Southampton - fun and cheap?

June 11, 2008 2:59 PM

Can you suggest fun and cheap places to stay and things to do in Southampton, England?

I'll be in Southampton for several days at the end of this month, and would love to know about any good places to stay (hostels?) and fun things to do.

I'd rather not spend more than $100 a night on a hostel / hotel ... and less would be even better. I don't mind sharing, but prefer a women-only dorm. I won't have a car, so public transport or walking distance to the cruise ship terminal is important. (I'm in town to take pictures of ships.)

Are there interesting museums or must-see historical / cultural points of interest?

Also, where's the best place to get online with a laptop? (I'm guessing Starbucks is my fallback, but if there are cooler / cheaper options I'd like that too -- I'll have lots of photos to post each night.)

Thanks!

posted by CruiseSavvy to Travel & Transportation around Southampton, England (9 answers total)

Born and raised there, so feel free to mefimail or email me with any specific questions about the city that i might be able to answer...

Not sure about accommodation, but the city centre is all very walkable, and the cruise "terminal" is probably less than 30 minutes walk.

Places to see / things to do off the top of my head...

- Art Gallery at the Civic Centre
- Titanic memorial (about 200 yards from the above)
- Town Quay (from which you can see up and down Southampton water - might be good for taking photos of ships)
- Aviation museum (if it's still there)
- God's House Tower (archeology museum)
- Tudor House (another museum)
- You can (for free) walk the route of the old city walls (lots still standing, including the Bargate)
- Lots of parks and green spaces in and around the city centre

Not sure about where best to get on the internet, but there are certainly wifi hotspots in some of the pubs and bars. You might have to pay to use them though...
posted by saintsguy at 3:15 PM on June 11, 2008

Accommodation ... a thought occurs...

There are a number of "bed and breakfast" places at the bottom of Hill Lane (Google maps link), and the adjoining roads - Roberts Road, Alexandra Road, Landguard Road.

Easily walkable in to the centre from here, and to the cruise terminal.

Here is one for example, but there are many in this area of the city. And it looks like they do wifi...
posted by saintsguy at 3:20 PM on June 11, 2008

Wetherspoons pubs do free wifi, and the food is cheap and edible. In Southampton that's either the Standing Order on the High Street, or the Giddy Bridge on London Road; both walkable, and both Wetherspoons so no significant differences in atmosphere or lack thereof.
posted by Lebannen at 3:30 PM on June 11, 2008

I would get on the train and travel out to places nearby like Winchester (cathedral, history, etc) and the like. Only a short journey -20 mins or so. There is a youth hostel in Winchester and there's probably one in Southampton too.

Regards pictures of ships, you might want to cross the river and go to places like Netley where you'll get a terrific view of liners going out.

And I would go to the Isle of Wight for the day - a short journey by jetboat from Southampton and you can easily get around by bus, or just stick to Cowes, the port town.

pm me if you want to know more (I live near Southampton)
posted by A189Nut at 3:43 PM on June 11, 2008

PS

Free wifi
posted by A189Nut at 3:45 PM on June 11, 2008

You are a very short train ride from the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard which is just fantastic (imo). You've got Victory, Mary Rose and Warrior and could easily spend the whole day there.
posted by idb at 4:29 PM on June 11, 2008

The Isle of Wight is just a (dirty, smelly) ferry ride away.
posted by Jofus at 12:46 AM on June 12, 2008 [1 favorite]

Best answer: My Dad is secretary for the Southampton Tour Guides Association - they offer a bunch of walking tours around the old City, often taking in venues not available to the solo tourist. They can also help you plan trips further afield. (Non-profit, some nominal charges for some services).
B & B type accomodation is clustered, as saintsguy says above, around an area called the Polygon. That's on the north side of the city centre and an easy walk to pretty much everything.
Please feel free to email me about this or anything else Southampton. Like saintsguy above - born & bred here.
posted by punilux at 3:13 AM on June 12, 2008

Response by poster: Thanks! These are great pointers. The walking tour sounds like a good way to get to know the place, and the Visit-Southampton website was useful. I've been to Winchester, but Isle of Wight is new to me. And a dockyard ... how cool! =)

Thanks, too, for the B&B tips. Just in case anyone else's research takes them to this thread, based on the Hill Lane / Landguard Road info I found a good listing of Southampton guest houses (it's a PDF) put together by Southampton University.
posted by CruiseSavvy at 9:36 AM on June 12, 2008