Location: Portsmouth
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What to do and see in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (NH): The Best Museums
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. Abbott Store
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Restored old store located within Strawbery Banke.
2. N.W. Barrett Gallery
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By suecI1409BV
Best gallery in Portsmouth with finely made crafts and art, professionally curated and displayed. A shop full of treasures.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Piscataqua Fine Arts Studio and Gallery
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 8 reviews
This is the gallery and studio of artist and master printer Don Gorvett. Mr Gorvett is known for his large powerful reduction woodcut that reflect the maritime architecture and history of New England.
7. 3S Artspace
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
3S Artspace is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit contemporary arts organization that combines the only midsize, flexible Performance Space of its kind in the area, a large contemporary art Gallery, and a restaurant partner serving as a local hub, ideal as a gathering place for all. 3S is dedicated to presenting and supporting bold, emerging art and entertainment and cultivating an informal space for the exchange of ideas and creativity. We host more than 100 public events each year including Gallery exhibit openings, concerts, workshops, family programming, film screenings, artist talks, theatrical performances, improv, drag, community conversations, and more!
8. John Paul Jones House, part of the Portsmouth Historical Society
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 76 reviews
This 1758 colonial, gambrel-roofed house was the home of Revolutionary War naval hero John Paul Jones while in Portsmouth during the war, and now features a collection of furniture, toys, guns, canes and a historic garden. The museum is open Memorial Day - mid October.
Reviewed By robertlK2619YM
John Paul Jones was America’s first naval hero. During the Revolutionary War, he commanded the ship Bonhomme Richard, on loan to us from France, and defeated a larger and better armed naval vessel, the British ship Serapis. While virtually sunk, John Paul Jones was able to counterattack and defeat the Serapis. John Paul Jones rented lodgings in what is now the John Paul Jones house for about a year during the Revolutionary War while he directed the construction of warship for the Navy. But that should not dissuade a visitor from coming to that location. Not only are the various artifacts interesting to view, but there is a hidden treasure. On the second floor of the structure, the city of Portsmouth told the story of the treaty that ended the Russo-Japanese war in 1905. President Teddy Roosevelt was able to get Russia and Japan to agree to come to the east coast of the United States. Because the weather in the summer in Washington DC was horrible, President Roosevelt directed that the parties go to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where the weather was better and the naval base would be a private and secure setting. The exhibit shows the intricacy of the diplomatic negotiations between the two nations. What I did not know was the critical role played by the townspeople of the city of Portsmouth in the final outcome. From the first time that the diplomats arrived, the delegations were entertained in the private homes and public spaces of the city. When it appeared that the negotiations had broken down and were not going to be successful, the citizens of the city redoubled their efforts and, thanks to the judicious and timely intervention of President Roosevelt, the last obstacles to the treaty were resolved, and President Roosevelt went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. In my humble opinion, the entire city of Portsmouth New Hampshire deserved part of that award as well. Both exhibits in the structure are worth your time and will teach you about parts of American history that you may not know.
9. Edgecomb Potters
10. ellO gallery & shop
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
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