Southampton

**Southampton** is a city in the United Kingdom. The city is in Hampshire. It is about in the middle of the south coast of England. Southampton is the largest city on the south coast.

It is an important port. It is the nearest city to the New Forest. In 1912, the RMS Titanic sailed from there as was common with most ocean liners at the time. It contains several memorials and museum exhibitions related with the doomed ship.

### Bargate

Southampton has lots of landmarks, of which one is the Bargate. This is the old main gate of the city wall of Southampton, and nowadays is used as the beginning of the guided tour of Southampton, _Walk the Walls_. In medieval Southampton, a bell was rung at dusk every day to tell people that the gates would shortly be locked.

Today, the Bargate Shopping Centre is nearby.

### The Mayflower

Named after _The Mayflower_, which set sail from Southampton to the "New World" (via Plymouth), the Mayflower is the theatre in Southampton. It was built in 1928.

### Docks

Southampton is home to many cruise ships and ocean liners, including the _Queen Victoria_ and the _Queen Mary 2_.

There is also a regular ferry service to Hythe (a small village on the other side of Southampton Water), which leaves every half hour.

## Sport

Southampton has a football team Southampton F.C., which is nicknamed "The Saints". In 2001, the team moved stadiums, from "The Dell", to St. Mary's Football Stadium. The club was founded in 1885, and has been playing ever since.

## Twinned Cities

Southampton is twinned with:
- Le Havre, France (since 1973)
- Rems-Murr-Kreis, Germany (since 1991)
- Miami, USA

Southampton is also sister cities with
- Hampton, Virginia
- Qingdao, China (since 1998)

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Southampton
- **settlement type**: City status in the United Kingdom, City and Unitary authority area
- **image skyline**: Southampton2.jpg
- **imagesize**: 280px
- **image caption**: Montage of Southampton. Clockwise from top-left: Bargate; Guildhall; Top of west walls; Wool house and custom house; Southwestern house
- **nickname**: "Soton/So'ton", _The Gateway to the World_
- **image map**: File:EnglandSouthampton.png
- **mapsize**: 200 px
- **map caption**: Southampton shown within Hampshire
- **subdivision type**: Sovereign state
- **subdivision name**: United Kingdom
- **subdivision type2**: Region
- **subdivision type4**: Admin HQ
- **subdivision name1**: England
- **subdivision name2**: South East England
- **subdivision name3**: Hampshire
- **subdivision name4**: Southampton
- **established title**: Settled
- **established date**: c. AD43
- **established title2**: City status
- **established date2**: 1964
- **established title3**: Unitary authority
- **established date3**: 1997
- **government type**: Unitary authority, City status in the United Kingdom, City
- **leader title**: Governing body
- **leader name**: Southampton City Council
- **leader title1**: Local government in England#Councillors and mayors, Leadership
- **leader name1**: Leader and Cabinet
- **area urban km2**: 72.8
- **population total**: 253,651 (List of English districts by population, Ranked 57)
- **population as of**: 2010 est
- **population urban**: 855,569
- **population metro**: 1,547,000
- **population blank2 title**: Ethnicity
<small>(United Kingdom 2005 Estimate) </small>
- **population blank2**: 85.9% White (77.7% White British)
8.4% Asian
2.2% Black.
1.2%  other
2.4% Mixed Race
- **population demonym**: Sotonian
- **postal code type**: UK postcodes, Postcode span
- **postal code**: SO postcode area, SO14-SO19
- **area code**: 023
- **blank name sec1**: Gross Value Added, GVA
- **blank info sec1**: 2013
- **blank1 name sec1**:  • Total
- **blank1 info sec1**: GBP, £9.7 bn ($15.7 bn) (List of UK cities by GVA, 12th)
- **blank name sec2**: GDP
- **blank info sec2**: American dollar, US$ 51.6 billion
- **blank1 name sec2**: GDP per capita
- **blank1 info sec2**: US$ 37,832
- **leader title2**: Executive
- **leader title3**: List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 2015, MPs
- **leader name3**: Royston Smith (politician), Royston Smith Conservative Party (UK), (C)
Alan Whitehead Labour Party (UK), (L)
Caroline Nokes Conservative Party (UK), (C)
- **timezone**: Greenwich Mean Time
- **utc offset**: +0
- **timezone dst**: British Summer Time
- **utc offset dst**: +1
- **blank2 name sec1**:  • Growth
- **blank2 info sec1**: 2.6%
- **blank3 name sec1**:  • Per capita
- **blank3 info sec1**: £21,400 ($34,300) (List of UK cities by GVA, 15th)
- **blank4 name sec1**:  • Growth
- **blank4 info sec1**: 0.6%
- **blank name**: British national grid reference system, Grid ref.
- **blank1 name**: ONS coding system, ONS code
- **blank1 info**: 00MS (ONS)
E06000045 (GSS)