Neighborhood 48H guide
South Bank & Bankside: Where to Stay & What to Do in 48 Hours
Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge and Borough Market.
The south bank of the Thames runs from the London Eye past theatres and galleries to Tate Modern and Borough Market.
Photo gallery
Photo: The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons 
Photo: Stephen Armstrong · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Why stay here
A riverside walk to everything, with views across to St Paul’s.
Who it's for: Art lovers, foodies and walkers.
Pros
- Riverside walks
- Galleries
- Food market
Cons
- Crowds on weekends
- Market closed Mondays
- Pricey riverside hotels
48H on the South Bank
Market lunch, modern art, the river.
11:00 – Borough Market
Tuesday to Sunday; closed Mondays (open daily from Nov 30).
14:00 – Tate Modern
Free; open late Friday and Saturday.
18:00 – Millennium Bridge
Cross to St Paul’s at dusk.
Named recommendations
Real places with links to their official site or a Maps place page. We do not invent hours, prices, or ratings.
Eat
Eat
Borough Market
Southwark
Historic food market under the railway arches.
Photo: Stephen Armstrong · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
See / do
See / do
Tate Modern
Bankside
Modern art in a former power station.
Photo: The wub · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Official site / map →
Where to stay
Specific named properties—not vague city-wide searches. Expedia stays use tracked Creator links; others open the hotel's official site.
Roam48 may earn a commission when you book a stay through Expedia or Vrbo links on this page, at no extra cost to you. All commercial stay links use rel="sponsored nofollow".
Hotel · Expedia
Sea Containers London
20 Upper Ground
Riverside hotel with a spa, cinema and the 12th Knot rooftop bar.
Check rates on Expedia →
Vacation rentals
Prefer an apartment or whole home in this neighborhood? Browse Vrbo listings for South Bank & Bankside.
In London, whole homes can usually be let short-term for up to 90 nights a year without planning permission. Check the listing’s availability and house rules.
Browse vacation rentals in South Bank & Bankside on Vrbo →Other ways to spend 48 hours in London
- Covent Garden & Soho — The market piazza, Seven Dials, theatres and the British Museum nearby.
- Westminster & St James’s — Westminster Abbey, Parliament and the Churchill War Rooms.
- Tower of London & Tower Bridge — The Crown Jewels and the bridge walkways.
- Shoreditch & Spitalfields — Street art, Columbia Road flowers and Spitalfields Market.
- King’s Cross — Coal Drops Yard, the British Library and the Eurostar.
- Marylebone — The Wallace Collection and Marylebone High Street.
- South Kensington — The V&A and the Natural History Museum.
- Notting Hill — Portobello Road and pastel terraces.
- Greenwich — The Prime Meridian and the Cutty Sark.