London/South Bank

From MaxTravelz

View of the London Eye at night

The South Bank refers to an extensive river-edge locality in central London, located along the "South Bank" of the River Thames and extending into adjoining streets. Skirting through several riverside neighbourhoods, the South Bank has witnessed much redevelopment over the past 10-15 years, re-establishing it as a major tourist destination for visitors to London, as well as extremely popular with Londoners themselves. A walk along the South Bank of the river is an essential part of a visit to London, reflecting much of the varied history of the capital.

Get in

Tube

• Vauxhall (Victoria line)
• London Bridge (Northern line)
• Southwark (Jubilee line)
• Embankment (District and Circle lines) - via the Hungerford Bridge (pedestrian)

The most convenient Tube stations are Vauxhall on the Victoria Line and London Bridge on the Northern Line for the two ends of the South Bank walk, while getting off at Southwark on the Jubilee Line will bring you close to the heart of the South Bank area. A good alternative is getting off at Embankment on the District and Circle Lines - from there, a scenic walk over the newly-renovated Hungerford Bridge will take you direct to the area around the Royal Festival Hall. From here, it is a short sight-filled walk to most of the other attractions.

Get around

The South Bank of the Thames, looking towards the London Eye and County Hall

The South Bank area is probably best accessed on foot or by bike - parking is difficult at times and once you have found a space, you will want to keep it!

See

Landmarks

• the London Eye , South Bank, near County Hall / Westminster Bridge, Tube: Waterloo, Westminster, open winter (October-May) 10am-8pm daily, summer (June-September) 10am-9pm daily, closed Christmas Day and for Annual Maintenance from 3-8 January, tickets for individual "flights" adults £13.00, child £6.50, seniors and disabled £10, children under 5 free, other ticket options available (ticket office open 9.30am daily) - an enormous, 135 metre-high observation wheel with 32 exterior glass-walled capsules, the London Eye offers incomparable views over central London and up to 25 miles away on a good day. Tickets are sold for specific times, so if visitors wish to go on the London Eye at a specific time, they are strongly advised to book in advance - particularly in the summer!

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre

• Shakespeare's Globe , 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, nearest tube: Blackfriars, Southwark), tel 020 7902 1400, fax 020 7902 1401, mailto:info@shakespearesglobe.com, information for disabled visitors tel 020 7902 1409 - Sam Wanamaker's largely authentic reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, built using traditional techniques, stages plays in the Summer months. Around the year, there is an exhibition ending with either a tour of the theatre itself (in winter, and mornings in the summer), or a virtual tour (summer afternoons). Open from 10am-5pm daily Oct-Apr, 9am-5pm May-Sept. Tickets for plays are often available on the day, particularly if you are prepared to stand in the yard. The productions for 2005 is dubbed The Season of the World and the Underworld, and includes Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Tempest and The Winter's Tale. £8 (for admission to exhibition), £5 to £29 (for tickets to see plays).

• South Bank Centre (Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, National Theatre and National Film Theatre), South Bank. (Nearest tube: Embankment) The South Bank Centre is an concrete monstrosity on the south bank of the river, comprising a number of cultural institutions. The Royal Festival Hall hosts almost daily classical music concerts throughout the year, tickets often available on the day. The Hayward Gallery is a gallery hosting a single temporary exhibition at any one time. The National Theatre has three large auditoriums, and puts on a wide variety of shows - tickets should generally be booked in advance, but availability depends on the performance. The National Film Theatre has two screens showing less mainstream films.

• OXO Tower . Contains a restaurant and bar on the top floor, giving you a great view over the Thames. You pay for the privilege through the food bill, though.

• County Hall - located next to Westminster Bridge

• the London Aquarium , tel 020 7967 8000, open daily 10am-6pm (last admission 5pm), closed some public holidays, peak prices £9.75 adult, concessions available - housed in the basements of County Hall, beneath the Saatchi Gallery - a great selection of fish in an unlikely venue....

• the Saatchi Gallery (see below under Museums and Galleries) ....

Museums and galleries

View into the main Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern

• Tate Modern , Bankside, (Tube: Blackfriars, Southwark), tel 020 7887 8000, open Su-Th 10am-6pm, Fr-Sa 10am-10pm, general admission free, special exhibitions £7-£10 - an enormous art gallery converted from the former Bankside Power Station, a visit to Tate Modern could easily take half a day on its own. The gallery collects together contemporary and modern art from around the world, arranged thematically. The most stunning aspect of the building, however, is the enormous Turbine Hall, which plays host to a single piece of work commissioned for the space each year. Most recently, the hall was filled with a vision of a misty dawn sunrise envisioned by Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. A definite must-do. The current temporary exhibition at Tate Modern is a retrospective of Albers and Moholy-Nagy, entitled "From the Bauhaus to the New World" (9 March - 4 June 2006) .... well worth a look!

