CATEGORY · RAINY DAY APPROVED
Museums in Southampton
Museums in Southampton: every place written up honestly, with the details parents actually need.
11 places 1 upcoming event 3 free to visit
What's on: museums
Places for museums
from £10.50Army Flying Museum
Stockbridge
Wander among more than 35 real aircraft, from helicopters to gliders, with an outdoor play area and soft play to burn a rainy afternoon on.
Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingBooking required+14 more
Breamore House
Fordingbridge
A timed tour round an Elizabethan mansion from 1583, a thousand-year-old yew tree outside, and a farm shop and countryside museum to wander after.
Café
Carisbrooke Castle
Newport
A hilltop castle where you climb to a Norman shell keep and watch donkeys turn a working water wheel.
CaféGift shopGroup bookingsFood on site+4 more
from £6.50Exbury House
Southampton · ages 3+
200 acres of woodland gardens plus a steam train that runs six times a day, with proper rhododendrons in spring.
Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféCard only+9 more
FreeNew Forest Heritage Centre
Lyndhurst
Free museum trails and activity sheets on the New Forest's history, with sensory bags to borrow and a dog-friendly café to finish in.
Accessible toiletAllergy awareBaby changeBike parking+14 more
from £2Portsmouth Natural History Museum
Portsmouth · ages 0-13
A dinosaur, a Butterfly House and an A-Z of natural history under one small Southsea roof.
Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingFree parking+5 more
FreeRoyal Armouries: Fort Nelson
Fareham · ages 0-15
Free entry to a real 19th-century fort stuffed with enormous cannon, including a 200-tonne railway howitzer, up on the hill above Fareham.
Accessible toiletBaby changeBlue badge parkingCafé+4 more
FreeRoyal Hampshire Regiment Museum
Winchester
Try on a real uniform and handle genuine artefacts while tracing the regiment's history from 1702 to now, free of charge.
Gift shopGroup bookings
from £3Shipwreck Centre and Maritime Museum
Newport
Cabinets full of gold coins, cannon and diving gear pulled from real shipwrecks, tucked inside a craft village near Newport.
Free parking
from £6The Brickworks Museum
Southampton
A working brickworks turned museum, with a Penny Arcade, a 3D tour and 125 years of brickmaking history to poke around in.
Accessible toiletBlue badge parkingCaféFree parking+3 more
from £4Wight Military and Heritage Museum
Cowes · ages 5-15
Guided tours, an air rifle range and a chance to operate a bomb disposal robot make this a hands-on military museum rather than a look-don't-touch one.
Gift shopFood on sitePublic transport nearby
Good to know: museums in Southampton
Are any of them free?
Yes, New Forest Heritage Centre, Royal Armouries: Fort Nelson and Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum are free to visit.
What does a paid visit cost?
Paid entry starts from £2 at Portsmouth Natural History Museum. Prices, ages and facilities are listed on every place page, taken from each venue's own published price list.
Whereabouts are they?
You'll find museums in Stockbridge, Fordingbridge, Newport, Southampton, Lyndhurst and 4 more. Every place we list is in or around Southampton, and each listing has the full address and directions.
More ways to plan a day out
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The best family things happening around Southampton, one hidden gem, and a rainy-day backup plan, from a dad who's been there with a bored seven-year-old.
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