The river, in medieval times the lifeline of each city. The river often offers the most beautiful prospects. For that reason we buy a ticket for the tube to drive to WESTMINSTER station. The Corridors of Power are not of our interest today and we go directly to Westminster Bridge and have a look upstream along the front of the Houses of Parliament. But we want to follow the course of the river and rest on the left bank for the moment.

The first building we discover on the right bank if we look right on the Victoria Embankment is the Old County Hall, the former seat of the Greater London Council until 1986, the year it was abolished, and houses an aquarium nowadays. In its neighbourhood, we see London's latest monument, London Eye, one of the biggest Ferris wheels in the world.

At Charing Cross station, we climb Hungerford Footbridge from where we enjoy the prospects downstream for the first time. On the left bank, we see Cleopatra's Needle, an obelisk, a gift by the Egyptian king that has been erected here in 1877. From the middle of the Thames we regard the silhouette of the City of London and discover Temple Garden, St. Paul's Cathedral and the skyscrapers around the Bank of England.

We have now arrived on the right bank, the Riverside Walk. We have a view over our left shoulder and see Charing Cross station and buildings in Whitehall again. Looking forward, we discover OXO Tower beyond Waterloo Bridge, the only building along the river showing advertisement. Our further way passes the Television Centre and leads to Blackfriars Bridge. On the opposite bank, there are ships that can be visited attached to the Victoria Embankment. After having passed the bridge, we arrive at a former power station that has become a part of Tate Gallery in the year 2000.

A short while after - in Southwark - Riverside Walk ends in the street Bankside. At this place, Shakespeare's Globe Theatre has been reconstructed in the 1990s. Here you can witness how role-plays have been performed in the 16th and 17th century. At the crossings of the streets Bankside and Bank End, there is still the Anchor Pub, where already the great author had his pint. Now turning to Clink Street we are approaching one of the oldest areas of Southwark. The street's name originates from a notorious prison once situated here. Nowadays a little museum resides in the former dungeons. At the end of the street, you see ruins of an old bishop's palace before we reach the Schooner Kathleen & May.

We have a little pause and visit the ship before going to Southwark Cathedral. If we are lucky, it is open. If not, we go straight towards London Bridge station. On our way, we are passing London Bridge, for centuries the only bridge across the river. It is a must to visit the London Dungeon in the catacombs underneath the station; from the Middle Ages until the 19th century, our way leads us through dungeons, courts and much more.

The Dungeon's exit is situated close to Hay's Galleria, a former dock that now invites us to go shopping and to relax. Leaving the Galleria on the riverside, we see the Belfast, a former cruiser of the Royal Navy. Downstream, we already recognise the silhouette of Tower Bridge, maybe London's best-known bridge. It has been erected in the late 19th century in a neo-gothic style to look like the Tower. Those who like pass under the bridge to visit an area of the Docklands, Shad Thames. Another part is on the north bank, where the ancient St. Katharine's Dock has been reconstructed into a yacht haven. This site in front of the Tower is where the reconstruction of the Docklands started and it is the site where our walk along the Thames ends.