• the Hayward Gallery , tel 020 7960 5226, open daily 10am-6pm, late opening Tu and We until 8pm, Fr until 9pm, closed Xmas Eve, Xmas, Boxing and New Years Days, admission adults £9, good concessions available, Mondays half price for all - particularly strong on contemporary art exhibitions

• the Saatchi Gallery , County Hall, South Bank. (Nearest tube: Waterloo, Westminster) Su-Th 10am-8pm, Fr-Sa 10am-8pm. An exhibition of works from Charles Saatchi's collection of contemporary art, predominantly Britart, including works by Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas. Themes of the art on display may not be suitable for all ages. The admission fee is not the highest of any art gallery in the world, so tourists should consider if they are sufficiently interested in the genre of art on display before entering. The entrance corridor, which spans County Hall, contains about 20-30 works from the exhibition, so an unsure visitor can sample the type of work on display before spending out on visiting. £8.50. The gallery is expected to move out of its current premises to Chelsea in 2007.

• Design Museum , Shad Thames. (Nearest tube: Tower Hill, London Bridge) Sa-Th 10am-5.45pm, Fri 10am-9pm. A must for anyone with an interest in modern and contemporary design. The permanent exhibition follows the change in British homes from the early 20th century until present day, which is constantly updated to include new design classics. There are temporary exhibits which run for 3-4 months. Recent exhibits have included Saul Bass, Peter Saville and Archigram. The museum also runs 'Designer of the Year' which awards a prize to a person or organisation that has produced an impressive piece of design (past winner was Jonathan Ive, who designed the iMac and iPod). There is a small shop that has plenty of art and design books as well as designer goods to take home with you. Admission £6.00 adults/£4 conc.

Other attractions

• The Old Operating Theatre , (Nearest tube: London Bridge) Open daily 10:30am-5pm. Britain's oldest operating theatre is an unusual tourist attraction, located in the roof space of St. Thomas's Church along with the herb store originally used by St. Thomas's Hospital's apothecary. £4.25.

Do

Walk along the South Bank

The walk along the South Bank of the Thames is a relaxing walk through central London, away (albeit only a short distance) from the traffic. Pedestrians can walk alongside the river almost the whole way from Tower Bridge to Lambeth Bridge, following the route of the Jubilee Walkway - a route through central London that takes in most of London's key attractions, which was developed for the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977. For more information on the Jubilee Walkway, visit http://www.jubileewalkway.co.uk

Major sights along the South Bank of the Thames include HMS Belfast, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Tate Modern, The London Eye and County Hall.

A full guide to the riverside walk along the south bank of the Thames can be found on the MaxTravelz South Bank Walk page.

Theatre

• Shakespeare's Globe , 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, nearest tube: Blackfriars, Southwark), tel 020 7902 1400, fax 020 7902 1401, mailto:info@shakespearesglobe.com, information for disabled visitors tel 020 7902 1409 - Sam Wanamaker's largely authentic reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, built using traditional techniques, stages plays in the Summer months. Around the year, there is an exhibition ending with either a tour of the theatre itself (in winter, and mornings in the summer), or a virtual tour (summer afternoons). Open from 10am-5pm daily Oct-Apr, 9am-5pm May-Sept. Tickets for plays are often available on the day, particularly if you are prepared to stand in the yard. The productions for 2005 is dubbed The Season of the World and the Underworld, and includes Pericles, Prince of Tyre, The Tempest and The Winter's Tale. £8 (for admission to exhibition), £5 to £29 (for tickets to see plays).
• the Chocolate Menier Factory , 51-53 Southwark Street - housed in a converted chocolate factory

Buy

Eat

• Pizza Express - a well-situated branch of the dependable chain of pizza restaurants, located just to the east (downriver) of the Globe Theatre.... Sit near the windows and eat your pizza, pasta or salad while gazing over the Thames at St Pauls Cathedral and the City

Drink

• The George , 75-77 Borough High Street, 7407 2056, open Mo-Sa 11am-11pm Su 12pm-10.30pm - London's last surviving galleried coaching inn which was rebuilt in 1676. Owned by the National Trust the cobbled courtyard is particularly nice.

• Film Café National Film Theatre, Belvedere Road, South Bank, Waterloo, London SE1 8XT. Open daily until 11pm, except Su until 10.30pm. The NFT's bar itself is nothing remarkable, but there's plenty of outside benches overlooking the Thames. There's also a regular second-hand book market directly in front of the building.