There are a remarkable number of great places to visit that are a stone’s throw from the New Forest. It’s therefore possible to stay in a hotel in the New Forest and take a day trip to many highly popular English tourist destinations.

Southampton is a nice day-trip from The New Forest, and aside from it’s attraction in terms of being a good place to shop, there’s also a lot of history, culture and architecture to enjoy. For example, much of the medieval walls that surrounded the city many centuries ago are still intact – there’s a maritime museum and the Tudor House museum to explore too.

Being a thriving southern city, Southampton also has a lively nightlife and has no shortage of pubs, clubs, café’s and restaurants to take in.

Winchester is a majestic city, and one of the prettiest in England some would say. It’s very closeby to the New Forest, and a day should be enough to enjoy the lovely atmosphere and see the main attractions, the highlight of which is Winchester Cathedral. Other highlights are the City Mill, Winchester College and Wolvesey Castle & Palace.

After exploring the city, settle for lunch at one of the many good restaurants or café’s that are in Winchesters town centre. The Old Monk on the High Street is a favourite – aside from the river views, the food is excellent and attractively priced. Wykeham Arms is another restaurant that looks like it came straight from the medieval times, and again the menu wont strain your purse strings too much.

To the east of the forest is the interesting Marwell Zoo which is set in open countryside and boasts tigers, leopards, oryx, hippos and more.

If you want a taste of traditional English seaside in all it’s glory, take a trip to Bournemouth which lies to the west of the forest. The beaches here are quite clean and pleasant and there’s the usual selection of fairground rides, arcades, hotels and restaurants to be found in most mainstream English seaside resorts.