There is a lot of art to look at if you like free trips then this is the place to go. It's near a…read morebunch of restaurants and a nice park so you're able to go for lovely picnic after you've been to see some lovely art. There is something for everyone a wide selection of art pieces.

Excellent collection of mainly paintings, from the 14th century down to moder art with a…read moreBurne-Jones collection of cartoons and some other gems. Well worth a visit, but very badly signposted.

We visited Beaulieu as part of my parents' 60th wedding anniversary. What a pleasant surprise. The…read moreNational Motor Museum is great, but there is so much more, be it the vintage bus ride, the monorail, the gardens, the abbey, the secret army exhibition or the house. The restaurant is pretty decent as well. A very enjoyable day for the whole family.

What? Are you serious that no one has reviewed this museum yet?…read more Britain is peppered with small community museums dedicated to one small tiny aspect of some technical or technological achievement that still completely misses the big picture and fails to truly entertain the young. On one such visit, I was directed to the Beaulieu and the National Motor Museum as an example of the best of museumship (tip to francophones out there it is pronounced, "byoo-lee" in case you need to ask directions froma local). I was not disappointed. It is on a very large estate and shares space with one of the many abbeys-come-ruins that have peppered England since the reformation, and a typically beautiful English garden, which we did not partake of on this chilly November day, since the finest of the blushes of summer had long since past. For my part, I've been really enjoying my son's recent rejuvenation since he's been diagnosed with coeliac disease and on a gluten free diet. Our day at the NMM was great fun for him, and evidence of just how well gluten free works for him, as he was running around everywhere, and commenting on virtually every one of the several hundred cars that we saw. "There's a classic Mini." "There's a classic convertable." "That one is a classic Mercedes." Commenting on one of the speed record specimens, "that car goes really really fast." "That's a formula 1 car." And on it went. The ride on the vintage double-decker was a lot of fun, and so was the monorail. If you're at all a fan of Top Gear, you will also like the "World of Top Gear" exhibit which shows some of the more fun inventions of the show like the three limousines, and the pick-up truck that crossed the English channel. It did miss out on the one thing that a museum like this can never have enough of...exhibits you can interact with. There were certainly some, but really, if you have hundreds of classic cars, why not have at least a few that people can climb into and experience for themselves. I would have loved to have sat in one of the several Formula 1 cars, or rally cars, or anything like that for that matter. The one vehicle you got to climb into was an old 1960's doubledecker bus, and even then, you don't even get to go up to the top level. So when all is said and done, the NMM was good, but not great. It's worth the drive if you're not far, but I wouldn't go all the way to Southampton just to visit this museum. And be sure to fill out your gift aid form so that you can go back as much as you want for a year.

This is a phenomenal museum and history complex, located over part of the very historic Portsmouth…read morenaval dockyard. It is the single best place to explore Britain's naval history. Is has numerous displays and museum rooms with various collections covering many aspects of the naval history. However, the parts which really stand out are the ships and of these HMS Victory, the flagship of Horatio Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, and the HMS Warrior, the world's first all-metal "ironclad" warship, are probably the most amazing to visit. HMS Victory, launched in 1765, is a one-of-a-kind surviving example of of a "first-rate" ship of the line, the only example of this type which has survived intact, and the oldest ship still in commission. It would be fasinating and well worht seeing for this alone. However, it is all the more memorable, and moving, for its role in the Battle of Trafalgar, and the with locations where Nelson, Britain's most revered and famous admiral, both was shot in the battle and later died from his wounds, marked. HMS Warrior was not the first ironclad - the French Gloire just preceded it by about 1 year - but it was the first all-metal, purpose built ship of this kind, the Gloire being wood sheathed in iron. It was revolutionary at the time and it is fascinating to see the state-of-the-art innovations which it included for the first time, such as a steam-powered laundry with washing machines. Comparing the conditions on it and Victory is fascinating. It is lso the oldest ironclad still extant. Others include HMS Mary Rose, a famous 16-th century warship which sank, HMS M.33, a WWI monitor (gunship) which served various roles, and HMS Alliance, a WWII submarine. One could spend all day here and still have more to explore.

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.

A very low-key, hidden museum well worth the visit…read more Docents/tour guides on the HMS ALLIANCE are men who actually served on the boat, so each tour is a bit different as it reflects their own stories and interests. The museum Cafe is very good too - friendly ladies who turn out good fresh sandwiches (may have to ask for the daily specials as they sometimes forget to post the signs!) Easy access when taking the train from London - Ferry across the harbor is right there as you exit the station. Then we recommend walking the promenade from the ferry terminal along the harbor as a pleasant way to arrive at the museum ... and on the walk back, the Coffee One in Gosport makes a great pit stop/refresher before re-boarding the ferry across to Portsmouth for the train back to London.

