Southampton Tourism - Travel to Southampton
Southampton is a port city on England's South coast.
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Understand Southampton Tourism
Southampton has been a settlement since Roman and Saxon times, and its privileged position on England's south coast made it Britain's premier trading post. The town became walled in the medieval era, and some remnants of these defences remain throughout the city, most notably the Bargate in the middle of the city centre. Southampton was devastated by bombing during the Second World War, meaning that much of the city and its heritage was destroyed. As such the town and its architecture has quite a modern feel to it.
Get into Southampton
Travel to Southampton By Plane
Southampton is serviced by Southampton Airport, located a short distance outside the city in Eastleigh. It is a relatively small airport, and only flies to the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.
The alternative is to use one of the London airports and travel on to Southampton by train, car or bus. The most convenient are:
- Heathrow Airport is about 60 miles drive from Southampton via the M4 (westbound), M25 (clockwise) and the M3 (southbound). There is a RailAir coach service to Woking station, where mainline trains to Southampton can be boarded.
- Gatwick Airport is about 80 miles drive from Southampton via the M23 (northbound), M25 (clockwise) and M3 (southbound) motorways. There is an hourly through train service to Southampton from a rail station in the airport terminal complex, taking just under two hours.
Travel to Southampton By Train
South West Trains run regular (at least one an hour) services to Southampton from London Waterloo via Winchester and Basingstoke as well as from Portsmouth and further east along the south coast. Many of these trains continue beyond Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth via the New Forest.
South Central Trains run services via a longer and slower route from London, but have the advantage of serving London Gatwick airport on the way. Virgin Trains run longer distance services from the north of England via Birmingham and Reading. Wessex Trains run services from Cardiff, Bristol and Swindon via Salisbury.
Train times can be found on the National Rail Planner or by calling 0845-748-4950 from anywhere in the UK.
Travel to Southampton By car
The M3 links Southampton with the M25 and London. The M27 leads east towards Bournemouth and the West Country, and west along the coast towards Brighton and the rest of the south of England.
Travel to Southampton By Bus
Travel to Southampton By Boat
Southampton is a busy port city, and as such has numerous sea links to countries across the world.
Get around in Southampton
See Southampton
- The Bargate - a medieval gatehouse sat slap bang in the middle of the shopping centre. The top floor is now a Heritage Visitor Centre
- The Central Parks - established in the 19th century and listed Grade II on English Heritage's Register of Historic Parks, they benefited in 2001 from a £4.5m Heritage Lottery grant
- The yearly Southampton Boat Show
Do Southampton
- Take a walk on Southampton Common - 326 acres of grass and woodland, including an Urban Wildlife Centre, paddling pool, play area and fishing lake. Very busy during summer months, and a popular afternoon hang out for students
- Walk the walls - follow the signposted original course of the historic town walls, gatehouses and towers, which are amongst the most complete in England. Around half of the original one mile circuit still survives, including the famous Bargate
- Watch a football match - Southampton FC play at the new St Marys Stadium. The derby matches with neighbouring Portsmouth have plenty of fire
- Take a ride on the Hythe Ferry from Town Quay to Hythe Pier, viewing the shipping in the docks
Learn
Southampton has two universities: the University of Southampton and Southampton Institute.
Work
Buy
Eat - Travel to Southampton
Drink
As is to be expected of a large port with two universities, there are a lot of places to drink in Southampton.
Portswood is the drinking area of choice for students at the University, so keep away from places like The Hobbit, Clowns, The Gordon Arms and The Mitre if you want to avoid them.
The Pentagon is a nice area near the city centre with some good new bars, including the Lizard Lounge.
The Marina area has a good (albeit expensive) selection of seafront bars.
Sleep - Southampton Tourism
Contact
Stay safe - Southampton Tourism
Cope
Get out
- The New Forest
- Winchester, a nearby ancient cathedral city with lots to see.
External Links for Southampton Tourism
