Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Borough Market
Golden Hinde
Replica
Winchester Palace
The Clink Prison Museum
Vinopolis: City of Wine
The Anchor and Bankside Road
Shakespeare's Globe
View of the Thames
Millennium Bridge
Tate Modern
Great Fire of 1666
Bankside—the neighborhood between London Bridge and Blackfriars Bridge—is the his-
toric heart of the revamped southern bank of the Thames. In ancient times “greater Lon-
don” consisted of two Roman settlements straddling the easiest place to ford the river: One
settlement was here, and the other was across the river—in the financial district known
today as “The City.”
From the Roman era until recently, the south side of the river was the wrong side of
the tracks. For centuries, it was London's red light district. In the 20th century, it became
an industrial wasteland of empty warehouses and street crime. Today, the prostitutes and
pickpockets are gone, replaced by a riverside promenade dotted with pubs, cutesy shops,
and historic tourist sights.
