Southampton has been a settlement since Roman and Saxon times, in Roman times the town was known as Clausentum. The Roman Ruins are situated in a suburb called Bitterne Manor. In Saxon times the town was known as Hamwic. 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.
Southampton has grown rapidly in the past 30 years, becoming one of the twenty largest cities in England. The two Universities (Solent University and University of Southampton) mean that there is a large student population (in term time).
Southampton is serviced by '''Southampton International Airport''' [http://www.baa.co.uk/main/airports/southampton/], 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, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The alternative is to use one of the London airports and travel on to Southampton by rail, car or bus. The most convenient are:
'''South West Trains''' [http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/] 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.
''' Southern Railway''' [http://www.southernrailway.com/] run services via a longer and slower route from London Victoria, but have the advantage of serving London Gatwick airport on the way. ''' CrossCountry''' [http://www.crosscountrytrains.co.uk/] run longer distance services from the north of England via Birmingham and Reading.
'''First Great Western''' [http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk] runs services from Cardiff, Bristol and Bath via Salisbury.
'''Megatrain''' [http://www.megatrain.com] is a new budget ticket option available up to four times a day on South West Trains' services between London and Southampton. If booked some time in advance, tickets can be as cheap as __1 one way, but they are more restricted than the regular tickets, and can only be purchased online via the Megatrain website or by phone.
Train times can be found on National Rail [http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/] or by calling 08457 48 49 50 from anywhere in the UK.
The M3 links Southampton with the M25 and London. The M27 leads west towards Bournemouth and the West Country, and east along the coast towards Brighton and the rest of the south of England.
Car parking is relatively easy with many pay and display places in the city centre. There are a number of free 2hr car parks too, and if you stray a little further away you can find free parking on the streets.
During the period of the Boat Show there is a Park and Ride scheme operating from Junction 1 of the M271 motorway with frequent buses to the show entrance.
There is also a Park and Ride for ticket holders to Southampton Football Club matches. This is easily found and well signposted from Junction 8 of the M27. For more information on either of the Park and Ride schemes see National Park and Ride Directory [http://www.parkandride.net/southampton/southampton_frameset.shtml]
'''Megabus''' [http://www.megabus.com] run a twice daily bus service from London Victoria Coach Station to Southampton from __3-__5 for the cost of a single ticket
'''National Express''' [http://www.nationalexpress.com] also run a regular coach service direct to Southampton from London Victoria Coach Station. Ticket prices are less than __20 for a scheduled return.
Southampton is a busy port city, and as such has numerous sea links to countries across the world, however the port is mainly used for freight (particularly containers) and cruises. There are no international ferry services, however regular vehicle and passenger ferries operate to Cowes on the nearby Isle Of Wight and the village of Hythe across the water.
Southampton City Centre is fairly spread out along a North-South axis, however it is easily possible to walk from the popular Bedford Place student area on the Northern fringe of the central area to the waterfront, much of the route being pedestrianised.
Southampton has a few dedicated cycle routes; they are not particularly well linked but cyclists should not have a problem navigating the city centre. The city centre itself is mostly flat; Hampshire tends to undulate. Southampton cycle map is at [http://www.southampton.gov.uk/Images/Map%20of%20Cycle%20Network_tcm46-155969.pdf]
Southampton has a good network of bus services, with some principal services operating as often as every ten minutes during the day. Most of the services radiate out from the city centre but there are also some cross-city routes.
'''Uni-link''' [http://www.uni-link.info/]
'''Solent Blue Line''' [http://www.solentblueline.com/]
'''First''' [http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/southeast/hampshire/home/index.php]
'''Wilts & Dorset''' [http://www.wdbus.co.uk/]
'''Stagecoach''' [http://www.stagecoachbus.com/south/]
Southampton has two universities: the University of Southampton [http://www.soton.ac.uk] and Southampton Solent University [http://www.solent.ac.uk].
