Portsmouth: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Portsmouth is a city of 208,100 people in United Kingdom (England), 6 m (20 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is London Gatwick Airport (LGW), 74 km (46 mi) from the centre. It has 5 railway stations on record, including Cosham railway station.
Key facts
Open Portsmouth in Google Maps
Daylight in Portsmouth runs from about 8 h 1 min a day in late December to 16 h 35 min in late June (computed for 50.8° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Portsmouth is served by 4 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is London Gatwick Airport (LGW), 74 km (46 mi) from the centre, whose 10,883-ft runway is long enough for long-haul wide-body aircraft. The alternatives are London Heathrow Airport (LHR, 87 km), Southampton Airport (SOU, 25 km), Bournemouth Airport (BOH, 53 km).
Flights to Portsmouth: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Cosham railway station, Fratton railway station, Paulsgrove Halt railway station, Albert Road Bridge Halt railway station, Jessie Road Bridge Halt railway station. Trains to Portsmouth
Buses to Portsmouth · Driving and car hire
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- London, 104 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Paris, 328 km (France) — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Birmingham, 195 km — flights · tours
- Brussels, 382 km (Belgium) — flights
- Manchester, 308 km
- Sheffield, 288 km — tours
- Leeds, 335 km
- Antwerp, 387 km (Belgium)
- Liverpool, 318 km
- Bristol, 128 km — tours
Twin towns and sister cities: Duisburg, Portsmouth, Reggio Calabria, Caen, Haifa, Maizuru, Muscat, Sydney, Zhuhai, City of Sylhet.
Common questions
Which airport serves Portsmouth?
London Gatwick Airport (LGW), 74 km (46 mi) from the centre, plus 3 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Portsmouth?
About 208,100 people live in Portsmouth, across 40 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Portsmouth in?
Europe/London, currently UTC+1.
What currency is used in Portsmouth?
The Pound (GBP). Traffic drives on the left.
Which cities are near Portsmouth?
London (104 km), Paris (328 km), Birmingham (195 km), Brussels (382 km), Manchester (308 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.