The featured attraction of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum is the last surviving British…read moresubmarine/u-boat from World War II, the splendid HMS Alliance. While the museum itself is rather small, if nice, the HMS Alliance is a spectacular attraction that alone is worth the trip to Portsmouth. It is part of the tremendous "Portsmouth Historic Dockyard" experience (It also includes the HMS Victory, the HMS M.33 and the HMS Warrior 1860, 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 Royal Submarine Museum as an individual attraction alone costs UKP 14.00. The museum is accessible either by car (dedicated parking lot) or via the free-of-charge waterbus from Portsmouth Harbour, which is included in the All Attractions ticket. It's a short boat ride (approx. 5 minutes) which I do recommend as it offers a nice view on the various parts of the dockyard and yachting harbor, and of course the spire. The waterbus goes every half hour until noon and then once an hour until 5 p.m. As the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard gets very busy around noon I would recommend that if you spend the day there you should go to the HMS Alliance/Submarine Museum first: The waterbus is small and holds just about 20-25 people. As said before, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum itself is very small (looks large from outside), but it's a nice collection of various items on the subject of submarines, including actual objects retrieved from old ones, but also paintings and documents. All very nicely presented. Visiting the museum shouldn't take more than 30 minutes. The greater attraction is the HMS Alliance. It's a spectacular, physically imposing submarine preserved in its original condition and fully fitted, including torpedo shells. Beautiful! Here's the thing: You can only enter the Alliance by guided tour, and each guided tour includes no more than 8 or so people. As huge as the Alliance may look from outside, on the inside it is a mousetrap. So they make sure that no more than 2 groups are inside the vessel at the same time. When you arrive at the museum you will be given a fixed time for your tour. If you are more than two people it can happen that you will be given a later tour time because the other spots have been filled already. The HMS Alliance is a technical marvel even today - and when you think that the total crew included 70 people you can paint your own mental picture what life on this vessel must have been like. The guides are very well informed - for a reason: They are mostly retired sailors who spent a part of their professional life as a member of a submarine crew. They're also very friendly: Ask them anything! Photography on board is allowed. See my photos to get an impression of the vessel and museum.

This was so interesting and I think very well done!! The staff were all very welcoming and the…read moremuseum was not crowded (we went during the week).

SeaCity Museum contains a few exhibits, the main one being about the RMS Titanic ship in 1912…read more Other exhibits are about the history of Southampton from thousands of years ago to World War II. My husband and I purchased two adult tickets in person for a total of 29 pounds. We did not know exactly where to start our self-guided tour, but later another employee told us where to start with the Titanic exhibit. The Titanic exhibit contains some photos, recorded messages, and possessions of passengers and crew, many of whom were from Southampton. I felt most interested in seeing an illustration of the different floors and rooms of the ship and where the first-, second-, and third-class passengers stayed. I appreciated seeing also the replica beds and boilers. Of course, the vast majority of possessions are on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean, so this exhibit is small. The other exhibits at this museum present a variety of information, such as different immigrant groups that came to Southampton in different decades and the role of Southampton in the Falklands War, World War I, and World War II. The museum also has a gift shop and a cafe on site.

This was a fun place to visit with lots of varied motorbikes to look at. Not very big really…read morecompared to other places we have been but the kids and my hubby loved it. Good to visit

Absolutely awful cafe, they hate children only want old people, didn't get as far as museum as they…read morewere so rude, only got to play on broken swings and look at animals in makeshift accomodation. would not rec. if you have children or if you are looking for somewhere to eat.

Incredible location, very fun to get to via ferry but you take the 45 minute walk…read more Used by Henry VIII, the Ministry of Defence and now taken over by English Heritage, Hurst Castle offers a varied history. The castle does a good job of showing all the changes that have happened throughout its history. From seeing several different castles open up to the public, Hurst Castle stood out. Would completely recommend the audio tour. Absolute bargain at £2 each with a offer of two audio tours for £3. All the staff were very friendly and know the Hurst ferry staff.

A brilliant day out! The amazing adventure starts by parking…read moreyour car at Keyhaven. You then discover this massive pebbles barrier protecting the marshes from the waves. From very afar you can see the round shape of Hurst Castle: it looks small from there, but don't judge it yet. Walk all the way to the castle by using the barrier and then you'll see that there is more than meets the eye. Entry is about 3 pounds for an adult, which is a true bargain for a National Trust site. There is plenty to see and do and the views are fantastice. There is also plenty of exhibitions about the Bournemouth coastline and life in the castle and its strategic position. All in all, a cheap and great day out for the whole family.