6 Best Sights in South of the Thames, London

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.

Despite its name, the cultural venue formerly known as the Imperial War Museum (one of five IWM branches now around the country) does not glorify either empire or bloodshed but emphasizes understanding through conveying the impact of 20th- and 21st-century warfare on citizens and soldiers alike. A dramatic six-story atrium at the main entrance encloses an impressive amount of hardware—including a Battle of Britain Spitfire, a German V2 rocket, the remains of a car blown up in post-invasion Iraq, tanks, guns, and submarines—along with accompanying interactive material and a café. The First World War galleries explore the wartime experience on both the home and fighting fronts, with the most comprehensive collection on the subject in the world—some 1,300 objects ranging from uniforms, equipment, and weapons to letters and diaries. The Second World War galleries shed light on that conflict through objects, film documentation, and eyewitness testimonies, as do the extensive and haunting Holocaust galleries (private tours are available for all three areas). Peace and Security 1945–2015 looks at more contemporary hostilities, including the Cold War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, right up to the current conflict in Ukraine. The Art, Photography, and Film galleries explore the wartime experience from World War I to the present day through the work of artists in these disciplines.

Two artistic societies—the Royal Society of Painter–Printmakers and the Royal Watercolour Society—have their headquarters in this gallery next to Tate Modern. Together they mount exhibitions of current members' work, which is usually for sale, along with art books, making this a great place for finding that unique, not too expensive gift. There are also regular themed exhibitions.

Set amid 16 acres of gardens, this eclectic museum is considered something of a well-kept secret by the residents of south London—perhaps because of its out-of-the-way location. Its offerings encompass world anthropology, natural history, and a fine collection of some 1,300 musical instruments (including a giant tuba). The emphasis is on fun and a wide range of activities (many hands-on), including London's oldest nature trail (which features domesticated creatures such as sheep, chickens, and alpacas), a butterfly house, and an aquarium stocked with endangered species. It's also home to a comically overstuffed walrus who serves as the museum's unofficial mascot. You can reach the Dulwich Picture Gallery from the museum via a door-to-door 15-minute bus ride on Bus P4 heading toward Brixton.

Pronounced suth-uck, this is the oldest Gothic church in London, parts of it dating back to the 12th century. It remains off the beaten track, despite being the site of some remarkable memorials and a concert program that offers free half-hour organ recitals at 1:20 pm every Monday (except in August and December) and classical music at 3:15 pm every Tuesday during the school year. Originally the priory church of St. Mary Overie (as in "over the water" on the south side of the Thames), it became a palace church under Henry VIII (when it became known as St. Saviour's) until some merchant parishioners bought it from James I in 1611. It was only promoted to cathedral status in 1905.

Look for the vivid 15th-century roof bosses (small ornamental wood carvings); the gaudily renovated 1408 tomb of John Gower, Richard II's poet laureate and a friend of Chaucer's; and the Harvard Chapel, where John Harvard, a local butcher's son who went on to found the American university, was baptized. Another notable buried here (between the choir stalls) is Edmund Shakespeare, brother of William. You might also see the cathedral's resident cat, Hodge, named after Dr. Samuel Johnson's famous feline companion. Free drop-in 45-minute tours are offered depending on the church's services and events.

When the United Kingdom's highest-profile commercial gallery moved to this huge converted 1970s-era warehouse on Bermondsey Street (making it the largest commercial gallery space in Europe), it sealed the area's reputation as a rising art-scene hot spot. This is the home gallery of some of today's top contemporary artists, including Tracey Emin, Georg Baselitz, Antony Gormley, Isamu Noguchi, Gabriel Orozco, Harland Miller, Anselm Kiefer, and several other artists with international reputations. An antiseptic central cuboid gallery, the "white cube"—also called 9 x 9 x 9 (meters, that is)—rests between two other spaces that host smaller exhibitions. There is also a bookshop and auditorium.