This Southern British City Is Often Overlooked—But Travelers Are Missing Out

While it welcomes more than 3 million cruise passengers a year, Southampton remains a relatively underrated city on the British coastline. Without its own sandy beach to show off, it is often ignored by domestic visitors in favor of its seaside neighbors like Bournemouth or Portsmouth. But wander through the port and onto the busy artery that is Platform Road and you’ll enter a walled town that has centuries of fascinating history as an important trade and travel hub.

There are links with salacious rumored royal affairs, connections with the ill-fated Titanic, and a new walking route that charts the time Jane Austen spent here. And today, a thriving student population keeps the city feeling youthful and fun with plenty of bars and pubs; many have been serving pints to seafarers since the 1500s. This is a perfect place to try English ale.

Photo by P.Cartwright/Shutterstock

If you only have a few hours

Once a busy medieval port and later a Regency (late 1700s to mid- 1800s) spa town with iron-rich mineral springs, Southampton has been dealt a rough hand over the past century. Today, the city center is a mishmash of old and new, from brutalist 1960s apartment blocks to timber-framed faux Tudor buildings and handsome, historic Georgian homes. It’s a result of the devastating bombs that dropped here during World War Two and the rebuild that came after the conflict. This rough-around-the-edges aesthetic shouldn’t put you off, though. “We quite readily admit it can be ugly here, but there are many good bits in between,” says Pauline Bisson, a Blue Badge tour guide whose passion for Southampton and its “ugly” bits is infectious.

Southampton’s history is a microcosm of the wider British story and Pauline’s tours are an essential introduction to the city. You’ll start at the Bargate, a towering Norman entryway with crenellations and a statue of King George III dressed as a Roman emperor, and then roam on top of the medieval walls that once ensconced the oldest parts of Southampton. Don’t miss a peek inside the iconic red telephone boxes on Castle Way, in which K6 Gallery hosts ever-changing contemporary art exhibitions.

Other walking tour highlights include the former home of Jane Austen, whose family lived here for three years in the early 18th century when she was a girl, and the magnificent Tudor House. This top-heavy, timber-framed building has been here since the late 1400s and is rumored to be where Anne Boleyn had an affair with a local judge. Its ancient floorboards have an alarmingly loud creak as you wander through its museum exhibits, which include eccentric objects from sedan chairs to a taxidermied spaniel puppy from the Victorian era.

Courtesy of Dancing Man Brewery

Around the corner from here, you’ll find one of the city’s most historic pubs, the handsome, timber-framed Duke of Wellington, built in the 13th-century and known among locals as one of the best places for a classic British fish and chips in town—a perfect way to round off a few hours in Southampton. Alternatively, head to locals’ favorite Dancing Man Brewery, set within the old wool warehouse just across the road from the port; Sunday roasts here are substantial—if you’re really hungry, order the two-meat roast and choose from herby chicken, pork belly, or roast sirloin.

If you have two days

A longer stay lets you delve deeper into this maritime city’s past, specifically the story of the Titanic tragedy. The cruise liner, once said to be an unsinkable ship, departed Southampton’s docks just five days before it succumbed to the power of the ice in the North Atlantic in 1912, and its story is told in a highly immersive and moving exhibition at the SeaCity Museum in Southampton’s Cultural Quarter.

Pair this with a visit to the neighboring Southampton City Art Gallery for contemporary British art and the John Hansard Gallery to see multimedia pieces from U.K. and international artists, such as Pia Arke from Greenland and British photographer Brian Duffy, and you’ve got a suitably cultural day out.

Exceptional independent food and drink are scant in this city where big chains have dominated the hospitality landscape, but a handful of notable restaurants offer good food at pleasingly reasonable prices. Treat yourself to a meal at the Jetty inside the Harbour Hotel, where chef patron Alex Aitken champions local seafood in his ever-changing menu—expect fresh English oysters, crab risotto, an upscale take on fish and chips, or perfectly cooked sea bass and halibut fillets. For something more casual, embrace Southampton’s historic connections with India (it was the home of the East India Company) by way of a fragrant feast at Padharo on East Street (don’t miss the enormous dosas).

Courtesy of Chewton Glenn

Stay longer

For longer stays in or around Southampton, the intimate 12-room Pig in the Wall is a characterful bolthole set within the medieval walls that surrounded the city back in the 1200s. Its ethos is all about home-grown produce and British-made food. Breakfast offers honey from its own bees and English fry-ups using locally sourced meat, while dinner is served deli-style, with salads made from the veg grown in the gardens at a sister hotel in nearby Brockenhurst. A 45-minute drive outside the city is the wonderful Chewton Glen Hotel & Spa, where pristine lawns are the perfect setting for afternoon teas in the sun.

Beyond Southampton’s urban center, there’s a coastline of sandy beaches, such as Lepe Beach or Hengisbury Head. Inland is a countryside of gently rolling hills and quaint English towns and villages like Bishop’s Waltham and Wickham. Make like Jane Austen once did on a day trip from the city with her family and strike out to the New Forest, the southernmost national park in Britain where semi-wild ponies roam freely on its grassy commons. Set across the River Test from the city, it’s just a 25-minute drive to Lyndhurst, a pretty village at the national park’s center with a small museum charting its rural history, myriad antiques shops for browsing, plus excellent scones with clotted cream at the Lyndhurst Tea House.

Take a short drive south to reach Milford-on-Sea, where you can walk all the way out to the 16th-century Hurst Castle and its lighthouse along a pebbly spit. If it’s sand you’re seeking, go east to Bournemouth—England’s answer to Virginia Beach—where a wide, sugary-soft beach stretches for miles along the coast.