Exploring South Bank London

*I spent the morning exploring as a guest of southbanklondon.com.

When we lived over by Tower Bridge,

one of our favorite things to do was to stroll along the south bank of the Thames.

The area between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge is one of London's greatest attractions.
So much to see and do. Every time we walked along this route, I fell more and more in love with London.  

So when I received an invite from SouthBankLondon.com to spend a few hours exploring
just some of what South Bank has to offer I was happy to join them. 

I was always a little confused about what the area along the south bank of the Thames is actually called.  So I got a little clarification.  Generally, the area west of Blackfriars Bridge is called South Bank.  The area from Blackfriars Bridge to London Bridge is called Bankside and the area East of London Bridge is called London Bridge. 

On this particular warm day of exploring South Bank we started at the world renowned National Theatre for a behind the scenes look.  

 

Besides the fabulous productions offered by the National Theatre, you can also visit and take a backstage tour (£8.50) or a costume tour (£12.50).  There is a bookshop, bars and restaurants.  They even have a Costume and Prop Hire department.  Can you imagine the period costumes they have?  

The Shed which is a temporary venue in front of the National Theatre that will be open until February 2014.  It's an intimate theatre with 225 seats around a small stage.  A version of Romeo & Juliet for young audiences is running for the next few weeks that I'm hoping to go see.  Tickets are £12 and £20.  They also offer Family Workshops for a behind the scenes look at the production.  

After a ride on the London Eye (which has a separate post), we visited the Southbank Centre.   It's the UK's largest art center and there is always something creative going on.   They are currently celebrating a summer long Festival of Neighborhood through September 8th.  This festival celebrates neighborhoods and what makes them great.  A giant urban garden, allotments along the Queen's Walk, a greenhouse, foliage sculptures and wheelbarrow installation and more are all there for you to enjoy.

 

 London Wonderground is running until September 29th with circus, cabaret and sideshows.  We are hoping to go see Limbo in the next few weeks.  

These are just a few of the many festivals, performances, films, exhibitions and experiences that you can enjoy at South Bank.  Not to mention all of the restaurants and bars.  One of my favorites is Propstore.  It's a summer pop up bar that is built with props and sets from the National Theatre productions.  

 

The opportunities for fun are perfect for a day out in London.

And don't just take my word for it.
Emm in London recently wrote about the murals you see above.   

 What's your favorite find in South Bank?

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  *I was a guest of southbanklondon.com.  All photos and opinions are 100% my own.

As always, I promise to be open, honest and transparent with my readers.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.


You can find this review and many others in my
London Attraction Guide.