Plan your Victorious Festival weekend 2025
Victorious festival is a big deal in our little island city. Many locals will remember when tickets were less than £15 and Charlotte Church headlined when it was still at the dockyards. Now, more than a decade later, Victorious is a huge music festival that spans the Common and attracts tens of thousands of visitors.
Before I go any further, this blog is not affiliated with Victorious in any professional capacity. You're best off checking out their website for specific information. This is some advice from a local to plan your weekend. I've also made a map with all these suggestions and tips to make your life easier.
Top Tips:
Parking. Unless you've absolutely secured a parking spot, don't risk it. Parking is a problem anyway, then minus a few hundred spots + a few thousand extra cars. It's just not worth it. As far as I'm aware, there's a park and ride (check the Victorious website) and three train stations within a 20-25 minute walk to the site: Portsmouth Harbour (near Gunwharf), Portsmouth and Southsea (probably the closest) and Fratton. If you do drive, be aware that you will get stuck in traffic.
Signal. Like any major festival, the signal is always rubbish, and it's pretty poor across the entire city during Victorious weekend. We all hate it as much as you will.
Weather. It's looking like perfect festival weather this weekend. I remember it was like a monsoon one year, which was not fun. But we are right on the sea's edge, so it gets a bit windy. If you feel the cold, bring a layer and some sun cream. If you don't come prepared and you get chilly, go visit our friend Merlin who'll be at Victorious on Market Way.
Getting around. I usually walk everywhere so you're best off checking out the respective websites of anything mentioned in this section BUT we do have buses (Stagecoach, First Bus and Park and Ride). We also have Voi e-scooters and e-bikes. This link here has a handy map of where you can rent these. As well as that, Victorious are already setting up loads of bike racks so you might want to consider bringing your bike.
Discovering the local area
One of the great things about Victorious is that you can enter and exit the festival until 8 pm, which means you can get a little rest and discover our fabulous little city. You can discover many great places in Portsmouth and Southsea, but I'm keeping recommendations close to the festival site or areas where a lot of people stay, because you'll get bored with walking otherwise. Don't forget, everything is marked on the map.
Decent Coffee near Victorious
Bay Coffee
Bay is close to the beach and, therefore, Victorious on the Castle Arena side of the site, so entrance/exit D. It's open from 7 am (the earliest a decent coffee shop is open on the island), but bear in mind it's takeout only. To be fair, sitting on the beach with a coffee is better than sitting in any way.
Baffled on the beach
Baffled is on the promenade right by the Castle Arena (D) entrance/exit. They usually open around 9ish and close in the afternoon, but if it's busy, they'll stay open.
Southsea Coffee
Southsea Coffee is one of the OGs and is probably the closest to the site on the Common Area side, where you'll get a good cup of coffee; their food is great, too. They do get extremely busy, so either make a reservation now or try your luck, but you've been warned.
Southsea Deli
The Deli is my current favourite place to grab a coffee. The team are awesome and so is the coffee. Sit in or takeaway, if you're staying near Elm Grove then this is the place you're going to want to visit.
Hideout
If you're getting off the train at Portsmouth and Southsea, Hideout is on your way to the Victorious. They also make great doughnuts and have just started making amazing-looking sandwiches. You can sit in or take away.
Hunter Gatherer
If you're staying closer to Eastney, Hunter offers great speciality coffee and vegan food. If you arrive on Friday and are looking for something to do Friday night, they're hosting a party from 5pm to 9:30pm.
Broadway Coffee Roasters
If you're really staying in Eastney, Broadway is most likely the closest coffee shop where you'll get a decent flat white. It's a great little spot and an absolute sun trap if you sit outside.
Places to get breakfast near Victorious
Usually Croxton's only serve breakfast on Saturday's but Victorious weekend 2025, they're serving breakfast Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9-11:30am and have added a full English to the menu, too.
Farm Kitchen is a local favourite. It's located on Palmerston Road, just a bit further up than Croxton's. Their menu is big, so the whole group is sure to find something they'll enjoy.
Shenanigans is a Portsmouth institution. I'm ashamed to say I've never tried one of their famous Irish fry-ups, but everyone rates them. So if you're looking for a hearty fry-up, this might be the place.
Ellie Ann's Cafe is located on Marmion Road and is brand new. It has been opened by the long-standing chef of Southsea's beloved Tenth Hole, so you know it's going to be good. It's not as close to the site, but it's right by Waitrose and there's a bunch of lovely shops you can browse in, so if you're looking for a chilled morning before the festival maybe give Ellie Ann's a go.
On the same road as Ellie Ann's is Sisters Cafe, which has a menu that offers enough choice but isn't too big, so you know it's all fresh and lovely.
FYI, all of these places are marked on the map along with a few others. Just bear in mind that none of these places are huge, so it's best to book ahead of time if you can or have a plan B.
Places to drink near Victorious
It's a festival, so beer is going to be pricey. But the fact that you can enter and exit as much as you'd like until 8 pm means you can also grab a tipple elsewhere. For this one, I'm going to list the places where you'll be able to grab a drink, which are closest to each entrance/exit. Most of these places do something special or fun over Victorious so best to check out their socials to see what's on.
Entrance/exit H/G
The Brewhouse and Kitchen Southsea is a craft beer pub with a huge beer garden, and they serve food.
If you head down Castle Road, you'll also find a lovely pub called the Barely Mow. They've got you covered if you'd rather a cuppa than a pint.
If you're really into your beer, then check out The Hole in the Wall. The name gives it away, it is small but worth it for beer lovers.
Entrance/exit B
The Queens Hotel does a lovely Marg, and they have a gorgeous outdoor space. I recommend checking out the Queen's hotel, but don't go expecting any 2-4-1 offers.
There are a few pubs/bars down Osborne Road, which are marked on the map and will most likely be a bit quieter than those on Palmerston Road. Don't hold me to that, though!
Entrance/exit C
In order of closest to exit to furthest away, you've got:
Far Far Out is run by the people behind Make Make Beer and is home to banging pizza. It's always best to check out their socials for opening times.
Meat and Barrel has a wide selection of drinks and serves decent food.
Durty Nelly's is a recent addition to Palmerston Road. It's an Irish sports bar that does a decent pint of Guinness, so if that's your thing. They've got you covered.
Croxton's is a bit further up if you fancy a pint or a cocktail and some decent food.
Across the road from them is Southsea Village. Probably one of the bigger bars/pubs in the area.
Then you've got Scarlet Tap, another decent-sized bar.
Go Rogue, where you can play old-school arcade games or Mario Kart. And then just across from that, you've got The Monarch.
If you make your way up a little further, you'll find Florio's, which sells a small selection of alcoholic drinks and offers special deals on their delicious food for people with Victorious wristbands.
If you don't plan on leaving the site at all, make sure you check out some local stars who'll be there.
Actually Merlin Vintage will be there on Market Way, which has loads of cool stuff. He'll also have a few 'cheap' rails, so if you forget a jumper or spill something down you, you can pick up something cheap (yet still cool) to wear.
The Portsmouth Creates Hub is back, and it will celebrate local talent with a market and more.
And if you're looking for local food inside the festival, the Neighbourhood Eats area is the place to go.
I could keep going, but you're probably bored now. For more suggestions, check out the map or follow @southofthesea on Instagram.
