SeaCity Museum is an interesting stopover if you have some extra time in Southampton, but it is far…read morefrom a "must-see" attraction. As far as museums go, it is your typical mid-sized town museum, and certainly not to the scope of the Met or Museum of Natural History or anything of the sort. You're looking at perhaps an hour and a half to two hours tops, so do keep this in mind before forking over your hard earned £12.69 for entrance. The headliner is undoubtedly the Titanic exhibit, which if you are a fan of the history and/or the movie, might lure you in. Southampton is the port where the ship took its inaugural voyage from, so there is an obvious vested interest. However, if you are in town as the starting point for your own cruise, viewing this beforehand might be a bit unsettling. I suppose you could always come after you have returned though. The Titanic display is shown in a storybook format, introducing a smattering of crew members (some important, some random), and there is no mention or connection to the movie. Over the course of the exhibit, we are drawn to the characters, learning their lifestories and trials and tribulations, as if reading a book or watching a film. This is purposely done to invoke a rooting interest in how things ultimately pan out for them. One thing I do find odd is that only this handful of characters is emphasized, with nary a mention of the countless other crew members, nor the passengers. In any event, the storytelling is compelling, and the photographs, artifacts, detailed mock-ups, interactive booths, etc. are just enough to keep visitors entertained and educated, even those who were not huge fans to begin with, such as yours truly. The rest of the museum is much smaller, and mostly about Southampton itself. It is still definitely worth your time though, especially if this is your first time in town. One of the displays showcases the history of the city and its inhabitants over time, and the other focuses more on the transportation aspect in and out of the city, since Southampton has always been a traditional transit hub, be it for commerce or leisure. The detailed model ships are definitely a highlight. The only downer is the head curator being quite rude to guests. Before our time was up, she was barking at visitors to GTFO, and even gave us a countdown to how much time we had remaining. When I made it to the gift shop, she told everyone we had less than a minute, and to hurry up and buy, as if we were in Menace II Society. We understand that she wants to go home, and get back to doing whatever she's got going on, but there is absolutely no need for such a condescending tone to customers who paid good money to be there. It's not as if everyone was just milling about and loitering or anything. Any chance of a sale in their gift shop was completely nullified. The rest of the employees are great, however. They actually gave me that apologetic look, as if they already knew their boss was like this, so I am thankful to them. Fortunately, this didn't completely ruin the wonderful SeaCity Museum experience for me, but it certainly did leave a slight black mark. Cliff's Notes: Check it out of you are a fan of the Titanic (maybe not before your own cruise though) and/or Southampton history. Everyone else should just spend the time exploring Southampton itself instead.

If you are ever in Southampton this is one of the museums that you must go and see. This SeaCity…read moreMuseum is about the history of the Titanic and many of the ships that have come into Southampton. It has a long history and is overall fun to learn about. I had no idea how many cultures came from boats and into the harbor. It must have been a hard boat ride. But overall it brought different cultures into the UK. Also has a lot to do with the wars. It also shows in great detail the Titanic and how class differences were separated on the ship! It was pretty cool to learn a part of history.

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is a must visit for history nerds and boat lovers...not so much for…read moreeveryone else. You'll get to see amazing historic ships, going back over 500 years of of Royal Navy history. HMS Victory: The Royal Navy's flagship that led the important Battle of Trafalgar, which the French Navy was put to shame during Napoleon's destructive wars. Arguably the most famous warship in British history. It's barely holding together as much maintenance and restoration ongoing work continues, but you still can decks and learn about life onboard during the Georgian era. The Mary Rose: King Henry VIII's flagship, which sank in 1545 and was famously salvaged in 1982. The museum showcases the preserved half hull and thousands of artifacts recovered from the wreck, offering a unique glimpse into 16th-century sailor life. Be sure to watch the 4D video! HMS Warrior: was the world's first iron-hulled, armored warship, built in 1860. Its still incredibly well preserved and structurally sound...as it never saw a single battle! Still very cool seeing how modern it felt compared to the older ships. £46/$62 3 Attraction Ticket: as fun this all was, it is really expensive for what you get, so minus one for that.

Saw Spanish galleon not original but has been made as a replica but still good not quite the victoryread more

This museum shows the range of wildlife found on Portsea Island and the surrounding area through a…read moreseries of stuffed animal displays. They are not the most modern, but children seem to like them. It also has aquariums, displays on the ice age in the area, and fossils and other prehistoric information. Again, it is nothing spectacular, but it does give a lot of information. However, the museum is worth visiting for the butterfly house at the back where you can sit and watch the butterflies fly around you, and even land on you. The museum is right next to Canoe Lake and Southsea seafront so there are lots of other things to do on the same day.

This is a lovely place to stop into as you take a walk along the seafront. It is situated between…read morethe canoe lake and the Tenth Hole Tearooms (another place worth visiting). It is a small museum with lots to see. As you walk around you go through the ages and there are some interesting exhibits. One of the highlights is the butterfly house. On the occasion I visited, there were some interesting feeding 'sculptures' designed by a local artist. These were really eye catching and unique, it gave quite a different feel to the butterflies feeding. There were plenty of butterflies and moths to see, flying around everywhere and landing nearby. There is a gift shop with some unusal and interesting gifts, it is not your normal museum and definitely worth a visit.

The Warrior is a good exploration of the last era of sailing ships. It somewhat pales in comparison…read moreto the marquee standouts on the dockyard of the Victory and Mary Rose, but it's well worth a look if only to see the comparative changes across the centuries in military ships. It's easy to explore by making your own path through and doesn't take as long as those others.

