Looking for the best things to do in South London? From riverside walks to world-class galleries, South London has it all — including Tufting London, the UK's first professional tufting studio with over 1,400 five-star Google reviews, right next to Nine Elms tube station.

South London: The Capital's Most Exciting Side of the River
For years, South London was the city's best kept secret. While north London grabbed the headlines
and the tourist maps, South London quietly got on with being brilliant — building a reputation for independent culture, world-class food, stunning green spaces, and the kind of creative energy that only emerges when a place stops trying to impress and simply starts doing things its own way.

Today, South London is one of the most exciting, most diverse, and most genuinely interesting parts of one of the world's greatest cities. From the gallery-lined banks of the Thames to the buzzing markets of Brixton, from the green expanses of Clapham Common to the emerging creative quarter of Nine Elms — there is more to do south of the river than most visitors ever discover. Here is your guide to the best things to do in South London in 2026 — including the one experience that is unlike anything else in the city.

The South Bank: Culture, Food and the Thames

No guide to South London begins anywhere other than the South Bank — one of the most visited and most beloved stretches of riverfront in the world. The walk from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge along the South Bank is among the finest urban walks in Europe, passing some of Britain's most important cultural institutions along the way. Tate Modern
Housed in the spectacular former Bankside Power Station,

Tate Modern is one of the world's greatest modern and contemporary art galleries — and admission to the permanent collection is entirely free. The building itself is as much the attraction as what hangs inside it: the vast Turbine Hall has hosted some of the most ambitious and talked-about art installations of the past two decades.

Borough Market is  one of London's oldest and most celebrated food markets, Borough Market is a genuine institution. Open most days of the week and at its most vibrant on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, it brings together the finest independent food producers, artisan bakers, cheese makers, and street food traders from across Britain and beyond. Come hungry.

The Globe Theatre -  Shakespeare's Globe is one of London's most atmospheric and distinctive cultural venues — a faithful reconstruction of the original Elizabethan playhouse where Shakespeare's plays were first performed. Whether you see a production from the stalls or stand in the yard as a groundling, it is an experience unlike any other theatre in the world.

Brixton: South London's Creative Heartbeat Brixton is South London at its most vibrant, most diverse, and most unapologetically alive. Brixton Market and the covered arcades of Brixton Village are a food lover's paradise, packed with independent restaurants, cafés, and food stalls representing cuisines from across the globe. The area's music heritage gives it a creative energy that is entirely its own.

Pop Brixton, the innovative community space built from shipping containers, has become a showcase for South London's independent business scene — and a brilliant spot for an afternoon of eating, drinking, and discovering something new.

Clapham and Battersea: Green Spaces and Great Food Clapham Common is one of London's great open spaces — 220 acres of parkland in the heart of South London, perfect for weekend walks, picnics, and the kind of unhurried afternoon that the city
does not always make easy. The surrounding streets of Clapham Old Town and the pavement cafés of Abbeville Village are among the most pleasant in London for a leisurely lunch or afternoon coffee.

Battersea Power Station — the iconic art deco landmark on the Thames — has been spectacularly reimagined as a world-class retail, dining, and entertainment destination. The building itself remains one of London's most photographed and architecturally extraordinary structures.

Nine Elms: South London's Most Exciting New Quarter
Nine Elms is South London's most dynamic and rapidly evolving neighbourhood — a former industrial corridor along the Thames that has transformed in recent years into one of the capital's most exciting creative and residential destinations. Home to New Covent Garden Market, the new US Embassy, and a growing cluster of independent
businesses, galleries, and creative studios, Nine Elms sits at the intersection of London's past and its future. The opening of the Northern Line extension — bringing Nine Elms its own tube station for the first time — has made it more accessible than ever before.

And it is here, a one-minute walk from Nine Elms Station, that you will find South London's most original, most talked-about, and most Googled creative experience.

The Best Thing to Do in South London: Make a Rug at Tufting
London Of all the things to do in South London — and there are many brilliant ones — a tufting workshop at Tufting London stands apart as something genuinely unique.
Tufting London is the UK's first and original professional tufting studio, founded in 2022 — the studio that introduced expert-guided rug-making workshops to Britain for the very first time. With over 1,400 five-star Google reviews, it is London's most loved and most reviewed tufting experience, and one of the highest-rated creative workshops anywhere in the capital. In a tufting workshop at Tufting London, you design and create your own completely unique, handmade rug using a professional electric tufting gun — guided every step of the way by our expert instructors. No experience needed. No artistic background required.

Just a love of colour, a willingness to try something completely new, and a couple of hours to spend doing something genuinely extraordinary.
Completely beginner-friendly. Every session is designed to welcome complete newcomers — our instructors take care of everything, from helping you transfer your design to tufting cloth to finishing your rug with a professional latex backing. You focus on the creative decisions. We handle everything else. Perfectly located. Our studio is in central London, a one-minute walk from Nine Elms Station on
the Northern Line, Zone 1 — one of the easiest and most accessible locations in South London, with direct connections from across the city. Something to take home. Every maker leaves with a completely finished, professional-quality handmade rug — made by their own hands, in their own colours, to their own design. It is the best
souvenir of a South London afternoon that anyone has ever taken home.

■ Tufting London — London's Original Tufting Studio
One minute from Nine Elms Station, Northern Line, Zone 1 — Central London
■ tuftinglondon.com
Tufting London — The UK's First Professional Tufting Studio, Founded 2022. Over 1,400 Five-Star Google Reviews.

Beginner-friendly. Central London. Nine Elms Station, Northern Line, Zone 1.