Bankside

Bankside is one of central London’s riverside destinations that stretches from Blackfriars Bridge to London Bridge and that boasts some of London’s most iconic attractions including Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe and a successful Christmas event – the Bankside Frost Fair that attracts 100,000 visitors to Bankside each year.

Bankside and the Arts

Bankside is a haven for art lovers; from the impressive art installation in Tate Modern’s turbine hall and its often unprecedented temporary exhibitions to more traditional styles at Bankside Gallery, home to the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers  to the Jerwood Space, which this year will host the full spectrum of Jerwood visual arts prize exhibitions. Many galleries, including the Menier Gallery and the Purdy Hicks Gallery offer the opportunity to take home a real gem of art as a souvenir of your visit as all exhibited works are for sale.

Shakespeare

If performing arts is more your thing, find out all you need to know about Shakespeare at Shakespeare's Globe Exhibition, the world's largest exhibition devoted to Shakespeare and the London in which he lived and worked, open all year round. From May to October enjoy a play at the Globe Theatre; a faithful reconstruction of the open-air playhouse designed in 1599, where Shakespeare worked and for which he wrote many of his greatest plays.

A Family Holiday

There are plenty of things in Bankside to do with children. On the replica of the Golden Hinde, storytelling sessions with actors have you experience first hand the wonderful story of the voyage of Sir Francis Drake and learn of life aboard a Tudor galleon.  Or join the drop-in ‘Start Weekend Sessions’ at Tate Modern - a selection of challenging but fun object- and paper-based games to be played in the gallery.

Historical Bankside

Bankside is one of the oldest settlements in Britain, dating back over 6000 years.  Catch up on the area’s history at Southwark Cathedral, London's oldest Gothic church.  A church has occupied the site for over 1400 years. Join a London Walks guided walking tour: choose between 'Along the Thames Pub Walk' or 'Shakespeare's London Walk' to hear tales and quirky stories about Bankside.

London’s Gastronomic Gem

Building on the area’s past as London’s Larder, Bankside is home to excellent restaurants including Roast, dedicated to the best of British cooking, Cantina Vinopolis, created by award-winning (Michelin, Carlton, Time out etc) restauranteurs Claudio Pulze and Trevor Gulliver, Bankside Restaurant and the Tate Restaurant on Level 7 with fantastic views over the Thames. At Vinopolis, London’s unique wine tasting attraction, you can learn all you need to know about wine as you meander through the theatrically-staged wine-producing regions.

Seasonal Ideas

The River Thames is the best way to arrive in Bankside. In the summer hop onto a Catamaran Cruiser and alight at Bankside Pier admiring the sights of central London on the way and enjoy a drink or a meal at one of many pubs or restaurants with riverside views. 

Winter is the season when London’s biggest FREE winter event, the award-winning Bankside Frost Fair, transforms the area into a winter wonderland (14 – 16 December 2007). It is a fantastic celebration of Bankside's heritage when the River Thames froze over and Londoners took to the ice.

How to Get to Bankside

Bankside neighbours the South Bank to the west and can be reached from the South Bank along the riverside walkway.

If you wish to travel by underground, for Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s Globe alight at Mansion House (Circle and District Line) or Southwark (Jubilee Line) and
for Southwark Cathedral get off at London Bridge (Jubilee and Northern Lines and mainline services) 

For more information on Bankside and its attractions and accommodation, please call Southwark Tourist Information Centre on 020 7401 5266.

This page is brought to you by Better Bankside Business Improvement District, an independent, business-led company which seeks to improve Bankside as a place to visit, live and work in.

Better Bankside, Irwin House, 118 Southwark Street, London SE1 0SW, Tel: 020 7928 3998
www.betterbankside.co.uk