London South Bank Walking Tour: A Self-Guided Route Along the Thames

The South Bank of the Thames is London's finest riverside promenade, a continuous walkway that strings together theaters, galleries, markets and unbeatable views of the skyline across the water. If you want a walking tour in the United Kingdom that keeps the river always at your side, this London self guided walking tour follows the south bank downstream, from the giant observation wheel opposite Parliament past a great modern art gallery and a reconstructed Elizabethan theater to a bustling food market and the iconic bascule bridge. It is a flat, lively, view-filled walk through the cultural heart of the modern city, with the north bank's spires and towers on show the whole way.

Before you set off, a few practical notes. This walk covers about five kilometers and takes around two hours at an easy pace, entirely flat along paved riverside paths. Wear comfortable shoes and bring a layer, as the wind off the river can be brisk even on a mild day. Late afternoon into early evening is a wonderful time to walk it, as the lights come on across the water and the riverside bars and food stalls fill up. If you are following along by audio, keep your eyes up on the river and the skyline, watch for cyclists and the dense crowds on busy stretches, and pause whenever a view, a gallery or a market stall invites you to slow down.

Westminster Bridge

You begin on Westminster Bridge, the broad green-painted bridge that crosses the river beside Parliament, offering the single most famous view in London before you even reach the south bank. Pause in the middle and look across to the great Gothic palace and the clock tower of Big Ben rising directly beside you, close enough to hear the chimes, with the abbey's towers just beyond. Downstream, the river curves away past a forest of cranes and towers. Poets have stood on this very spot and marveled at the city spread silent in the early light. The bridge is always busy with travelers snapping the classic photograph. Take in the unbeatable view of Parliament and the river. Then cross to the south bank, where a giant wheel turns slowly against the sky, and step onto the riverside walkway beneath it to begin your journey downstream.

London Eye

The London Eye is the great observation wheel that has become a symbol of the modern city, a vast ring of steel turning slowly on the south bank, its glass capsules lifting visitors high above the river for a panorama across the whole capital. Stand beneath it and look up, following the slow rotation of the wheel and the enclosed pods gliding up and over, and appreciate its sheer scale, one of the tallest of its kind in the world. Even from the ground it is a spectacle, framed against the sky with Parliament directly across the water. The riverside around its base buzzes with street performers, ticket queues and crowds gazing upward. There is a festive, holiday energy here. Take in the wheel and the views across to Parliament. Then continue along the riverside walkway downstream, where a cluster of grand concrete cultural buildings marks the beating heart of the South Bank's arts scene.

Southbank Centre

The Southbank Centre is the cultural powerhouse of the river, a cluster of concert halls, galleries and theaters in bold mid-century concrete, fronted by a lively riverside terrace that is one of the great gathering places of London. As you walk through, the area hums with life, skateboarders carving through a famous graffiti-covered undercroft, book stalls set out beneath a bridge, buskers playing, and crowds spilling from the concert halls and food stalls. The architecture is uncompromisingly modern, all raw concrete and sharp angles, softened by the constant human activity around it. There is a democratic, creative energy here, art for everyone right on the river. Wander through the terraces and past the book stalls and skaters. Then keep following the river downstream, past cafes and bars, toward a small cluster of colorful low buildings and craft studios set back from the walkway.

Gabriel's Wharf

Gabriel's Wharf is a charming and slightly bohemian pocket of the South Bank, a small courtyard of colorful low buildings housing independent craft shops, designers' studios, cafes and restaurants, a low-key contrast to the grand cultural halls behind you. Step off the main riverside path into the little square, where the shopfronts are painted in bright colors and a whimsical mural covers one wall, and browse the work of jewelers, potters and artists in their small studios. It has a village-like, creative feel, a reminder that the South Bank was reinvented from old industrial land into a place for people. Cafes spill their tables into the courtyard. Take a relaxed browse among the studios and stalls. Then return to the riverside and continue downstream, and soon a huge brick building with a single tall chimney looms ahead, once a power station and now one of the most visited art galleries in the world.

Tate Modern

Tate Modern is one of the great art galleries of the world, housed in a massive former power station of dark brick dominated by a single towering chimney, its cavernous interior a temple to modern and contemporary art, and it is free to enter. Walk up to the vast building and appreciate the bold conversion of heavy industry into culture, the great turbine hall within now a soaring space that hosts enormous installations. Even if you do not go in, the riverside terrace and the viewing levels offer superb views back across the water to the cathedral dome. The building's raw industrial scale is thrilling. Take in the great chimney and the sweep of the river here. Then continue a very short way along the bank to a round, thatched, whitewashed building that looks as though it has stepped straight out of the sixteenth century, a faithful recreation of a famous theater.

Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare's Globe is a loving reconstruction of the open-air playhouse where the great playwright's works were first performed, a round timber-framed theater with white walls and a thatched roof, rebuilt close to the site of the original using the methods and materials of the period. Stand before it and admire its distinctive circular form, the only thatched roof permitted in the modern city, a deliberate window into Elizabethan London. In summer, audiences still stand in the open yard before the stage as groundlings, just as they did four centuries ago, come rain or shine. The building brings the golden age of English theater vividly to life on the very riverbank where it flourished. Take in the timber and thatch and imagine the crowds of long ago. Then continue downstream and cut inland just slightly, following your nose toward the smells of one of London's oldest and finest food markets.

Borough Market

Borough Market is one of the oldest and most celebrated food markets in London, a labyrinth of stalls sheltered beneath ornate Victorian iron roofs and railway arches, overflowing with produce, cheeses, breads, spices and street food from around the world. Step in and let your senses take over, the smell of sizzling sausages and fresh bread, the color of piled fruit and vegetables, the calls of the traders and the offer of samples at every turn. Foodies flock here from across the city, and the narrow lanes between the stalls buzz with cooks, tourists and locals doing their shopping. It is a feast for every sense and a fine place to pick up something to eat. Graze your way through the market and soak up the atmosphere. Then head back to the river and continue downstream toward the great twin-towered bridge that has become the very emblem of London.

Tower Bridge

You finish at Tower Bridge, the magnificent Victorian bascule bridge whose two great Gothic towers and blue suspension chains form one of the most recognizable silhouettes in the world, often mistaken by visitors for its plainer neighbor upstream. Walk out toward it along the river and take in its grandeur, the high walkways strung between the towers and the two great roadway leaves that still lift to let tall ships pass beneath, a spectacle when it happens. Across the river rises the ancient fortress of the Tower, and the modern towers of the financial district gleam beyond. From the south bank you get the classic view of the whole bridge spanning the water. Take in the towers and the chains and the sweep of the river. This iconic crossing, where the historic city meets the tidal Thames, is a spectacular and fitting place to end your riverside walk.

Why the South Bank Belongs to Walkers

Reaching Tower Bridge, you have followed the south bank of the river across the whole cultural heart of modern London, from the great wheel opposite Parliament past galleries, theaters and markets to the iconic bridge. Walking it is the only way to experience this riverside as it was meant to be, a continuous promenade where every few steps bring a new view across the water and a new place to pause, none of it accessible in the same way from a car or a bus. On foot you feel the river as the thread that ties the city together, and you notice the small pleasures a quick visit would miss, a busker beneath a bridge, the smell of a market, the skyline doubling in the water at dusk. If you would like company for the next walk, open the Walk With Me map to find other walkers out exploring the city right now.