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South Bank
Commercial and entertainment district in London

South Bank

The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial area on the south bank of the River Thames, in the London Borough of Lambeth, central London, England.

Plan a trip to South Bank→From London
Get in

Getting to South Bank

The district is serviced by the following tube stations, all in Zone 1: Borough (Northern line). Convenient for the eastern part of the district and Borough Market especially. Lambeth North (Bakerloo line). On the south west edge of the district, good access to Lambeth Palace and the Thames Path along the river. London Bridge (Jubilee and Northern lines).

  1. 01
    London Waterloo
  2. 02
    London Waterloo East

    London Waterloo East is the terminus for southeast trains.

  3. 03
    Charing Cross
  4. 04
    London Bridge

    Thameslink services to Brighton, Cambridge, St Albans, Horsham, Redhill, Dartford, Gravesend, Rainham, Peterborough, Stevenage and Luton.

See

Worth seeing

= = From west to east:

  1. 01
    Garden Museum

    Lambeth Palace Rd, SE1 7LB (tube: Lambeth North BAK or Westminster CIR DIS JUB ), fax: +44 20 7401-8869, info@gardenmuseum.org.uk.

  2. 02
    Lambeth Palace

    Lambeth Palace, SE1 7JU (tube: Lambeth North BAK or Westminster CIR DIS JUB ).

  3. 03
    Archbishop's Park
  4. 04
    The South Bank Lion
  5. 05
    County Hall

    Belvedere Rd (tube: Westminster CIR DIS JUB or Waterloo BAK JUB NOR W&C ),.

  6. 06
    Sea Life London Aquarium

    County Hall, Belvedere Rd (tube: Westminster CIR DIS JUB or Waterloo BAK JUB NOR W&C ), info@londonaquarium.co.uk.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Florence Nightingale Museum

    St Thomas' Hospital, Westminster Bridge Rd (tube: Waterloo BAK JUB NOR W&C, Westminster CIR DIS JUB ).

  2. 02
    Menier Chocolate Factory

    51/53 Southwark St (tube: London Bridge JUB NOR ), theatre), +44 20 7407-3222 (gallery), office@menierchocolatefactory.com.

  3. 03
    Namco Funscape

    County Hall, Westminster Bridge Rd, SE1 7PB (tube: Waterloo BAK JUB NOR W&C ), countyhall@namco.co.uk.

  4. 04
    The Southbank Centre

    Southbank Centre is the largest single-run arts centre in the world and includes the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall.

  5. 05
    The National Theatre

    The Royal National Theatre is one of the UK's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies.

  6. 06
    Old Vic Theatre

    103 The Cut, Waterloo, SE1 8NB (tube: Waterloo BAK JUB NOR W&C ),.

Eat

Where to eat

There is a great selection of cafes, bars and restaurants for all budgets, so make sure you take time to watch the world go by.

  1. 01
    Southbank Centre Food Market

    Southbank Centre Square (behind the Royal Festival Hall).

  2. 02
    Lower Marsh Street

    Lower Marsh Street has diverse food stalls, including Korean, Cuban, Nigerian, Peruvian and Ethiopian cuisines.

  3. 03
    Marie's Cafe

    90 Lower Marsh, SE1 7AB (Behind Waterloo station),.

  4. 04
    The Hole In The Wall

    5 Mepham St.

  5. 05
    Crust Bros Pizza Waterloo

    113 Waterloo Rd.

How locals move

Getting around South Bank the local way

  • Get in}} {{go | name | url | address | long | phone | hours | wikidata=Q800751 | lastedit=2024-08-05 | content=Services: Avanti West Coast from the West Midlands, the North East, North Wales and Scotland, including Watford, Birmingham Airport (), Birmingham New Street, Manchester, Liverpool Llandudno Junction, Holyhead with ferries from and (), Oxenholme Lake District and Glasgow.
  • Get inConnections at London Moorgate are: |wikidata=Q801210}} {{go | name | url | address | long | phone | hours | wikidata=Q801124 | lastedit=2024-08-05 | content=Services: Greater Anglia from the East of England including Hertford, Cambridge, Colchester, Southend-on-Sea, Southend Airport (), Harwich with ferries from (), and Norwich.
  • Get inSouthern from the South East including Gatwick Airport (), Bognor Regis, Epsom and Portsmouth with ferries from and ().
  • Get inAlso from Harwich (via A120, ferries from Hook of Holland, Netherlands).
  • Get inFastest route from Fishguard (ferries from Rosslare, Ireland).
  • Get aroundBy boat: Both commuter ferries run by TfL and pleasure cruises ply along the River Thames.
  • Get aroundOyster is also not accepted on long-distance coaches, tour buses, or charter buses.
  • Get aroundThe London cable car (branded for sponsorship reasons as IFS Cloud Cable Car; formerly Emirates Air Line) is a cable car that runs across the River Thames in east London giving panoramic views of the surrounding area and beyond.

From Wikivoyage: London, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.