Top attractions to visit in Hampshire

Meet a penguin face to face, prepare for battle, walk in Jane Austen’s footsteps or take a trip into outer space – there are so many exciting Hampshire attractions that you’ll never run out of things to do. Planning days out is easy with our top 10 ideas or take a look at our special offers page for discounts at a variety of attractions across the county.

Amazing Animal Attractions in Hampshire

Giraffes, lions, tigers, meerkats and marmosets are just a few of the many animals on show at Marwell Zoo. Make friends with the deer, otters, wallabies and wild boar at New Forest Wildlife Park or go wild in the impressive adventure playgrounds. Children will love feeding the baby animals at Longdown Activity Farm and you’ll find friendly farm animals plus a fabulous play barn at Staunton Country Park.You can watch hundreds of brightly coloured tropical fish at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Portsmouth or marvel at the spectacular daily flying demonstrations at The Hawk Conservancy Trust near Andover.

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Arts & Entertainment Attractions

Hampshire attractions include a great choice of activities, arts and entertainment. Follow the art trail at the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens near Romsey, or see the impressive collections in the Southampton City Art Gallery. Top theatres in Southampton, Winchester and Portsmouth stage fantastic shows, from West End productions and musicals to opera and pantomime.

Family Friendly Attractions

Hampshire’s Queen Elizabeth, Staunton, Royal Victoria and Manor Farm Country Parks offer hours of outdoor fun as well as family attractions such as play areas, nature walks and cycle trails. The county’s beautiful beaches and coast is never far away and is perfect for beach games, water sports and boating. Children can get hands-on and interactive at many Hampshire attractions, including Milestones in Basingstoke, the Winchester Science Centre and Explosions! in Gosport. Don’t miss Paulton’s Park at Ower (home of Peppa Pig World) and Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower for more great family adventures.

Literary Heritage Attractions

Jane Austen is the author most often associated with attractions in Hampshire but other famous names also have a literary connection with the county. These include naturalist Gilbert White, poets John Keats and Edward Thomas, writers Charles Dickens, Flora Thompson and Thomas Hardy and the Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle. Discover more about these renowned writers on a literary trail through Hampshire. Take in Jane Austen’s house at Chawton, Gilbert White’s home at Selborne, Dickens’ birthplace in Portsmouth and other literary sites in Liphook, Minstead and Winchester.

Military Heritage Attractions

Whether on land, sea or air you’ll find a wealth of rich military history in Hampshire. You can visit the tranquil burial place of Crimean war heroine Florence Nightingale at St Margaret’s Church in East Wellow, where there are artefacts and photographs relating to the life of this modern healthcare pioneer.

Other military attractions in Hampshire include the Museum of Army Flying at Middle Wallop, the home of the British Army at Aldershot and Portsmouth’s exciting naval museums at the Dockyard. For fascinating insights into Britain’s past, climb the Roman walls at Portchester Castle, explore the regimental museums at Winchester or imagine firing the big guns at the Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson.

Historic Sites

Chug through Hampshire’s scenic countryside on a steam train on the historic Watercress Line or re-live the tragic story of the Titanic at the SeaCity museum in Southampton. Go back in time in the Maritime Museum at Buckler’s Hard near Beaulieu, where the ships for Nelson’s Navy were once built. Whether you like boats, books, cannons, castles, stars, science or submarines, you’ll find plenty of museums and heritage attractions in Hampshire.

Stately Homes & Gardens in Hampshire

Associated with famous figures such as Wellington, Lord Louis Mountbatten and the Rothschilds, Hampshire’s stately homes and gardens offer fascinating days out. You’ll find gardens both charming and compact or impressive and vast as well as stately homes on a grand scale. Discover fragrant and sensual delights in the lovely gardens at Mottisfont, Exbury, Hinton Ampner and Houghton and see life as it was once lived at Uppark, Statfield Saye or The Vyne. 

Discounts for Hampshire attractions

For fantastic special offer vouchers to some of the county's top attractions visit the Hampshire Top Attractions website. From the Museums and Gardens to Family Attractions and activity parks, there’s so much to explore and enjoy.