2 Best Sights in South of the Thames, London

Designed by Sir John Soane, Dulwich (pronounced dull-ich) Picture Gallery was the world's first purpose-built art museum when it opened in 1811 (a recent ultramodern extension was designed by Rick Mather). The permanent collection of more than 600 paintings includes landmark works by old masters such as Rembrandt, van Dyck, Rubens, Canaletto, and Gainsborough. The museum also hosts three or so major temporary exhibitions each year devoted to more-contemporary artists like Helen Frankenthaler or themes like landscape artists of the Black Diaspora. Check the website for its schedule of family activities; there's a 3-acre garden with a lovely café here, too.

While you're in the area, take a short wander and you'll find a handful of charming clothing and crafts stores and the well-manicured Dulwich Park, which has lakeside walks and a fine display of rhododendrons in late May. Development in Dulwich Village is tightly controlled, so it feels a bit like a time capsule, with old-fashioned street signs and handsome 18th-century houses on the main street.

This spectacular renovation of a mid-20th-century power station is one of the most-visited museums of modern art in the world. Its great permanent collection, which starts in 1900 and ranges from modernist masters like Matisse to the most cutting-edge contemporary artists, is arranged in eight areas by theme (for example, "Media Networks," about artists' responses to mass media) rather than by chronology. Its blockbuster temporary exhibitions have showcased the work of individual artists like Gauguin, Rauschenberg, Cezanne, Picasso, Guston, and O'Keefe, among others. Other major temporary exhibitions have a conceptual focus, like works created in response to the American Black Power movement or by Soviet and Russian artists between the Revolution and the death of Stalin.

The vast Turbine Hall is a dramatic entrance point used to showcase big audacious installations that tend to generate a lot of publicity. Past highlights include Olafur Eliasson's massive glowing sun, Ai Weiwei's porcelain "sunflower seeds," and Carsten Holler's huge metal slides.

On the ground floor of a 10-story addition, you'll find The Tanks, galleries devoted to various types of new art, including film, performance, soundscapes, video, and interactive works, while at the top is a roof terrace offering spectacular views of the London skyline. In between are three exhibition floors offering more room for large-scale installations, for art from outside Europe and North America, and for digital and interactive projects. The Start Display (Level 2) provides an introduction to the collection, highlighting art from various countries, cultures, and periods, all linked by color.

Not to be missed in the original building are displays devoted to themes like how artists respond to mass media and the artist and society, featuring works by artists like Gerhard Richter, Antony Gormley, Jenny Holzer, the Guerrilla Girls, and video pioneer Nam June Paik. There's also a room-size installation by Yinka Shonibare (Level 2) and a Yayoi Kusama "mirror room."

Head to the restaurant on Level 9, the café on Level 1, or the Espresso Bar on Level 3 for stunning vistas of the Thames. The view of St. Paul's from the Espresso Bar's balcony is one of the best in London. Near the café you'll find the Drawing Bar, which lets you create work on one of several digital sketch pads and then project your result on the gallery wall.

You can join free 45-minute guided tours starting at noon, 1, and 2. If you plan to visit Tate Britain, take advantage of the Tate Boat, which takes visitors back and forth between the two Tates every 20 to 30 minutes.