This is the second half of the walk to see many of London's historic sights along the Thames River. I split it into two halves as the entire walk (about 6 or 7 miles) will take the solid majority of an entire day and may be too long with families with small children or those not in great physical shape. I am in my early twenties and was exhausted by the end having gone all the way up the north bank on one side and then down the south bank in the other direction all in one afternoon.

Continuing from where my previous review "North Bank of the Thames" left off you will be starting your walk at the Tower Bridge. If you already did the first half of the walk this is a good point at which to stop and grab some lunch and a beer in one of the nearby cafes. There are some cheap sit down places in this area where you can get a sandwich or a burger.

There are a lot of interesting boats to look at docked along the River in this area, both naval ships and very old wooden ships...some of which are open as tourist attractions for a couple of dollars (of course). If you keep heading along the bank you will hit the Tate Modern. We were strapped for time and didn't have a chance to visit but I have a number of friends who studied abroad in London that all said it was an amazing museum. We wanted to go but just didn't have the time if we wanted to see all the main sights.

There are some lesser known attractions on this side of the Thames that are worth taking a quick look at. Look out for signs or consult a tourist map or you'll probably miss them. The first is Shakespeares Globe Theater. Again we did not go inside becuase it was something like 7 pounds (15 dollars) just to take a tour but we peeked in and walked around the outside a bit. Apparently it is the theater where Shakespeare actually had many of his plays performed while he was still alive. They still have plays there I believe on an almost daily basis with different performances depending on the year and season so just go to their website in advance if you feel like checking out a show. The other interesting place we found was the Clink Prison. It's below street level and one of the most reasonably priced (albeit least famous) attractions we passed so we decided to check it out. It's not too exciting but it was interesting. It consists of a bunch of rooms containing artifacts and torturing devices from Britain's early days. The devices range from cruel to almost humerous. Don't miss the "Scold's bridle" - a wood and metal binding they used to strap to the heads of gossiping women so they couldn't speak. haha.

If you keep wandering down the riverbank you will arrive at the London Eye. The London Eye is the giant ferris wheel opposite Big Ben and the Parliament buildings. We really wanted to ride it but it cost 15 pounds per person (about $34) and there was no way we felt that worth it so maybe next time...

After you pass the London Eye cross the Westminster Bridge. While crossing the bridge you will have an excellent view of Big Ben and Parliament from the River. Snap some pictures and then walk around the backside of the parliament buildings. The intricacy of the architecture on these buildings is very impressive in person...you can't quite pick everything up just seeing them on tv and in movies. Directly across from the Parliament buidings is Westminster Abbey where most of the royal family weddings are held. The abbey is enormous and getting the whole thing in one photo is nearly impossible.

At this point you will have seen most of London's most iconic monuments. Get a cold beer and go relax somewhere before dinner...if you do the whole walk in one day you will probably be pretty wiped out.

Nearly all of the main attractions and historic sights of London are concentrated on or immediately surrounding the Thames River. Hundreds of years ago this waterway was the lifeline for the city and as a result is home the London's central core. If you are visiting in the summer months there will literally be hordes of tourists everywhere...we're talking thousands and thousands. You will probably see more American and Japanese tourists along the riverfront than Londoners. The crowds are immense.

Although slightly removed from the River Buckingham Palace is probably the most popular sight in the city and a convenient place to start the walk. Hang out is the large square for a while and take some pictures in front of the famous gates. Don't forget to check out the huge fountain in the center of the plaza. Most of the time there is not a whole lot of activity actually going on at Buckingham Palace but it is still interesting to look through the gates and just experience the sheer size of the structure in person. From Buckingham Palace head down The Mall to Trafalgar Square, a large open Plaza home to Nelson's Column and adjacent to The National Gallery. Trafalgar Square is a good place to cut down to the Riverbank. Northumberland Street will take you straight to the River from the Square.

The walk along the River is a really great way to get a feel for London. There is a pedestrian path that goes most of the way along the waterfront although when we were there there were a few points of construction where you had to take a slight detour inland away from the water and then cut back down again but everything is easy to navigate. When you get to a street on your left called St. Peter's Hill follow it up and it will take you straight to St. Paul's Cathedral. The cathedral is huge and definately worth taking a quick look inside. Walk around to the back side of the cathedral as well as the architecture is quite impressive all the way around. After seeing the cathedral head back down to the River and keep walking along the bank. After another 15 minutes or so you will approach the original Tower of London which has been preserved as best as possible. It's impossible to miss as the stone buildings and open fields are in stark contrast to all of the modern urban development in the surrounding area. There is a pedestrian plaza off to the side of the monument and the usual vendors selling ice cream, drinks and light snacks for tourists. This is a good spot to grab a quick drink before heading to the Tower Bridge and crossing over to the other side of the River.

Directly past the Tower of London is the Tower Bridge, one of the most iconic structures in London. This is an ideal place to cross the River and start walking back the way you came along the south bank. The bridge is open to traffic but has quite a wide pedestrian walkway. It also provides a great backdrop for pictures.

The whole walk is about 3 miles and will probably take about 3 hours or so when factoring in all the stops and sightseeing opportunities. About the same amount of time should be allocated for the return walk down the other side of the River.

This was our own walking tour from our Soho hotel. We left in the morning, down Charing Cross Road to the Strand, to view the Royal Courts of Justice where the trial against Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code novel had been going on. The building is a very impressive Victorian era Gothic style. Visitors may enter but we just admired from the outside. Across from the courts is a statue of the great writer, Samuel Johnson, looking less than dignified with a pigeon on his head.Continuing on the Strand, it changes to Fleet Street and then to Ludgate Hill before you see St. Paul’s Cathedral. Our stop at St. Paul’s is described in a separate entry. After an hour at St. Paul’s we follow the signs to the Millennium Bridge which provides lots of photo opportunities back towards St. Paul’s, across to Tate Modern and Shakespeare’s New Globe Theatre and up and down the Thames River.We take the elevator to the 7th floor of Tate Modern to see if we can get a table for lunch despite no reservation. We’re in luck and have a quick bite while enjoying the fabulous view. The restaurant quickly fills as we are eating.Tate Modern is rehanging its permanent collection so only two special exhibits are showing. We have a quick look at one exhibit of two modernist artists. After a stop at the gift shop, we head over to the New Globe Theatre. We take a look at the exhibit but pass on touring with two noisy school groups.We walk along the south bank of the Thames passing under Blackfriars Bridge to join the Queen’s Walk. Again, lots of photo opportunities of sights across the river. At Hungerford Bridge, the walk becomes busier with people and much more tourist like with live statutes of silver or gold people and buskers. The reason, of course, is the proximity to the London Eye, the London Aquarium, the Football Association Hall of Fame, and other attractions.There’s a long queue for the London Eye and we have too many plans for the evening to wait to go on the Eye. We cross over Westminster Bridge admiring the Houses of Parliament as we walk, then continue along Victoria Embankment. We walk to Leicester Square, up to Trafalgar Square, past the National Gallery and take a quick visit to the National Portrait Gallery. We then find ourselves in the small area of Chinatown, make our way to Shaftesbury Avenue and back to our hotel. Our loop was about 6 miles and we finished around 4:30pm after starting about 10am. Like all travels on foot, it was a great way to see one area of London.

A great place to walk or run right in the middle of the city.

A lot of people walk and run along the Thames embankment, even in the early afternoon. Nice wide sidewalks along most of the river, and people do try and move out of your way...all in all, a great place to walk and run.

Great views of the southbank, and if you make it all the way around, great views of the city.