South Bank

What makes it special

Between the London Eye and Waterloo Bridge stands the Southbank Centre, easy to pick out by its bright yellow staircases. It holds the Royal Festival Hall and the Hayward Gallery, a contemporary art space, and the open ground around the buildings carries public art that changes through the year.

In summer that ground has a dancing fountain, Appearing Rooms by the artist Jeppe Hein. Over the festive period a Winter Market runs along the riverside.

Under the Queen Elizabeth Hall is the undercroft, the covered space that has been the home of British skateboarding for more than 40 years. In 2013 the Long Live Southbank group joined the Southbank Centre to upgrade and expand it, and it is the longest continuously used skateboarding space in the world. You can stand at the edge and watch at any hour.

Under Waterloo Bridge, trestle tables of second-hand books line Queen's Walk. Most are paperbacks, classic and contemporary, with comics, antiquarian maps and historic prints among them.

Across the water, the Houses of Parliament fill the view at the western end. Further east, the Millennium Bridge points straight at St Paul's Cathedral, with the dome square at the far end of the span.

Visiting

Crossing Westminster Bridge from Westminster station, you see the river open up on both sides as you walk towards the London Eye. Turn left onto the riverside path and keep the water on your left.

Past the Eye, Queen's Walk runs in front of the Southbank Centre. Go up into the Royal Festival Hall for its free toilets and the seats with a river view on the upper levels. From Friday to Sunday, the street food market is behind the hall.

Look into the skaters' undercroft next, then browse the book tables under Waterloo Bridge, which have the full range of stalls at weekends. Tate Modern is a natural place to turn back. To go on, pass the Globe and London Bridge and finish at Tower Bridge, about 3 km in all.

Tips

Licensed street performers on Queen's Walk show their licence while they play, from 10am to 9pm every day. Tip the acts you stop to watch.

If you want the 135-metre wheel of the London Eye, book a slot ahead and still expect to queue; a rotation takes half an hour.

Two short detours sit just off the route. Leake Street, a road tunnel under Waterloo station, is a place where graffiti is legal. Southwark Cathedral, further east, is free to enter and usually quiet.