London (Fodor's 2012) - Fodor's [58]
The Tate Modern alone deserves a whole morning or afternoon, especially if you want to do justice to both the temporary exhibitions and the permanent collection.
The Globe requires about two hours for the exhibition theater tour and two to three hours for a performance. Finish with drinks or dinner at the Oxo Tower or a stroll west along the riverbank and then across the Golden Jubilee Bridges.
As for other ways of returning across the river to central London, keep in mind that you can use Southwark on the Jubilee Line from Tate Modern, although it’s a good 15-minute walk from the station. It’s perhaps more enjoyable to use St. Paul’s on the Central Line, where you can cross the Millennium Bridge, or Embankment, which are longer walks, but pass through more alluring scenery.
GETTING THERE
For the South Bank use Westminster station on the Jubilee or Northern line, from where you can walk across Westminster Bridge; Embankment on District, Circle, Northern, and Bakerloo lines, where you can walk across Hungerford Bridge; or Waterloo on the Jubilee, Northern, and Bakerloo lines, where it’s a 5-minute walk to the Royal Festival Hall. In the east, alternatively, use Tower Gateway on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR). London Bridge on the Northern and Jubilee lines is a 5-minute stroll from Borough Market and Southwark Cathedral.
FEELING PECKISH?
At Gabriel’s Wharf have a sit-down meal at the Gourmet Pizza Co.
(56 Upper Ground, Gabriel’s Wharf | SE1 9PQ | 020/7928–3188) or grab a sandwich or coffee at one of the smaller establishments open during the day here.
For exquisite handmade pastries, along with daily specials such as chicken paella or vegetarian moussaka, stop at the bijou premises of Konditor & Cook (10 Stoney St. | SE1 9AD | 020/7407–5100), one of the stars of the handful of eateries nearby Borough Market. Alternatively, just dive into the crowds of the market itself and grab something from its many and varied food stalls. It’s all good.
SAFETY
At night, it’s best to stick to where the action is at the Butler’s Wharf and Gabriel’s Wharf restaurants, the Oxo Tower, the National Theatre, the National Film Theatre, and the Royal Festival Hall. Stray farther south of the embankment and it quickly begins to feel deserted.
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TOP ATTRACTIONS
Fodor’s Choice | Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
A spectacular theater, this is a replica of Shakespeare’s open-roof, wood-and-thatch Globe Playhouse (built in 1599 and burned down in 1613), where most of the Bard’s great plays premiered. For several decades, American actor and director Sam Wanamaker worked ceaselessly to raise funds for the theater’s reconstruction, 200 yards from its original site, using authentic materials and techniques. His dream was realized in 1997. At the plays, “groundlings”—those with £5 standing-only tickets—are not allowed to sit during the performance. You can reserve an actual seat, though, on any one of the theater’s three levels, but you will want to rent a cushion for £1 (or bring your own) to soften the backless wooden benches. The show must go on, rain or shine, warm or chilly—so come prepared for anything. Umbrellas are banned, but you can bring a raincoat or buy a cheap Globe rain poncho, which doubles as a great souvenir. Throughout the year, you can tour the theater as part of the Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition, a museum under the theater (the entry is adjacent) that provides background material on the Elizabethan theater and the construction of the modern-day Globe. Admission also includes a tour of the theater. On matinee days, the tour visits the archaeological site of the nearby (and older) Rose Theatre. | 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, South Bank, | SE1 9DT | 020/7902–1400 box office, 020/7401–9919 New Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition | www.shakespeares-globe.org | Exhibition & Globe Theatre Tour £10.50 (£2 reduction with valid performance ticket;