The South Bank has become one of London's most animated public spaces — a riverside walk from Westminster Bridge to Tower Bridge that passes the London Eye, the Southbank Centre (home to the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the BFI), the Tate Modern, Shakespeare's Globe, and Borough Market, with independent bookstalls and street performers occupying the spaces between.
The walk from Waterloo to London Bridge takes about 45 minutes without stopping. Allow the better part of a day if you want to go inside more than one institution. The river views back towards St Paul's and the City of London are the finest in the city, particularly at dusk when the north bank lights up. Most of the cultural institutions here are free.