South Bank Self-Guided Audio Walk: London Eye, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and the George Inn
1 hour and 40 minutes
About this experience
For centuries the south bank of the Thames was London's outside: a bishop's manor beyond the City's law, where the playhouses, the prison and the stews were kept. Start at County Hall and the London Eye and follow the river past the Royal Festival Hall, the skaters' Undercroft, the National Theatre and the OXO Tower, then under Blackfriars Bridge to Tate Modern, with St Paul's across the water. Pass the Millennium Bridge to Shakespeare's Globe, stand on the bank where Pepys watched the Great Fire, read the bishop's ruined palace on Clink Street, and finish at Southwark Cathedral and the galleried George Inn beside Borough Market. Twelve stops, about 3 km and 100 minutes, level riverside paths, in English and at your own pace. Entry to the London Eye, the Globe and paid exhibitions is not included.
- Experience type
- Day tour or activity
- Duration
- 1 hour and 40 minutes
- Audio guide
- English
- Guide
- English
- Categories
- Walking tour · Cultural and theme tours · City tours
What's included
Self-guided audio tour in English: 12 stops, 3.1 km, 100 minutes Stops at County Hall, Royal Festival Hall, skaters' Undercroft GPS map and walking directions in your phone browser, no app needed Lifetime access: start any day, at any hour, and replay it
What's not included
A live guide: you set the pace and the pauses A fixed start time: begin whenever you arrive Museum and monument tickets, all optional extras Tip or gratuity Food and drinks Entry or admission fee
Please note
To start the tour, enter the ticket code from your confirmation on the Roamer redemption page linked there. Do this before you set off, while you still have signal. The tour then opens in your phone browser, with no app to download. Bring a charged phone and earphones. Mobile data helps; if you have none, open the tour on wifi before you set off. Best time: A dry day from Tuesday to Saturday, starting by about 14:00, so you reach Borough Market before it closes at 17:00 (16:00 on Sunday, closed on Monday) and finish in daylight. Weekday mornings are quietest on the riverside; dry weekends crowd the Eye, the Millennium Bridge landing and Clink Street. Avoid the Globe's front around show times if you want room to stop. Checked 7 October 2026. Getting to the start: Waterloo station is about five minutes' walk (follow the signs for the South Bank), and Westminster station is just across Westminster Bridge. From Embankment or Charing Cross, cross the Golden Jubilee footbridges, about 10 to 15 minutes. The London Eye's ticket office is inside County Hall. Checked 7 October 2026. Getting home: London Bridge station (Jubilee and Northern lines, National Rail) is a few minutes from the George Inn, and Borough station (Northern line) is a little farther south. Southwark station is about ten minutes inland from Tate Modern if you want to stop halfway. Free stops along the way: the Royal Festival Hall foyers (open Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 23:00 and closed on Mondays, per the Southbank Centre's page as last archived; check before you go), the National Theatre's terraces and foyers outside show times, the OXO Tower Wharf's rooftop viewing gallery (free, daily; check hours), Tate Modern's collection and Southwark Cathedral. Checked 7 October 2026. Hayward Gallery (stop 3): ticketed exhibitions; open Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 18:00, Saturday 10:00 to 20:00, Sunday 10:00 to 18:00, closed Monday, with late opening to 21:00 every day from 23 September to 18 October 2026. Checked 7 October 2026 (Southbank Centre page as archived on 2 October 2026). Golden Hinde, the full-size replica galleon in the dock between stops 10 and 11: adults 6 GBP; April to October 10:00 to 18:00, November to March 10:00 to 17:00. Restoration work is under way and limits access aboard. Checked 7 October 2026. Borough Market, just off the route at the end: free to enter; Tuesday to Friday 10:00 to 17:00, Saturday 09:00 to 17:00, Sunday 10:00 to 16:00, closed Monday; hours change on bank holidays. Busiest Thursday to Saturday at lunch. Checked 7 October 2026. The George Inn's yard is free to enter while the pub is open; the National Trust says the pub's operator recommends booking ahead if you want to eat. Checked 7 October 2026. Not on the route but close: the Clink Prison Museum on Clink Street (ticketed) and the London Eye flight at the start (from 29 GBP; see stop 1's card). Southwark Cathedral closures: Thursday 8 October 13:00 to 16:00, Saturday 10 October until 12:00, Monday 19 October from 16:00; building works at Minerva House opposite the cathedral change the route to its north entrance from time to time, and hoarding may narrow Montague Close. Checked 7 October 2026. Gabriel's Wharf (just before stop 5) closed in September 2026 and its yard may be fenced or empty; the riverside walk is not affected. Checked 7 October 2026. Building works around Blackfriars and Sea Containers House may put up hoarding on the riverside near stop 6, and can screen the railway shields on the abutment. The riverside walk in front of County Hall is private land with public access and can close for events or filming. The Undercroft (stop 3) is a working skate space: skaters have right of way in it, so watch from the edge. Clink Street is narrow and shared with delivery vans and bicycles, and it is crowded on summer afternoons. Clink Street, Winchester Square and Montague Close are quiet and dimly lit after dark, and the market lanes are shuttered after closing. There is one main-road crossing, Borough High Street, at the traffic lights before the last stop. The lane between stops 9 and 10 has no lights; look both ways. The riverside paths are level, with a ramp beside the one short step by the Globe, and the route avoids the steps at Green Dragon Court. Expect slow crowds at the London Eye queue, the foot of the Millennium Bridge and the Globe at show times. Public transportation nearby
Itinerary
- 1Day 0
County Hall and the London Eye: Stone Palace, Temporary Wheel
County Hall, The Queen's Walk by the London Eye, SE1 7PB, London
A town hall beside a wheel. County Hall's curved Portland stone front faces the river beside the London Eye, built lying flat on the water and then raised.
