An Aussie in Southampton in search of the wow factor . . .

ACCORDING to my travel bible, Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring, Southampton does not even exist.

I dusted off the 1,200-page book - which has guided me safely around even the tiniest Eastern European villages - to read up before my Daily Echo job interview last month.

I was shocked to find there was not a single Southampton attraction worth mentioning, while nearby Brighton was described as "one of the UK's most innovative cities" and fierce rivals Portsmouth was "as close as you get to time travel".

When I told my mates back home that I was making the move south their reaction was unanimous: "The Saints, Shane Warne and Titanic".

To be honest, that was the extent of my knowledge of Southampton. Like most backpackers I identify with cities by their sports teams and what I see in movies. So it was with some trepidation that I set off to discover my new home.

10.30am: Tourist Information Centre My first stop after an earlyish start (well I am role-playing as a backpacker) was the Tourist Information Centre in Civic Centre Road. Well located, signposted and easier to find than in many of Europe's biggest capital cities, the office was full of travellers of all ages eager to find out what Southampton had to offer.

After a five-minute wait it was my turn to chat to one of the friendly staff: "I'm only here for a day, what do you think I should see?"

Luckily, I was told, it was a Tuesday so all the museums were open, but unluckily the Tudor House was closed for refurbishment and I had just missed a free guided heritage tour of the city. Curse my sleep-in.

However, the Queen Elizabeth 2 had docked that morning, the weather was glorious and I was assured it was a must-see. So I booked my £4 return ticket for the Hythe Ferry and set off to explore the rest of city with free map in hand.

11am: Southampton City Art Gallery Having lived in London and visited Rome, Florence and Barcelona I've passed through my fair share of art galleries - but I'm no art lover.

So it was a great surprise to come across an exhibition as provocative as North and South, which opened at the City Art Gallery on July 3, and has sparked a fierce debate among visitors and local religious leaders.

According to the gallery blurb, the exhibition of contemporary art asks: "What, in the 21st Century, does England stand for?"

Judging by the outrage filling the visitors' comment book, not everyone agrees with the artists' view.

In fact some guests, who had travelled from all over the country, described the exhibition as "rubbish", "a dig at Christianity", "pathetic and insulting" and "an insult to Solent City and its taxpayers".

The art at the centre of the controversy was a piece entitled The Holy Trinity which, according to the creator, is "an essay on English spirituality".

Three hanging sets of white business shirts, handkerchiefs and Y-fronts ask us to question if man was made in God's image? Is God still male? Does he have genitals? If so, are Y-fronts his garment of choice?

While I thought the "art" had a striking similarity to my washing, it did pose a question worth considering. As a newcomer I found the subject matter fascinating, although I'm not sure it captured the true issues that a multicultural city such as Southampton faces.

12pm: WestQuay Shopping Centre Having successfully dodged the clipboard-carrying charity workers on the High Street, I made my way into WestQuay where I made use of the information touch screen.

Short of telling me how to find McDonalds it wasn't much use, so I wandered over to the box office desk to inquire about tickets for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which is showing at The Mayflower and staring fellow countryman Craig McLachlan.

Unfortunately, £19.50 for a seat in the nosebleed section seemed a bit steep and £42.50 for a spot closer to the stage was definitely out of my budget.

Being a veteran of several West End shows I tried haggling for a lower price, but with no luck. The puzzled salesman told me: "The show is selling out fast, so the prices are fixed"- before saying there were still seats available in every section of the theatre for that night's show.

12.30pm: Bargate and The City Walls Coming from Perth, Western Australia, where the idea of history is a Mint dating back to 1899, the 800-year-old gateway is an awesome sight.

Walking down the High Street I came to the Holy Rood Church ruins. Inside I joined a family and a couple flicking through an Argos catalogue to listen to recordings about what Southampton was like before the blitz - the High Street was "full of culture" apparently.

Closer to the foreshore lies the remains of the medieval mayors' wine vaults. Unlike the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum (in Rome of course), which tourists are encouraged to explore, this piece of history was kept hidden under a shelter roof and behind wired fencing.

When I spotted a pair of 20-somethings using the remains of the city walls beside the Maritime Museum as a BMX park I could understand why some of the city's ancient gems are kept under lock and key.

1pm: The Maritime Museum Earlier, the friendly lady at the tourist centre had told me the Maritime Museum was full of "lots of information about the Titanic".

