Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery

Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery occupies a striking late-Victorian former barracks building with turrets and pointed roofs, with gardens on its grounds. Inside, the Story of Portsmouth lets children walk through reconstructed rooms, from a 17th-century bedchamber and an 1871 dockyard worker's kitchen to a Victorian parlour, a 1930s kitchen and a 1950s living room. Portsmouth at Play covers the beach, the cinema and the dance floor, and Football in the City shows historic football memorabilia. There is also a fine and decorative art collection and a changing programme of temporary exhibitions. The garden has play equipment, benches and garden games to hire, and the cafe is a relaxed place to break a visit. It suits families with school-age children and older visitors, and the museum is quieter in winter than at weekends and in school holidays.