Heritage Open Days 2026

Heritage Open Days returns to Portsmouth from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September, with museums, galleries and institutions across the city throwing open their doors for free access. It's part of England's largest festival of history and culture, so while Portsmouth is a big part of it, the same thing is happening all over the country at the same time.

The format is pretty simple: for ten days, museums, attractions, theatres and historic sites open up for a programme of free activities, talks and displays run by volunteers and partners. You'll find walking and guided tours, interior openings and short talks, often at places that are usually closed to the public. It's a good excuse to see the inside of a building you've walked past a hundred times but never actually stepped into.

This year's theme is Everyday Histories, presented by the family history website Findmypast, and it shifts the focus onto the stories of ordinary working people and their daily lives rather than the big names and grand events. It's a nice angle to follow through the different sites, and it fits well with the kind of local history that usually gets overlooked.

Heritage Open Days started in 1994 as part of the European Heritage Days initiative, came into the care of the National Trust in 2011, and has been supported by players of the Postcode Lottery since 2015. It's England's contribution to European Heritage Days, which runs across 50 countries, alongside Open Doors Days in Wales, European Heritage Open Days in Northern Ireland and Doors Open Days in Scotland. The events are free to access, and they run across Portsmouth and the rest of England from Friday 11 to Sunday 20 September.