The neighbourhood
Our guide to Bankside
Bankside is the stretch of the South Bank between Blackfriars Bridge and London Bridge: for centuries London’s playground of theatres, inns and bear gardens, then a district of wharves, breweries and warehouses, and since 2000 home to Tate Modern. We are on Sumner Street, a street back from the river.
| Place | On foot | Why go |
|---|---|---|
| Tate Modern | 2 minutes | The former Bankside Power Station, free to visit (paid exhibitions). The Blavatnik Building’s viewing level on the 10th floor is free too. |
| Millennium Bridge | 4 minutes | The footbridge to St Paul’s and the City. Best at night looking back at the power station. |
| Shakespeare’s Globe | 5 minutes | The reconstructed open-air playhouse, with the candlelit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for winter. Standing tickets are famously cheap. |
| The Ferryman’s Seat | 5 minutes | A worn stone seat set into the wall on Bear Gardens, where watermen are said to have rested between fares. Easy to walk past. |
| Borough Market | 8 minutes | Go before 11:00 on a weekday. Lunch from the stalls, then coffee on Stoney Street. |
| Southwark Cathedral | 9 minutes | London’s oldest Gothic church, with a Shakespeare memorial and a quiet churchyard garden. |
| Bridge Theatre and the Old Vic | 15 to 18 minutes | The Bridge is by Tower Bridge; the Old Vic and Young Vic are on The Cut near Waterloo. |
| Southbank Centre and the National Theatre | 18 minutes along the river | Walk west past the Oxo Tower and Gabriel’s Wharf. The National’s foyers are good for a drink before a show. |
Getting around
- Southwark (Jubilee line): 7 minutes. One stop to Waterloo, two to Westminster, four to Canary Wharf.
- Blackfriars (Thameslink, District and Circle lines): 8 minutes across the bridge from the South Bank entrance. Direct trains to St Pancras, Gatwick and Luton airports.
- London Bridge (Northern and Jubilee lines, national rail): 12 minutes.
- Bankside Pier: Uber Boat by Thames Clippers services east to Greenwich and west to Westminster, 4 minutes from the hotel.
- Santander Cycles docks on Sumner Street and Southwark Street.
More in our journal: getting here from airports and stations.
Where we eat when we’re not working
Our team’s list changes every season and lives on a card at reception. Ask for it: it has the bakeries, the late-night places and the pubs with the best Sunday roasts within ten minutes’ walk.