Southampton, Gijon, La rochelle, Bilbao, Cherbourg

Southampton is the largest city of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Southampton is a major port.  It was the point of departure for the RMS Titanic in 1912.

Gijón is a coastal city in Asturias province in northwest Spain, located on the Bay of Biscay, close to the cities of Aviles and Oviedo. There are many findings from the Paleolithic period in the area.

La Rochelle is a charming French seaside village and is considered one of the best-preserved port towns in France. La Rochelle is situated off the Atlantic Coast in France’s Bay of Biscay, on the west coast of France between the cities of Nantes to the north and Bordeaux to the south. Dating back to the 10th century, La Rochelle has many interesting heritage sites, restaurants, and activities within the town to keep visitors busy. Set off for a day of adventure in the old fortified port of La Rochelle and enjoy walking around and exploring the city’s landmarks of the old harbor and city center.

Spain’s tenth largest city, is a magnificent “cocktail” of architecture, tradition, sea and mountain, character and history. Most known for the Guggenheim Museum, a true landmark both for Bilbao and for this part of Spain, it has also a multitude of highlights: start from Getxo, the town, part of greater Bilbao, which features mansions and magnificent houses built in different European styles in the period between the late 19th and early 20th century. At the end of the promenade along the sea you will find Algorta, an old fishing port with restaurants and taverns. Close to Getxo’s port areaYou will find the Viscaya Bridge, the world’s oldest transporter bridge. Continue to  the historic center of the city either as the “casco,” meaning “the old quarter,” a pedestrian-friendly area featuring a variety of shops, restaurants and bars, visit La Ribera, one of Europe’s largest indoor markets, enter Santiago Cathedral and check out the Zubizuro Bridge, also known as the Campo Volantin Bridge, which connects the two banks of the Nervion River close to the city center. If you have time, visit the Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao with works by artists such as El Greco, Goya, Gauguin, Velazquez and Picasso and take the funicular from Plaza Funicular to the gardens of Artxandra, from where you will have a splendid panoramic view.

Cherbourg-Octeville is a city and former commune situated at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It is the most populated city in its department with 37,121 inhabitants.

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is protected by Cherbourg Harbour, between La Hague and Val de Saire, and the city has been a strategic position over the centuries, disputed between the English and French. Cited as one of the "keys to the kingdom" by Vauban, it became, by colossal maritime development work, a first-rate military port under the leadership of Louis XVI and Napoleon, and holds an arsenal of the French Navy. A stopping point for prestigious transatlantic liners in the first half of the 20th century, Cherbourg was the primary goal of US troops during the invasion of Normandy in 1944.

Along with its use as a military, fishing and yachting port, it is also a cross-Channel ferry port, with routes to the English ports of Poole and Portsmouth, the Irish port of Rosslare Harbour and St Helier on Jersey. Limited by its geographical isolation from being a great commercial port, it is nonetheless an important shipbuilding centre, and a working-class city with a rural hinterland. On Wednesday, 10 April 1912 the RMS Titanic crossed the English Channel and docked here at 7:00pm local time before raising anchor at 9:10pm local time and sailing to her final stop Queenstown, Ireland.

Southampton is the largest city of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Southampton is a major port.  It was the point of departure for the RMS Titanic in 1912.