: Don Gorvett: Working Waterfronts. He is a contemporary artist. He does woodcuts and then makes colorized prints from them. The waterfronts were mostly Portsmouth and Ogunquit. There was also a video in which Don Gorvett demonstrated how he does the woodcuts and made his prints. He combines the traditional process with a few procedures he created. I found both exhibits worthwhile. I really liked the Impressionist exhibit. I always find every exhibit that the Portsmouth Historical Society displays to be first-rate. I rate the Portsmouth Historical Society, its John Paul Jones House, its tours, its publications, and these exhibits at 5.0. I highly recommend anything the Society does. If you found this review helpful, please click THANK below.
6. USS Albacore Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 594 reviews
The USS Albacore is a research submarine, designed by the U.S. Navy to test experimental features used in modern submarines. The Navy tested top-secret features that led to the high-speed silent operation used on modern U.S. submarines. Today, Albacore has been preserved and is opened to the public Every visitor can go inside and explore this remarkable submarine. You will be able to look through the periscope, explore the control room, engineering spaces, and bunkrooms, and hear crew members tell of things that happened when they were at sea. Tours through Albacore are self-guided. As you walk through the ship, a series of audio stations highlight Albacore's unique features. Recordings by former crew members tell about daily life and some hair-raising incidents aboard the sub. The Visitor Center is your starting point for the tour. The Gift Shop offers souvenirs of your visit. The Memorial Garden preserves the memory of those who have served on Albacore and other U.S. submarines.
Reviewed By PartyTheNightAway - New Jersey, United States
Excellent trip! We arrived at approximately 1 pm and made our way inside to buy our tickets. There were several docents positioned outside that provided useful information about the submarine and its history. There were also several informational plaques located throughout the outside museum and inside the submarine that contained buttons with the actual voices of crew members that worked on the submarine. These voices gave us detailed information about what we were seeing and how life was like on the submarine. We actually got to go inside of the submarine, and we saw the bunks that the crew members slept on, the kitchen, the dining area, the bathrooms and showers, the control room and the engineering aspect. I gained a lot of knowledge doing this tour and thought it was pretty neat that we got to step inside of an actual submarine. The self guided tour was very detailed and I left without having any additional questions. TIP: I recommend spending 1 hour here if you truly want to see everything.
7. Portsmouth Harbor Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 41 reviews
A scenic walking route that includes important historic landmarks in the Portsmouth area.
8. Portsmouth Harbor Cruises
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 276 reviews
Discover the Piscataqua's Heritage on Portsmouth's Original Harbor Cruise. Join us aboard the Heritage for an intimate cruise through the Seacoast's most picturesque waterways. Operating May through October.
9. Moffatt-Ladd House & Garden
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 91 reviews
Originally built for a wealthy merchant family, and later the residence of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, this splendid home features an elegant 18th-century garden, interesting carvings, and much of the original furniture. Guided tours of the house are available June 1 through mid-October, Monday-Saturday 11am to 5pm and Sundays 1-5pm. Tours last 45-60mins and are $8 for adults, $2.5 for children (6-12) and children under 6 are free. To tour the garden on your own is just $2 per person.
10. Strawbery Banke Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,103 reviews
Museum houses open in December only for Candlelight Stroll: Saturdays Dec 12 and 19, 5-9 pm and Sundays, December 13 and 20, 4-8 pm. Guided Holiday House Tours offered Dec 26-31, 10 am to 2 pm with last tour starting at 2 pm. Labrie Family Skate outdoor ice rink at the museum is open daily 9 am to 9 pm (except for occasional private rentals).
Reviewed By aneczypor - Seattle, United States
This historic park is fabulous. From the first video to all the various houses, it is non stop entertaining and beautiful. The structures range from very old homes, to stores and churches transporting you back to another world and time. The buildings are often staffed by volunteers dressed in vintage clothing who act out the person who lived or worked there. The gardens are beautiful and the garden tour is worth taking if you are a Gardner. Do not go to Portsmouth and miss this magical place.
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