Southampton Tourist Guide

Southampton City is located on the South coastports declined. However this trend is now changing
of England, 80 miles South West of London.with more luxury cruise ships setting sail from
Historically Southampton has been an importantSouthampton.
port and this still applies today. The city has aWith such a rich history there is an abundance of
population of about 250,000 and is the closest citythings to see and do in and around the city. There
to the New Forest.are a number of historic buildings. These include
The M3 and M27 Motorways are the main roadthe City Wall built in 1338, St Michaels Church built
links between London and Southampton. Thein 1070, God's House Tower built 1417 and the
drive takes about one hour and forty minutes12th century Red Lion Pub where the
putting the city within easy reach of London'sSouthampton plotters were tried and sentenced
major international airports. A regular train serviceto death.
is operated by Southwest Trains betweenSouthampton is located on the door step of the
Southampton Central and London Waterloo trainNew Forest. This is a large national park of about
stations.570 km2. The New Forest was created by William
Southampton Airport hosts flights to many localthe Conqueror in 1079 as a Royal Hunting Ground.
destinations as well as to over 47 EuropeanThe Forest today offers the visitor miles of
destinations. There are no longer any internationalpeaceful walks through ancient woodland and
ferry services operating out of Southamptonheath land. Alternatively the forest can be
docks, but the port is home to a growing numberexplored on bicycle or horse back. There is an
of luxury cruise ships, including the QE2. The cityabundance of wildlife and the forest is home to
has a good network of bus services with accessthe famous New Forest ponies. There are a
to all the local amenities.number of villages in the New Forest each with
The history of the city can be tracked back totheir own secrets to uncover.
the Romans who established the first permanentThe city has a number of museums. The Museum
settlement and port. The settlement known asof Archeology, which is housed in God's House
Clausentum was the main trading port forTower, has a collection of artifacts which tell the
Winchester and Salisbury, both large Romanstory of Southampton from the Stone Age to
towns. The town was moved to its currentthe present day. The Solent Sky Museum has a
location by the Anglo-Saxons some time later.large display of aircraft and aims to educate the
Southampton became an important trading portvisitor on the rich history of aviation in the Solent
with wool being a major cargo in the 13tharea. Located a short drive to the north of the
century.city is the Intech Science Center, an Interactive
After the city was sacked by the French in 1338science and technology centre for the whole
the Southampton City walls were built, part offamily.
which still stand today. In 1623 the Pilgrim FathersThe West Quay Shopping Centre is one of the
set sail from Southampton, aboard the Mayflowerlargest shopping centers in the UK and hosts a
on route to Plymouth in present daynumber of major shopping brands. The city has a
Massachusetts. Famously the RMS Titanic also setvibrant night life with a number of night clubs,
sail from Southampton on her ill fated firstrestaurants and pubs.
voyage. Many of her crew came fromIn a recent survey by British Gas Southampton
Southampton and a total of 549 city residentswas ranked as one of the lowest carbon emitting
perished when the ship sank.cities in the UK and is the only City to operate a
With the advent of air travel, traffic through thegeothermal power station.