By Road / Parking

Portsmouth enjoys good road connections, the A3(M) puts London only one and a half hours away and the M27/A27 connects the city with Britain's motorway network.

Once you're here there's a comprehensive bus network across the Portsmouth area and beyond. If you want to see the rest of the country, National Express, the national coach company, operates regular daily services from the Hard. There are also Greyhound Buses running between Portsmouth and London.

Parking in the city

Portsmouth has a range of car parks throughout the city, click on the links below to find out more or email the Visitor Information Service - vis@portsmouthcc.gov.uk Many Portsmouth car parks are part of the Park Mark safer parking scheme - click on link for more information - Park Mark in Portsmouth. Camper Vans please note: there will be allocated camper van parking spaces in the Milldam Car Park, Burnaby Road every weekend and Bank Holiday Monday until further notice. This car park will have gate staff at all times. The car park is situated directly behind the Registry Office in Burnaby Road and is clearly signed as 'Gunwharf OVERFLOW car park'. At other times the nearest Park Mark car park for camper vans and minibuses is on Southsea seafront

• Portsmouth City Council car parks

• Gunwharf Quays parking

• Cascades Shopping Centre and City Centre parking

• Waitrose in Southsea

Click here for information on lorry parking in Portsmouth.

Keep it safe!

Follow the Police advice and do what you can to avoid being a victim of vehicle crime. Don't leave any valuable items or important documentation in your vehicle - take them with you! This includes Sat Navs - don't lock them in the glove compartment its the first place theives will look. Keep any items you do leave behind out of sight, closing blinds / screens in camper vans.  

Save on Saturdays - Park and Ride!

A Park and Ride service operates in Portsmouth on Saturdays and Public Holidays. Shoppers and visitors to Portsmouth can park at Lakeside North Harbour and travel to the City Centre and Gunwharf Quays/the Historic Dockyard on the park and ride bus.

It costs just £2.50 for a car and up to 7 passengers.  From Lakeside, buses take about seven minutes to get to the city centre. The next stop, about five minutes later, is The Hard (for Gunwharf Quays, the Spinnaker Tower and the Historic Dockyard).  The first bus will start at 9am and the last bus will return from the Hard at 6pm. Users can hop between the two stops as much as they like. Onward bus connections are possible to Southsea and Portsmouth FC.  Download the leaflet for further information.

Bus it to Southsea for only £1 more - park and ride passengers can extend their journey and ride to Southsea for just £1 per adult or 50p for children (free for free bus pass holders).

Here’s how the Southsea add-on ticket works: when you get on the park and ride bus at Lakeside, ask for a Southsea add-on ticket. After you get off the park and ride bus, get on an ordinary First bus to Southsea. Show your Southsea add-on ticket to the driver.

If you don’t ask for an add-on ticket at Lakeside, you can always ask a park and ride driver for one later.You can make as many journeys as you like in the area bounded by the seafront, Pier Road, Kings Terrace, Kings Road, Elm Grove, Albert Road, Festing Road and St Helen's Parade.

Travel tips: For Palmerston Road or South Parade Pier take a number 1C or 40 bus from stand C in Commercial Road, or a 5, 5A, 6 or 6A from stand H at The Hard, near Gunwharf. For Albert Road take a number 17 bus from stand B in Edinburgh Road in the city centre, or stand F at The Hard, and return on a number 18.