Exploring Southampton: what to do when you have visitors

Last weekend I had what I must call the privilege of having one of my best friends from Norway over for a whole three days. Not only have I had a lovely weekend with one of my dearest friends, but I have also been able to go sightseeing around Southampton and beyond. If you’re not from around here, having friends coming over means that you want and need to show them the city you live in!

I have put together what we managed to do over the weekend if you need any inspiration for your future visits.

SeaCity Museum

I’m a self-proclaimed Titanic fanatic, who knows all the lines from the movie by heart. However, not only is the true story about Titanic extremely fascinating, but it’s also quite close, since as probably everyone knows Titanic sailed from Southampton. The Titanic exhibition at the SeaCity Museum down by the Civic Centre was thus a natural place for us to go. I’ve been there about four times now and I still find it very interesting, so it’s worth a visit. Even if you aren’t a Titanic fanatic you can learn loads of new things about Southampton as a city, as the museum is not solely based on Titanic, but also shows the history of Southampton.

One of the rooms in the SeaCity museum. Each dot shows where the victims of the Titanic used to live in Southampton

West Quay

Someone once told me West Quay is one of the largest shopping centres on the whole of the South Coast of England, so save the money from travelling into London and go West Quay instead. Obviously, as anyone would know having been in West Quay on a Saturday, it can get very, very busy!

Oxford Street and Ocean Village

We walked a lot over the weekend, but I believe that is the best way of experiencing any city. For example, a walk from Bedford Place to Ocean Village is about 20-30 minutes and you get to see a lot of the town centre on the way. By walking, I got to show Aurora Mayflower Halls, where I lived last year, Guildhall Square, the High Street, Oxford Street and finally Ocean Village.

Oxford Street 

Ocean Village

Winchester

We spent our Sunday in Winchester, which is only 15 minutes by train. I’ve never been to Winchester properly, so it was nice to finally get to see the town. It’s a really short walk from the train station into the centre and in the centre they had a lovely market. We also went to see Winchester Cathedral, which is quite jaw-dropping and alone worth a visit to Winchester. Apart from that, Winchester was full of lovely cafés for lunch and it was in general a very nice place to spend our Sunday. Highly recommended.

Winchester Cathedral

We also had a couple of hours together on Monday before Aurora had to head to the airport. We spent it on campus and I got to show her all the places I love so much here on Highfield Campus.

Thank you for a lovely weekend, Aurora – can’t wait to have you over again.

Have fun exploring Southampton!

Alexandra