Things to Do Near Waterloo on the May Bank Holiday 2026

The South Bank on a bank holiday is one of London’s hot spots. This May, there’s plenty going on and plenty of things to do near Waterloo to make it worth the trip, turning the stretch of riverside between Waterloo and Blackfriars into one of the best places to spend a few hours in London.

Borough Market, the Southbank Centre, the BFI, the Hayward Gallery, the riverside walk out to Tate Modern and much more. There’s enough here for a full day whatever you’re into. When you need a break from the crowds, Draughts Waterloo is three minutes from the station at Arch 16, Leake Street. Come in for lunch, settle in for a few games, or make us last stop of the day.

The Southbank Centre – Royal Festival Hall, Hayward Gallery, BFI

Most people walk through the Southbank Centre without really registering it as a single venue. But the complex that stretches from the Royal Festival Hall to the BFI Southbank is one of the most significant arts venues in Europe – seven buildings, 21 acres of riverfront, and a programme of music, art and film that runs year-round.

The Royal Festival Hall is the anchor – a Grade I listed concert venue built for the 1951 Festival of Britain. The main hall seats 2,900 and the acoustic is genuinely exceptional. The Southbank Centre programmes classical, contemporary and world music throughout the year, and May tends to bring a strong programme. Checking what’s on before the bank holiday and booking a ticket to combine with the rest of the day is one of the best possible uses of the long weekend.

The Hayward Gallery – the brutalist concrete building that divides opinion more than almost any other structure in London – runs major contemporary art exhibitions throughout the year. Bank holiday weekends are busy, so booking timed entry tickets in advance at southbankcentre.co.uk is worth doing. Check what’s currently showing before you go.

BFI Southbank sits right on the river, tucked under Waterloo Bridge. It screens independent, world and classic cinema year-round and has some of the most interesting programming in London. The bar underneath the bridge is open to non-ticket holders and is one of those spots that most Londoners don’t know exists. Check bfi.org.uk for the May bank holiday programme.

Borough Market – Saturday and Monday of the Long Weekend

Borough Market is a ten-minute walk from Draughts Waterloo – south from Leake Street, over the railway, down into the railway arches near London Bridge. It’s been a food market on this site in some form for a thousand years, and the current incarnation – running Tuesday to Saturday for general trading, with the full market open Thursday to Saturday – is one of the most concentrated collections of food traders in the country.

On a bank holiday Saturday, Borough is at its best and worst simultaneously. Best because the traders are all there and the energy is brilliant. Worst because everyone else has had the same idea. Go early – before midday – and you get the market at its finest without fighting for elbow room. The covered section under the railway arches is worth walking through even if you only pick up a coffee and a pastry.

What’s there: bread, cheese, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, prepared food from dozens of countries, wine merchants, coffee roasters, street food traders. The quality across the board is exceptional. It’s not a cheap morning out, but it’s one of the best.

The South Bank Walk in May

The stretch of riverside from Waterloo Bridge to Tate Modern is one of the most walked routes in London, but May is when it’s genuinely at its best. The plane trees along the embankment are in full leaf, the light off the river in the afternoon is brilliant, and the mix of tourists, locals, skateboarders and general Londoners doing Londoner things gives the whole stretch an energy that’s specific to this time of year.

The South Bank skate space under the Hungerford Bridge has been there since the 1970s – the longest continuously used outdoor skate spot in the world, and worth five minutes of watching even if you’ve never been on a board in your life. The National Theatre is a few steps further along: the riverside terrace is free to sit on, and the building itself – one of the great examples of British brutalism – is worth actually stopping for rather than rushing past.

If you walk east from Waterloo Bridge along the South Bank, you’ll pass the Tate Modern (free for the permanent collection) at Bankside and eventually reach Borough Market. The whole walk is about 25 minutes without stops. It’s one of the best free things you can do in London on a spring afternoon.

Chelsea Flower Show – In Town the Week Before

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show runs from 19-23 May 2026 at the Royal Hospital Chelsea – finishing the Saturday before the spring bank holiday. If you’re planning a trip to London for both Chelsea and the bank holiday, Waterloo is as natural a base as anywhere. The two don’t overlap, but the combination of Chelsea flower show week and the long weekend afterwards is a very good week to be in the city.

Chelsea is roughly 30 minutes from Waterloo by tube (Jubilee to Sloane Square, or direct to Chelsea via bus). Tickets need to be booked well in advance at rhs.org.uk – it’s been selling out for years.

Come to Draughts Waterloo

Draughts Waterloo is at Arch 16, Leake Street, SE1 7NN – inside the graffiti tunnel beneath Waterloo station, three minutes from the main concourse. The same street as The Vaults. Surrounded by 300 metres of ever-changing street art.

The South Bank is one direction. Borough Market is another. Roupell Street and the Garden Museum are a short walk south. Everything on this list ends at Draughts. Come in for food and games after the market, between a gallery visit and an evening show, or as the main event of the bank holiday afternoon. Over 1,000 games. A full menu. A bar. Our games hosts will get your group into something within ten minutes.

Worth noting if you’re up from Manchester for the long weekend: West Ham play Manchester United at the Olympic Park on Sunday 24 May. A lot of visiting supporters base themselves in central London for the trip and spend the Saturday exploring the South Bank before heading east on the Sunday. If that’s you, Draughts Waterloo is a natural first stop.

Book at draughtslondon.com. Bank holidays fill up – don’t leave it to chance.

Practical Tips

• Hayward Gallery and BFI events tend to sell out on bank holidays – book tickets in advance at southbankcentre.co.uk and bfi.org.uk
• Borough Market is best before midday on bank holiday Saturdays – go early for the full experience without the peak crowds
• The South Bank walk from Waterloo Bridge to Tate Modern takes about 25 minutes without stops – allow more if you’re browsing
• Chelsea Flower Show (19-23 May) runs the week before the spring bank holiday – book rhs.org.uk well ahead if you want to combine the two
• Draughts Waterloo is at Arch 16, Leake Street, SE1 7NN – three minutes from Waterloo station via the Victory Arch exit
• For the hidden gems guide to Roupell Street, the Garden Museum, The Vaults and more, see our bank holiday local’s guide

Frequently Asked Questions