The museum did have "lots of information" - not so much on the Titanic - but on the history of homosexuals at sea. With no signage advertising Hello Sailor! outside the museum I was a little taken aback by the homage to nautical gay life.

The temporary exhibition looks at life on board passenger and merchant ships from the 1950s to 1980s, a time when homosexuality was illegal.

The real-life tales of love on the waves was memorable, although perhaps a little confusing for some of the city's foreign visitors, and I am sure it gave cruise liner passengers something to think about.

"I am German and I do not understand it all," wrote one tourist in the visitor's book.

Among the positive comments there was also a number of homophobic remarks, including: "Keep this at home, not in a public museum - more gay propaganda."

The Titanic exhibition, tucked away on the second flood of the museum, was the biggest disappointment of the day. With few artefacts recovered from the sea floor, a poor information video and only a small recreation of a cabin, I got no sense of the enormity of the event.

If ever there was an opportunity to promote the city's wow factor it has got to be the tragic sinking of the Titanic - a story that is told and retold all over the world.

Southampton City Council should be pleading with the American creators of a touring Titanic exhibition, currently in Canada, to bring it here.

Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition, which has appeared in London and Manchester, features artefacts recovered from the North Atlantic and tells the story behind the ship's journey from construction and destruction to recovery.

Guests can walk her decks, peer into her cabins, and meet her passengers and crew, according to the Ontario Science Centre's website. The voyage begins when visitors are handed a replica of an original Titanic ticket with the name of a real passenger and find out at the end if they have lived or died - genius.

Back in Southampton, even an opportunity to explore the foyer of South Western House, where some of the millionaires who sailed on the Titanic stayed before their voyage, would have been an experience. Unfortunately it was not possible, I read, because the grand hotel had been converted into a block of flats.

How about seeing Titanic's berth in the docks? Apparently this was off limits too and can only be seen by prior arrangement with Associated British Ports, my Titanic Trail information sheet said.

Photographs are, for some unknown reason, banned inside the museum. Luckily, the only "Kodak moment" the museum has to offer is the entrance sign that reads "No puplic toilets".

2.15pm: Hythe Ferry Perhaps the best way to see Southampton is from the water, as I found out on the 12 minute-ferry trip which took in the magnificent Queen Elizabeth 2 and gave me a different perspective on my new home.

Our destination wasn't looking too attractive though, after I spotted a photocopied passenger ticket which had been posted on the deck by the cheeky crew and read in the suggestion's box: "Let's sail right past Hythe and keep on going".

However, a ride on the world's oldest pier train was a pleasant surprise, as was the picturesque village. After a quick walk through the weekly markets - plus a pint and hot dog at The Lord Nelson - I realised I was about to miss the ferry back to the city and sprinted the full 640m length of pier to jump on board just in time.

As I struggled to catch my breath and keep my stomach contents down, it was fair to say the return journey was not quite as enjoyable.

3.30pm: Southampton Museum of Archaeology Managing to sneak in before the 4pm closing time I toured the renowned museum to get an idea of what life was like in ancient Southampton.

There's only so much you can learn in 30 minutes, but the museum, inside God's House Tower, has a fascinating collection and I'm sure it's a great day out for school groups.

I overheard a conversation between one of the staff and a visitor who said her gallery had some interesting drawings of ancient Southampton and she was surprised they were not featured in the museum.

The woman was told to write her name in the visitor's comment book.

I think Southampton might just find its wow factor in those comment books and the city might find its way into the guidebooks.

4pm: Reflections As I return home to cool my heels I am left with a strange feeling of unfulfillment and I cannot think of one landmark that I would describe as a "must-see" to my visiting friends.

Admittedly it has been an interesting day, but I feel as if I have only scratched the surface of a city that is of enormous international significance.

Southampton has all the ingredients to be a premier heritage site, but for some reason the Titanic, Mayflower, Spitfire and the heroic feats of the Second World War have been neglected and lost in time.

Some civic soul searching and patriotism is needed for Southampton to confront its demons of the past and to celebrate its world-defining history.

The fact that the council recently threw out two proactive proposals - placing a replica Spitfire on a roundabout or painting a mural at Southampton Solent University - demonstrate what a "Titanic" struggle the search for the wow factor is going to be.