Things to do in Southampton during Freshers Week!

Not sure what to do on Freshers? Here's a list of ideas

Things to do in Southampton during Freshers' Week and your first few weeks!

Welcome to Southampton!

As a second-year student, I can vouch for these as being some awesome activities to do in your first few weeks in Southampton and across your time in this city:

• Visit Westquay, Southampton’s biggest shopping centre which is perfect for a treat yourself day as you deserve it. It is also home to a very large food court with eating places of various cuisines, including McDonald's.

• The cinema! Showcase Cinema is right next door to Westquay, so if you’re out anyway, you may as well check what’s showing, right? It’s great for an unwind after a busy few days as a fresher and has very comfy seats. Monday is the most affordable day to visit, and a top tip is to get a free Insider account for cheaper tickets. Members earn 10% back in rewards on eligible cinema purchases. If you can’t go on a Monday, Sunday is Showcase’s student night, when tickets are £5.99 after 7pm.

• IKEA is one of the best places to visit as a fresher. The food is amazing, the homeware is affordable and, honestly, it’s a great place to visit regularly with your flatmates.

• Bowling alley. Located in the same building as the cinema, Hollywood Bowl is a great activity to do with your new friends.

• Live music venues! We are very lucky that there are many great music venues in Southampton. The Joiners, The 1865 and Heartbreakers are the three I have personally been to. Fun fact: I saw The Last Dinner Party at the 1865 for £20 including a CD too, so you can see some great artists whilst being here at uni.

• St Mary’s Stadium, if you’re into football, it is an obvious one to check out. However, it isn’t only good for football, as there’s an entertainment area there called LEVEL1, and the stadium also hosts live concerts.

• Art gallery. Southampton has a large art gallery in the city centre not too far from Mayflower Halls which is great and it’s also free to visit! There’s also John Hansard Gallery which is directly opposite The Mayflower Studios which is another good spot to visit.

• Pottery—if you fancy commemorating Freshers’ Week by painting some pottery, check out My Pottery. It is upstairs in the Marlands shopping centre—Southampton’s smaller shopping centre—on Above Bar Street. Booking is currently required, and you’ll have two hours to decorate your chosen piece before it is glazed and fired.

• Escape rooms! Southampton has lots of cool, themed escape rooms for you to try—including a Wallace & Gromit-themed one!

• Visit the theatre! Mayflower Theatre and Mayflower Studios are both amazing, with lots going on throughout the year. I saw Legally Blonde this year at the Mayflower, and it was brilliant, so definitely keep your eyes peeled on their websites for upcoming productions.

• Fancy a day trip? Hop on a train from Southampton Central and head to the New Forest. You can get off at several wonderful locations that place you right in the heart of the forest, including Brockenhurst, Ashurst and Lymington. There are some great walking routes to explore. I also recommend getting off at Beaulieu Road station for another beautiful area to discover. Don't forget to check return times.

• Clubs. Many of the best places for a night out are in Southampton’s Bedford Place area. Trilogy is a definite student favourite, especially on Glam Thursdays, when they give out free toast and often have fun themes. If you join a sports society, it certainly won’t be long before you hear about Fishies! Fishies is a Wednesday night out at Circuit Southampton, which usually has a theme and provides a chance to get to know the other members of your society. It is returning in September 2026. If clubbing isn’t your thing, you can always just join them for pre-drinks or go to the pub beforehand. You’ll soon discover that there is at least one club open on most nights of the week in Southampton!

• Pubs. If you’re anything like me, you will already have checked where the local Wetherspoons pubs are! It therefore won’t surprise you to learn that there is one on London Road called The Giddy Bridge, which is a VERY popular student spot especially during Freshers' Week, and visiting it at least once feels like a rite of passage. The Hobbit in Bevois Valley is very fun and The Shooting Star, a few doors along from The Hobbit is great too. They both have themed cocktails and mocktails if those are your thing. The Gordon Arms located in Portswood is also a popular spot and gives you the traditional pub feel. The Mitre in Portswood is a classic Greene King pub but very popular, it won’t be long until you go in there if you are thinking of getting involved in any societies as it is a popular spot on their pub crawls.

• Board game cafe. Visit ‘Board in the City’, located in Bevois Valley for a fun afternoon of activities and a chance to get to know people more. The SUSU also runs a few board game nights, so keep your eyes peeled for those as well.

• Restaurants! You can’t go wrong with the Greene King pubs we have in Southampton. For example, The Mitre in Portswood and The Scholar’s Arms, opposite the Sir James Matthews Building, have great food and offer students 20% off food and drinks. Trago Lounge is also very lovely in Portswood, lots of students go there and of course, there are a lot in the city centre. One of my favourite things to do with friends is visit Bill’s for its £5 bottomless pancakes every Friday. Purchase any drink to make the pancakes bottomless. The current offer runs until 27 November 2026 and is subject to terms, so check the website before visiting. I highly recommend it if you have a sweet tooth.

• Coffee shops! The Nest on London Road and Muse are very popular. Muse also has another branch in Portswood and makes a very nice study spot. I also recommend Mettricks, as they do great smoothies and coffee. They have branches in Westquay and Portswood too.