Portree is the largest town on Skye in the Inner Hebrides

Inner Hebrides

The Inner Hebrides is an archipelago off the west coast of Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, which enjoy a mild oceanic climate. There are 36 inhabited islands and a further 43 uninhabited Inner Hebrides with an area greater than...

 of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is the location for the only secondary school

Secondary school

Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...

 on the Island, Portree High school

Portree High school

Portree High School is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. The school currently enrolls 640 pupils and employs 60 teachers...

. Public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

 services are limited to buses.

Portree has a harbour, fringed by cliffs, with a pier designed by Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford

Thomas Telford FRS, FRSE was a Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason, and a noted road, bridge and canal builder.-Early career:...

.
Attractions in the town include the Àros centre which celebrate the island's Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 heritage. The town also serves as a centre for tourists exploring the island.

The Royal Hotel is the site of MacNab's Inn, the last meeting place of Flora MacDonald

Flora MacDonald

Flora Isabel MacDonald, is a Canadian politician.Born in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, she worked in administration for the Progressive Conservative Party for several years, prior to becoming involved in electoral politics....

 and Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1746.

The town plays host to the Isle of Skye's shinty

Shinty

Shinty is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands, and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread, being once competitively played on a widespread basis in England and other areas in the...

 club, Skye Camanachd

Skye Camanachd

Skye Camanachd is a shinty team from the Isle of Skye, Highland, Scotland. It plays in North Division One and has a reserve team in North Division Two. The club is based at Pairc nan Laoch, Portree.-Early history:...

. They play at Pairc nan Laoch

Pairc nan Laoch

Pairc nan Laoch is a shinty stadium in Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is home to Skye Camanachd.-History:Skye Camanachd originally played at Home Farm in the village of Portree and then moved to the King George V Park in the centre of the village where they attracted large crowds. They also...

 above the town on the road to Struan

Struan

Struan is a small village situated on the west coast of the island of Skye, on the shores of Loch Beag, itself an inlet of Loch Harport. "Struan" is the anglicized form of the Scottish Gaelic word sruthan, meaning "small stream", or the flow at the point where a spring appears.It has a...

.

Around 939 (37.72%) of the population can speak Scottish Gaelic.

The A855 road leads north out of the town, passing through villages such as Achachork

Achachork

Achachork is a small village in the Scottish council area of the Highland. It is lies on the A855 road to the north of Portree in the east of the Isle of Skye. Robert Forrester is documented as being in Achachork in 1666.-References:...

, Staffin

Staffin

Staffin is a village , lying at the head of Staffin Bay on the northeast coast of the Trotternish peninsula of the island of Skye. It is located on the A855 road about north of Portree. Nearby is the rock formation of the Quirang and Staffin Island lies just offshore...

 and passes the rocky landscape of The Storr

The Storr

The Storr is a rocky hill on the Trotternish peninsula of the Isle of Skye. The hill presents a steep rocky eastern face overlooking the Sound of Raasay, contrasting with gentler grassy slopes to the west.-Geology:...

 before reaching the landslip of the Quiraing

Quiraing

The Quiraing is a landslip on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach, the northernmost summit of the Trotternish Ridge on the Isle of Skye. The whole of the Trotternish Ridge escarpment was formed by a great series of landslips; the Quiraing is the only part of the slip still moving, the road at...

.

Etymology

The current name, Port Rìgh translates as 'king's harbour', possibly from a visit by King James V of Scotland in 1540. However this etymology has been contested, since James did not arrive in peaceful times. The older name appears to have been Port Ruighe(adh), 'slope harbour'.

Prior to the sixteenth century the settlement's name was Kiltaraglen ('the church of St. Talarican') from Gaelic Cill Targhlain.

Portree shale

Portree shale is a geologic association in the vicinity of Portree, whose existence is linked with potential petroleum occurrences of commercial importance.

In fiction

• Portree is the home of a fictional professional Quidditch
  Quidditch
  Quidditch is a fictional sport developed by British author J. K. Rowling for the Harry Potter series of novels. It is described as an extremely rough, but very popular, semi-contact sport, played by wizards and witches around the world...
  
   team operating within the Harry Potter universe
  Harry Potter universe
  The fictional universe of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of fantasy novels comprises two separate and distinct societies: the wizarding world and the Muggle world...
  
  . The Pride of Portree are one of only thirteen Quidditch teams that play in the professional Quidditch League of Britain
  Early Modern Britain
  Early modern Britain is the history of the island of Great Britain, roughly corresponding to the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. Major historical events in Early Modern British history include the English Renaissance, the English Reformation and Scottish Reformation, the English Civil War, the...
  
   and Ireland
  Ireland
  Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
  
   that was established in 1674. The team players wear deep-purple robes emblazoned with a gold star on the chest.

• The film Made Of Honor
  Made of Honor
  Made of Honor is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Paul Weiland and story written by Adam Sztykiel . It was produced by Neal H. Moritz and was released by Columbia Pictures in North America on May 2, 2008...
  
  partially takes place in Portree. A sweeping shot of the town's main street is shown.