London's best free walk: four kilometres along the river from Westminster Bridge, past the Eye, a book market, Shakespeare's theatre and a power station turned art gallery, with St Paul's across the water. Start an hour before sunset.
The south side of the Thames was once wharves and warehouses. Today it is a continuous traffic-free walk past the city's cultural landmarks.
Start at Westminster Bridge with Parliament behind you and walk east past the London Eye, the concrete Southbank Centre and the second-hand book market under Waterloo Bridge. Further on, Shakespeare's Globe is a careful reconstruction of the 1599 theatre, and Tate Modern fills the former Bankside power station.
Tate Modern is free, and its tenth-floor terrace has the classic view of St Paul's across the river. From here, the Millennium Bridge leads straight to the cathedral steps, or carry on along the river to Borough Market and Tower Bridge.
Start an hour before sunset and finish with a drink by the river; the whole stretch is lit, busy and safe after dark.
Keep the river on your left all the way.
Cross from Westminster and turn left along the river.
Pass under the Eye and on to the Southbank Centre.
Browse the tables of second-hand books under the bridge.
Go up to Tate Modern's 10th-floor terrace for St Paul's across the water.
Cross the bridge to the cathedral, or continue to Borough Market.
Westminster or Waterloo tube to start; Blackfriars or London Bridge at the end.
Free entry to the collection; paid tickets for major exhibitions.
Standing tickets for summer plays are cheap and an experience in themselves.
London practical notes →Photographs from Wikimedia Commons and Pexels under their licences.
