Southampton

As is to be expected of a large port with two universities, there are a lot of places to drink in Southampton.

Portswood is the drinking area of choice for students at the University, so keep away from places like The Hobbit, Clowns and Jesters "Jesters", The Gordon Arms and The Mitre if you want to avoid students. While The Hobbit can be studenty, it is definitely worth a look as it is a quirky pub with a massive beer garden and live music every night of the week. The Shooting Star previously known as Kolebka is a relaxed Jazz bar with live music every Friday night.

The Polygon is a nice area near the city centre with some good new bars, including the Revolutions.

The Marina area has a good albeit expensive selection of seafront bars.

The Red Lion in High Street dates back to Tudor times and is a must-see. It's usually fairly quiet as well. For those looking for something more lively, The Platform Tavern nearby on the waterfront is an excellent bet as it features live jazz and blues music and a superb selection of local real ales.

The Angel located next to one of the central parks is an excellent 'local' type pub in the city centre featuring a free drinks quiz and friendly landlord. The Royal Oak nearby is also an excellent pub featuring regular live music, karaoke and quiz nights as well as drinks promotions, it is also very friendly although it can be a bit studenty.

The city centre also has the usual spattering of chain pubs, including Slug & Lettuce, two Wetherspoon's, Walkabout, Bar Risa and Que Pasa.

Outside of the city centre are the usual local pubs, some of which are excellent and others which are best avoided. The Park Inn in Shirley and the Wellington Arms and Waterloo Arms in Freemantle all have an excellent range of real ales while the Richmond Inn in Portswood is a great traditional pub with a vintage till and real ales. Nearby and next to St Denys railway station are two more excellent pubs, the Junction Inn and South Western Arms.

There is a useful directory of the local pubs and bars at (http://southampton-pubs.co.uk) which includes maps to find the pub and a few featured pubs as well.