Southampton sells itself as the shopping capital of the South Coast and the '''West Quay''' shopping centre does nothing to dispel you of that opinion. John Lewis and Marks And Spencer are the major draws, but there are 97 other shops happy to separate you from your hard-earned.
'''The Bargate''' shopping centre appeals to a younger clientele than West Quay, providing fashion retailers, computer game stores, '''Pijin''' BMX shop and an excellent milkshake shop.
'''The Mall''' (formerly Marlands) is an even more generic shopping centre, if such a thing were possible, although the rent is lower than West Quay and hence the retailers are a little less salubrious.
For more generic shopping, '''Above Bar Street''' is the main pedestrial thoroughfare joining the shopping centres to each other therefore has even more retailers, large and small, just don't expect to be surprised that the same stores as are on most British high streets have made this their home.
The more discerning shopper can head towards '''East Street''' which is the home of 'Speciality Shopping' (it even says so on the street sign) but even this has very little to surpise a shopper on the hunt for a more interesting shopping experience.
Just don't confuse it with '''East Street Shopping Centre''' which is apparently the first shopping centre in Southampton, although it has been left behind by the developments on Above Bar Street and is now tucked away too far from the madding crowd and is looking more than a little tired (and also fast becoming the haunt of teenage groups from the nearby estate).
Above Bar Street is also the home of the '''German Market''' which runs in December, and the area around the Bargate has the '''Farmer's Market''' on the second Saturday of each month.
Southampton's planners have indicated that they don't want to encourage out-of-town shopping, but that hasn't stopped Eastleigh developing '''Hedge End Retail Park''' with its collection of typical out-of-town shops at junction 7 of the M27.
There are two main areas for eating out in Southampton; the first is Oxford Street (towards Ocean Village) and the second is around Bedford Place (just North of the city).
Oxford Street has a selection of higher class (and therefore more expensive) restaurants. Recommended are the White Star (English/Traditional), Kutis (Indian), Poppadom Express (Indian) and Pilgrim House (Chinese).
The choice in Bedford Place is rather more varied; ranging from Moroccan and Mexican at the Southern end of the road through student style curry houses and a chinese to some late night kebab and chip shops. In terms of value for money the Pride Of India is one of best Indians in the city, but most of the restaurants are good value, if not exactly awe-inspiring taste-wise.
Walking distance from Bedford Place is the area of town that used to be known as Hungry Hill; Commercial Road where the existence of the Mayflower Theatre has meant a thriving trade for various restaurants in pre- and post-theatre eating. Again the choice is varied although generally the quality to cost ratio is not as high as it might otherwise be; although Buon Gusto (Italian) and Cafe Pattaya (Thai) are particularly recommended.
There are obviously the usual range of fast food chains spread throughout the city; formerly Burger King and McDonalds faced each other across the Bargate like petulant children with the gate itself acting like a peace-making mother, but McDonalds gave up the fight and fled to the West Quay shopping centre. Furthermore, there are many takeaways in Southampton [http://www.foodagogo.com/southampton/] that do delivery and allow you to pick up the food yourself. Typical meals range from __7-__15. Check with your hotel/hostel if they allow food orders.
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 and Jesters''' ("Jesters"), '''The Gordon Arms''' and '''The Mitre''' if you want to avoid students. While The Hobbit can be studenty, it is definitely worth a look as it is a quirky pub with a massive beer garden and live music every night of the week. '''Kolebka''' is a relaxed Jazz bar with live music every Friday night.
The '''Polygon''' is a nice area near the city centre with some good new bars, including the '''Revolutions'''.
The '''Marina''' area has a good (albeit expensive) selection of seafront bars.
The '''Red Lion''' in High Street dates back to Tudor times and is a must-see. It's usually fairly quiet as well. For those looking for something more lively, The '''Platform Tavern''' nearby on the waterfront is an excellent bet as it features live jazz and blues music and a superb selection of local real ales.
