Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
twentieth-century paintings, looking terribly old-fashioned in their gilded frames.
You'll need stamina to wade through more than one level in any one visit, so if there's
something you really want to see, go there first before you run out of energy. And
remember that one of the joys of Tate Modern is coming across artists or artistic
movements about which you may know very little.
ARRIVAL, INFORMATION AND TOURS
Arrival
For the best views of the Tate, approach from the
Millennium Bridge. The nearest entrance to the bridge is the
North Entrance underneath the chimney, which brings you
out at Level 1. The best entrance, however, is via the ramp at
the West Entrance, allowing you to fully appreciate the
stupefying enormity of the main turbine hall, which sits on
Level 0, below the Thames, rises to a height of 115ft and is
used to display large-scale installations. There's also a Tate
Boat, that plies between the two galleries (every 40min;
20min; £6.50;
W
thamesclippers.com).
Orientation
Level 0 is also where you'll find the
information desk, and, on the opposite side, the museum's
cloakroom and giant bookshop - escalators from this floor
lead straight up to Level 2. Entering from the bridge or river
brings you to Level 1, linked by stairs and elevators to the
other floors, but not escalators.
Tours
There are free guided tours (daily at 11am, noon, 2 &
3pm; 45min), multimedia guides (£4) and various apps
available (Tate has free wi-fi).
Eating
There's a pricey restaurant and bar on Level 7, with
a great view over the river, and a more reasonably priced
café on Level 2.
Level 2
On Level 2,
Poetry and Dream
concentrates, though by no means exclusively, on the
interwar period. At the heart of the wing is a large room densely hung with works by
the major Surrealists:
Miró
,
Magritte
,
Dalí
and the dreamlike
de Chirico
. Other rooms
are given over to single artists like
Joseph Beuys
, whose bizarre choice of materials
derives directly from his wartime experiences, when his plane crashed in the Crimea
and he was saved by local Tartars, who cocooned him in felt and fat.
St Paul's Cathedral
Cannon St
Station
Blackfriars
Station
Bankside
Pier
Shakespeare's
Globe Theatre
& Indoor
Jacobean
Theatre
Tate
Modern
Golden
Hinde
Clink Prison
Museum
Rose Theatre
Vinopolis
Winchester
Palace(ruins)
S U M N
Southwark
Cathedral
R R E
Borough
Market
R E E
O L
BEN ST R E ET
SCORESBY STREET
Southwark
UNION
STRE
ET
UNION S
TREET
NELSON
SQUARE
COPPE RFIE
LD STREET
BANKSIDE AND BERMONDSEY
Cross Bones
