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The Royal Festival Hall is closed to the public on Tuesday 16 June. It will reopen for Harry Styles & Jules Buckley Orchestra ticket holders only at 5pm.

Visitors looking at the collection of books on offer on large tables at the Book Market under Waterloo Bridge

South Bank Book Market

A familiar fixture in an ever-changing city

The South Bank Book Market has been a must-visit for book-lovers for four decades.

First opened on 2 July 1983, the South Bank Book Market was the brainchild of Leslie Hardcastle, the then controller of the BFI. Conceived to bring some life to the dark and empty space beneath Waterloo Bridge, the market has been present ever since, becoming part of the Southbank Centre in 2001.

The Book Market is made up of a collection of eight different stalls, whose wares range from contemporary fiction and children’s books, to vintage and antiquarian editions, and also maps, prints and postcards.

You are free to browse, and if you can’t find what you’re looking for, the booksellers will be happy to help where they can.

Opening times

Daily, 10am – 7pm

Opening days and hours of individual stalls may vary

Location

Queen’s Walk, under Waterloo Bridge