Southampton City Centre

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Southampton City Centre is the commercial and organisational centre of the City of Southampton, and the transport hub of the city. Because Southampton is on the South Coast of England, the city centre is not at the geometric centre of the city, but at the southern extremity.

The traditional heart of the city is the High Street, which runs from the Town Quay to the Bargate, which was once the northern gateway to the walled city. As the city grew, this primary commercial area spread to the north of the Bargate, into Above Bar Street. Subsequent reclamation of land from Southampton Water to the west of the High Street meant further expansion in that direction, forming an area now known as West Quay and dominated by the modern WestQuay shopping centre. When it opened, WestQuay was the largest city-centre shopping centre in Europe.

[edit] Shopping

The main shopping district of the city is centred around Above Bar Street (part of which is pedestrianised), London Road, High Street and East Street. There are several indoor shopping centres in the area, namely WestQuay, The Marlands, Bargate and EaSTreet. As an attempt to ensure the whole city centre is not dominated by chain stores, the city council have designated East Street a "speciality shopping" district. West Quay Retail Park, not to be confused with the similarly named shopping centre, is also located in the city centre.

[edit] Transport

Southampton Central railway station is located in the north west of the city centre area, with the old Southampton Terminus in the south east. There is also a new coach station on the West Quay retail park, a short walk from the railway station. In addition, there are two primary termini for local buses, as well as ferry services to Hythe and Cowes.

Districts and suburbs of the City of Southampton