Camberwell is one of south London's most likeable neighbourhoods, an unpolished, creative quarter that has resisted the full gloss of gentrification. Its character comes largely from its art school: Camberwell College of Arts has fed generations of artists into the surrounding streets, and the area has the bookshops, studios, cheap restaurants, and lively pubs that an art-student population supports.
At its heart is the South London Gallery, a free contemporary art space with an ambitious programme, a good café, and a garden, housed partly in a fine Victorian building on Peckham Road. Around it, Camberwell Church Street and Camberwell Grove offer everything from a Georgian terrace of real beauty to some of the better gastropubs and neighbourhood restaurants in this part of the city. It is a place to wander, eat well, and see art without the crowds of the centre.