'''The Angel''' located next to one of the central parks is an excellent 'local' type pub in the city centre featuring a free drinks quiz and friendly landlord. The '''Royal Oak''' nearby is also an excellent pub featuring regular live music, karaoke and quiz nights as well as drinks promotions, it is also very friendly although it can be a bit studenty.
The city centre also has the usual spattering of chain pubs, including '''Slug & Lettuce''', two '''Wetherspoon's''', '''Walkabout''', '''Bar Risa''' and '''Que Pasa'''.
Outside of the city centre are the usual local pubs, some of which are excellent and others which are best avoided. The '''Park Inn''' in Shirley and the '''Wellington Arms''' and '''Waterloo Arms''' in Freemantle all have an excellent range of real ales while the '''Richmond Inn''' in Portswood is a great traditional pub with a vintage till and real ales. Nearby and next to St Denys railway station are two more excellent pubs, the '''Junction Inn''' and '''South Western Arms'''.
There is a useful directory of the local '''pubs''' and '''bars''' at [http://southampton-pubs.co.uk] which includes maps to find the pub and a few featured pubs as well.
There is no doubt that whatever your budget you will be able to find somewhere to lay your head in Southampton. A the top end of the scale the De Vere Grand Harbour [http://www.devere.co.uk/] is the only 5* hotel in the city and an exceptional piece of architecture.
In the level below that the Hilton [http://www.hilton.co.uk/southampton] provides 4* luxury in a pleasant environment as well as being easy to get to from the M3.
3* hotels are much easier to come by, the Jurys Inn [http://www.jurys-southampton-hotels.com/] has recently opened in the middle of a city centre roundabout, the Novotel [http://www.novotel.com/novotel/fichehotel/gb/nov/1073/fiche_hotel.shtml], Travelodge [http://www.travelodge.co.uk/find_a_hotel/hotel/hotel_id/66/Southampton], Holiday Inn [http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/925/en/hd/soahp] and Hotel Ibis [http://www.ibishotel.com/ibis/fichehotel/gb/ibi/1039/fiche_hotel.shtml] are all perfectly adequate for providing a night's sleep.
If you feel the need for a less generic hotel experience, The Dolphin [http://www.thedolphin.co.uk/] hotel and The Star [http://www.starhotel.co.uk/] are both on the High Street in traditional coaching inn buildings and will make you feel less like you're just a commodity.
If you're on the cheap, or feel like a more personal stay, then there are plenty of Bed And Breakfasts; most cluster around the bottom end of Hill Lane which is close to the train station. Simply wander out from the station's main exit (If you see Toys 'r' Us opposite you're on the wrong exit) and take the path by the left side of the HSBC office block. Hill Lane leads up the small hill from the traffic lights. Keep going up the hill until you find one worth staying at; don't forget to check the side streets too.
Tourist Information will almost certainly be able to find you somewhere to stay if you're stuck (023 8083 3333).
Southampton Tourist Information Centre [http://www.southampton.gov.uk/leisure/default.asp]
Unfortunately, there are quite high levels of violent crime and car crime in Southampton especially in more rundown areas of the city, these places can usually be easily identified and avoided by visitors. There is a strong police presence in Southampton City Centre at night time. Especially around the clubs and pubs. Additionally there is a Night Bus Service that costs __2 for each time you travel and runs until 2-3am to allow people to get home safely.
It is advised not to wander in to Southampton Common at night time.
'''Samaritans'''<br/> 11 College Place<br/> London Road<br/> Southampton<br/> Hampshire<br/> SO15 2FE<br/> '''Phone:''' 08457 90 90 90
'''No Limits''' [http://www.nolimits-southampton.org.uk/] is an Information, Advice and Counselling service for young people in Southampton aged 13-25.<br/> No Limits City Centre<br/> 24a Bernard Street<br/> Southampton<br/> SO14 3AY<br/> '''Phone:''' 023 8022 4224<br/>