Britain's first warship with an all-metal hull, the HMS Warrior (1860) is a beautifully…read morepreserved/restored premium attraction, a must-see for anyone even remotely interested in the history of ship-building, and the wars that these ships fought in. It is part of the tremendous "Portsmouth Historic Dockyard" experience (It also includes the HMS Victory, the HMS M.33 and the WWII submarine HMS Alliance, plus several museums) which offers at least a couple of days worth of exciting sight-seeing for adults as much as more the smaller fry. First things first: If you want to do all of the Portsmouth Harbour attractions in one day (better make it the full day, i.e. 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. in the summer and to 5 p.m. in the winter), make sure to book the "all attractions" ticket *ONLINE*, which will save you money: E.g. the single adult ticket costs UKP 32.00 on the door, but just 25.60 online. The HMS Warrior as an individual attraction alone costs UKP 18.00. While not as famous as Nelson's HMS Victory, the Warrior is a tremendously imposing ship physically, and full of exciting details to explore. The whole body of the ship is fitted with historic cannons, cabin furniture, hammocks, tables, plates used by the sailors of the time, etc etc. It really conveys convincingly how both the officers and, in particular, the rank and file on this ship lived and worked at the time. It's thrilling, sometimes disturbing to see tables with plates next to the cannons, next to the hammocks - eating, sleeping, fighting and dying in one and the same place. There are cabins for the officers, a map room. You can visit all the decks (be careful on those steep steps between the decks - it's almost inconceivable how sailors were supposed to run up and down those!) and photography is allowed everywhere in the ship. Since the lighting is much less low-key than on the HMS Victory you'll be able to make decent pictures even with smartphone and super zoom cameras. If you have any questions while you're exploring the vessel, there are several friendly guides on every deck who you can ask anything. Of course they're friendlier towards single ladies than to single guys. ;) Since HMS Warrior s only part of a large visitors' experience, if you're exhausted or hungry from your exploits there are several restaurants and cafés (sadly, no pub!) on the grounds of the dockyard nearby. Directly opposite of the Warrior you'll find the quay where the Harbour Cruise and the free boat ride to the HMS Alliance depart (included in the all attractions ticket). All in all this is a most exciting and intriguing tourist and historical attraction. Expect to spend 1-1.5 hours on the HMS Warrior alone.

If you're an admirer of Jane Austen, then this is a visit you'll enjoy. What's unique about this…read moreplace is that Jane Austen once resided here. Calling it a museum might be slightly exaggerated, but referring to it as just a house isn't quite right. You'll learn about Jane's background and relatives while you attempt to picture life during that era.

We were in the area and where looking for something to do and found this. Cost 8.5 per person but…read morethe entry is good for one year. There is a short film that gives you an overview and then you can go into the house. They do have some original items but also have supplemented with items from the period but not original to the house. There is a downstairs and an upstairs. There is a very pleasant garden. We were able to enjoy it as it was a sunny day. There is also a small gift shop and two toilets. They stated they have WiFi but we couldn't get it to work on our phones. A good way to spend a hour.

Ok so first thing first, entrance is FREE! yay, its located…read morein the bargate sector of southampton - where the walls are basically. They have different exhibits on rotation so to speak and importantly, in bewteen these shows, the gallery is closed, so check before going - bit of a problem when their website doesnt work! Handy place to visit on a lunch break or sunday afternoon. Overall a nice small gallery to visit - not a tate but still pretty hot! Video link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y7N-f0uWwP4

A varied and interesting programme of exhibitions, beautiful location, free entry - what's not to…read morelike?!

Mary Rose is the most fascinating story presented at the Portsmouth Dockyard. It is done through a…read morevery modern engaging museum, with multimedia introduction and well interpreted artifacts, as well as the huge portion of hull.

This was a highlight of my most recent trip to the U K. My wife and I spent Christmas in London…read morewith our daughter, her husband and our two grandchildren eight and five. My son-in-law and I are history buffs and decided that we had always wanted to see the Victory and Mary Rose so we were going to travel down to Portsmouth, spend the night and see the various ships on display. We all had some misgivings about leaving our comfortable VRBO in London and taking the train to Portsmouth but we did it anyway and we were glad we did. We stayed in the Holiday Inn Express located a short walk from the museum area. You can enter the dock area which houses the Victory, Mary Rose, Warrior, and other museums free but you have to buy a yearly pass to actually visit anything on exhibit. The pass lets you see everything and is well worth the price. The Mary Rose fascinated everyone including the children. The various artifacts give you a real sense of everyday life in the middle of sixteenth century England. The layout was absolutely fantastic. Even the kids enjoyed it. I was less impressed with the Victory. It was not well maintained and the layout wasn't informative. Too bad because the potential is so great. Don't miss the Warrior and the various museums. Our two days there was really not enough time. BTW the new British Aircraft Carrier Queen Elizabeth was there but of course we could not tour her.

An offshoot of the Royal National Armoury collection housing a wide range of cannon and field…read moreartillery from the age of Henry VII through to Saddam Hussains mega cannon . Set in the vast Victorian fortress Fort Nelson which is more than worth a visit itself as a classic example of fortress design . Very good displays . Best of all it's totally free .

This is a great Museum to take the family. The Museum is free and there's plenty of free parking…read more You can explore the ramparts and tunnels, it covers the history of artillery and they have a reasonably priced cafe.