- 2Day 0
Royal Festival Hall: The Festival's One Survivor
Royal Festival Hall, The Queen's Walk, SE1 8XX, London
The 1951 festival's lone survivor. The Royal Festival Hall's river front is a 1960s skin of Portland stone and mosaic around a 1951 concert hall.
- 3Day 0
The Undercroft: The Concrete the Skaters Kept
Southbank Centre Undercroft, The Queen's Walk, SE1 8XX, London
A concrete space the skaters kept. The Southbank Centre's skate space and the brutalist halls above it were listed in February 2026.
- 4Day 0
National Theatre: Concrete in Layers
National Theatre, The Queen's Walk, SE1 9PX, London
Layered concrete terraces by Lasdun. Horizontal terraces broken by fly towers, and an official viewing place for London's protected views at its feet.
- 5Day 0
OXO Tower: A Word Spelled in Windows
OXO Tower Wharf, The Queen's Walk, SE1 9PH, London
Windows that spell a brand. The OXO Tower's windows spell a brand name, and the riverside walk beneath it was won by a 1970s community campaign.
- 6Day 0
Blackfriars Bridge: Stone from Westminster
The Queen's Walk at Blackfriars Bridge, south bank, SE1 9UD, London
Old railway piers in the river. Its abutment beside the path is faced with Portland stone from the first Westminster Bridge.
- 7Day 0
Tate Modern and St Paul's: A Chimney Below the Dome
Bankside by Tate Modern, SE1 9TG, London
A chimney lower than the dome. Tate Modern faces the cathedral across the river on one of London's protected views, beside the Millennium Bridge.
- 8Day 0
Shakespeare's Globe: The Thatch That Needed Permission
Shakespeare's Globe, Bankside, SE1 9DT, London
A thatched Elizabethan playhouse rebuilt. Built of oak, lime plaster and water reed, the third Globe opened in 1997, one street nearer the river than Shakespeare's own.
- 9Day 0
Southwark Bridge: Watching the Great Fire
The Anchor, Bankside by Southwark Bridge, SE1 9EF, London
Where Pepys watched the Great Fire. In September 1666 he sat in a little alehouse on Bankside, opposite the burning City.
- 10Day 0
Winchester Palace and Clink Street: The Bishop's Liberty
Winchester Palace, Clink Street, SE1 9DG, London
The Bishop's ruined great hall. A flint wall with a rose window marks the manor that lay beyond the City's law.
- 11Day 0
Southwark Cathedral: A Priory by the Old Crossing
Southwark Cathedral, Montague Close, SE1 9DA, London
A priory church at the crossing. Southwark Cathedral's thirteenth-century choir, crossing tower and Victorian nave became a cathedral only in 1905.
- 12Day 0
The George Inn: London's Last Galleried Inn
The George Inn yard, 75-77 Borough High Street, SE1 1NH, London
London's last galleried coaching inn. The National Trust calls the George London's last remaining galleried inn; Borough Market lies just behind.
Meeting point
County Hall and the London Eye, London County Hall, The Queen's Walk by the London Eye, SE1 7PB, London, England, GB
Pick up
Pickup is not provided.
Cancellation policy · South Bank Self-Guided Audio Walk: London Eye, Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe and the George Inn
Standard Viator policy
- Cancellation 0–24 hours before departure: 100% cancellation fee.
- Cancellation 24–24000 hours before departure: 0% cancellation fee.
Good to know
Operated by Roamer and sold by AGORA. Your voucher and booking reference arrive by email straight after payment.