10 Best Family Things to Do in Southampton

If you and your family share a love for planes and flying, then the Solent Sky Museum is the place to be. Get to know more about the Solent, the world’s center for aviation research and development during the golden age of aviation. The museum's interactive exhibits feature more than 20 airplanes, its centerpiece being Southampton’s very own Supermarine Spitfire, the famous WWII fighter plane.

Be sure to hop into the cockpit of the jet fighters in the exhibition – like the Hawker Siddeley Harrier G.3 and the Supermarine Swift F5 – and get a taste of the thrill of being an ace pilot.

Located at the heart of the city, the SeaCity Museum is a haven for those who want to know more about Southampton’s illustrious maritime history. Find out more about the city’s historic connection to the ill-fated Titanic in an exhibit with a 1:25-scale interactive model of what was the largest ship in the world, at the time of its sinking.

Besides the Titanic exhibit, learn more about the lives of the people in this English port for the last 250,000 years from its various historic collections.

Take a stroll down the tree-lined trails of the New Forest Wildlife Park and get acquainted with its animal residents. Meet Victor the red stag, Hobbit the barn owl, and their expanded park family that includes otters, ferrets, Scottish wildcats, foxes, and the majestic European bison. Visit in the summer and admire the play of butterflies at the Tropical Butterfly House.

The park’s Go Wild! playgrounds are for the young ones and the young at heart to play to their heart’s content on the swings, log jumbles, zipper wires, and climbing nets.

The Manor Farm, found in the middle of the River Hamble Park, is the place to meet your favorite farmyard friends and get to know the farmers taking care of them. Get a chance to meet baby animals; you can even hold the baby rabbits, chicks, and ducklings. Explore the medieval farmhouse and take a look at the Victorian kitchen and schoolroom.

This farm has a play area where children can have fun with kid-friendly models of farm equipment like a play tractor and a combine harvester. Your kids can also race each other on a pedal tractor circuit.

Go Ape Itchen Valley combines adrenaline-pumping fun with a lovely sight of the lush meadows and woodlands, making it a great outdoor activity for families who want thrills with their view. Swing, balance, and zipper your way through their Treetop Challenge, the highest high ropes course in Southern England. Alternately, harness up for the Treetop Adventure, which provides a slightly tamer, child-friendly thrill with its breathtaking Flying Carpet, the wobbly Grandpa Crossing, and the tricky Stepping Stones.

There’s also the Forest Segway for those who’d rather keep their adventures firmly planted on the ground. For the thrill-seekers, there’s the Nets Adventure, which takes you up 30 ft in netted walkways.

The Eastleigh Lakeside Railroad has miniature steam-hauled trains that can take you from Eastleigh Parkway to Monks Brook Halt, and back. The oneway trip takes about 20 minutes, and you can choose to alight at Monks Brook Halt to have a picnic with a nice view of the lake and to let the children play at the playground.

After returning to the main station, hop over to the souvenir shop for Thomas and Bigjigs die-cast models to add to your collection.

Explore the city’s historic places with a fun twist as you embark on the Historic Southampton Treasure Trail. This self-guided spy mission-inspired treasure trail takes you to various points in the city with clues that will lead you to this rumored precious bounty. Follow the trail at your own pace and take a moment to admire the beautiful places you’ll find yourself in as you complete the mission.

And you don’t have to worry about getting stuck – you can get clues via text message so that you and your family are sure to solve the mystery.

Tudor House and Garden is considered to be Southampton’s most historic building. Here, you can get a glimpse of the rich lives of the city’s residents through hundreds of years. Marvel at the lavish and opulent décor of this handsome timber-framed building, or at antique artifacts such as a medieval jewel casket, Victorian stuffed birds, and a pair of shoes from the 1920s.

Adjacent to the Tudor House and accessible via the garden is the equally historic Norman House, which you can visit to admire its fine domestic architecture.