South Bank of the Thames Cultural Walk

Tower of London: This history-soaked edifice has served as a palace, prison and royal execution site during its 900-year history. It is now a fascinating museum and home to the crown jewels.

It was built by William the Conqueror in the late 11th century. Famous royal inhabitants include Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII, who spent the night before her 1533 coronation in the queen's apartments of the Royal Palace. A few short years after, having failed to bear the monarch a son and accused of adultery and treason, she was imprisoned and beheaded there in 1536. The same fate awaited King Henry's fifth wife, Catherine Howard, who met her end here in 1541.

This is a great place to get a sense of historic London in the heart of the old city and then take a stroll along the River Thames, getting a feel for both the old and the new in London's vibrant cultural scene.
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Hours
March 1-Oct. 31
Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5:30pm
Sunday-Monday 10am-5:30pm
Nov. 1-Feb. 28
Tuesday-Saturday 9am-4:30pm
Sunday-Monday 10am-4:30pm
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Admission
Adults £19.80
Kids younger than 16 £10.45
(Check online to buy discounted tickets in advance)

The Victorians built this attractive drawbridge across the river as a demonstration of their engineering prowess. First powered by steam, the bridge is now powered by electric motors. Today, Tower Bridge opens its gates 1,000 times a year with any vessel taller than 30 feet allowed to sail through.

As you cross the river via this scenic structure, you can stop to visit the museum within the bridge itself and get a better sense of its interesting history. Visit the "Tower Bridge Experience" exhibition and the ticket price will allow you access to the lofty walkways and views from a superior vantage point 43 meters above the Thames.

The beautiful bridge escaped bombing by the Luftwaffe (German airforce) because the pilots used its iconic tower structures to navigate their way into the city.
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Summer hours
Daily 10am-6:30pm
Winter hours
Daily 10am-6pm
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Admission
Adults £8
Kids 5-15 £3.40
Students, seniors £5.60

City Hall is the contemporary headquarters of the Greater London Authority and the mayor. This new building symbolically communicates themes around the transparency and accessibility of the democratic process and demonstrates the potential for a sustainable, virtually nonpolluting public building. City Hall was designed by Foster + Partners, one of Britain's leading architects. It was completed in 2002.

This building takes the form of a geometrically modified sphere and appears to have no front or back. The design's shape minimizes the surface area exposed to direct sunlight and adds to its environmentally friendly qualities.

The landmark hosts regular exhibitions on topics relating to London.
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Hours
Monday-Thursday 8:30am-6pm
Friday 8:30am-5:30pm.
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Admission Free

One of the most powerful large light cruisers ever built, HMS Belfast is the only surviving vessel of her type to have seen active service during the World War II.

The ship served Britain for 32 years during WWII, the Korean War and peacekeeping duties in the 1950s and 1960s. Saved from destruction in 1971, HMS Belfast is now part of the Imperial War Museum.

The tour and interactive exhibits require at least 90 minutes.
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Hours
March 1-Oct. 31
Daily 10am-6pm
Nov. 1-Feb. 28
Daily 10am-5pm
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Admission
16 and older £13.50
Kids younger than 16 are free and must be accompanied by an adult.

On Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays visit the stunning array of British food producers in a covered structure of Borough Market. Marvel at the array of cheeses or the entire venison (deer meat) complete with antlers. Snack on your purchases in the pretty gardens of the adjacent Southwark Cathedral. Parts of this building are more than 800 years old. After falling into disrepair over the centuries, the church was restored to its current glory and made a cathedral in 1905.
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8 Southwark St.
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Market hours
Thursday 11am-5pm
Friday Noon-6pm
Saturday 8am-5pm

Marvel at the Golden Hinde, a full-size reconstruction of the ship explorer Sir Francis Drake used to sail around the world in 1577. The Golden Hinde, captained by Drake, circumnavigated the world between 1577 and 1580 during the reign of Elizabeth I.

"El Draco," as he was known by his Spanish rivals, was one of the most famous men in Western Europe because of his prowess in plundering Spanish gold while he "discovered" the world.
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Hours
Daily 10am-5:30pm for self-guided tours
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Cost
Adults: £6
Kids £4.50

Enjoy the ambiance of the restored open-air Elizabethan theater. You can tour the theater outside of its May-to-September performance season and in summer you might stop in for a play.

Pioneering American actor and director Sam Wanamaker founded the Globe Trust in 1970 to explore the work of Shakespeare through architecture and performance. This building is a reconstruction of an original Tudor theater that once stood close to this site. After years of work the Globe, as we now know it, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1997.
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Hours
Monday 9am-5:30pm
Tuesday-Saturday 9am-12:30pm
Sunday 9-11:30am
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Cost for exhibition and Globe Theatre tour
Adult £12.50
Senior (60+) £11
Student (with valid ID) £11
Kids 5-15 £8
Kids 4 and younger Free

In a converted power station, the impressive collection of modern art at Tate Modern is complemented by the powerful architecture in which it is housed. Enjoy a huge range of free exhibitions as well as temporary ones, which are ticketed.

The vast size of the collection is clear when you enter via the dramatic turbine hall entrance, where a huge space for temporary supersized installations stretches out before you for 152 meters.
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Hours
Sunday-Thursday 10am-6pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-10pm
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Admission Free

If you still have energy and feel like walking a little farther, or you're a Princess Diana fan, then cross the Millennium Bridge and continue a few more blocks along Peter's Hill until you get to St. Paul's.

It's the first church dedicated here to the apostle and was erected in A.D. 604. It is best known as the site of the wedding between Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. St. Paul's also hosted the funerals for Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.

The present incarnation of St. Paul's was designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1675 after the Great Fire of London.

St. Paul's also has a special connection to Americans-- in 1903, J. Pierpont Morgan donated funds to bring electricity to the cathedral and each year it hosts an American Thanksgiving Day service. Be sure to visit the American Memorial Chapel at the east end of the cathedral.