Battersea Power Station chimneys seen between two buildings

©Will Jones/Lonely Planet

Battersea Power Station

Brixton, Peckham & South London


Battersea Power Station is one of South London’s best-known monuments, and it's now being redeveloped into luxury flats and Apple's new London HQ. Built in 1933 by Giles Gilbert Scott, who also designed the iconic red telephone box and the power station converted into the Tate Modern, Battersea Power Station was snuffed out in 1983 only to enter a decades-long existential limbo. Shops, bars and restaurants in nearby units are open now, and the full shebang is expected to be finished in 2024.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Brixton, Peckham & South London attractions

1. Pump House Gallery

0.47 MILES

Among the water and sporting facilities of Battersea Park, this space exhibits a variety of contemporary art, housed in a Victorian industrial pump house…

2. Battersea Park

0.53 MILES

These 50 hectares of gorgeous greenery stretch along the riverside between Albert and Chelsea bridges, and trails leading to surprising hidden finds criss…

3. Battersea Park Children’s Zoo

0.58 MILES

The small Children’s Zoo in Battersea Park is full of animal magic for young zoologists and wildlife tykes. Consult the website for feeding times of…

4. Peace Pagoda

0.62 MILES

Erected in 1985 by a group of Japanese Buddhists to commemorate Hiroshima Day (6 August), the pagoda in Battersea Park displays the Buddha in the four…

5. Royal Hospital Chelsea

0.65 MILES

Designed by Christopher Wren, this superb structure was built in 1692 to provide shelter for ex-servicemen. Since the reign of Charles II, it has housed…

6. National Army Museum

0.74 MILES

This inventively redesigned museum vibrantly relates the history of the British Army, from the perspective of its servicemen and servicewomen. Reopening a…

7. Chelsea Physic Garden

0.79 MILES

You may bump into a wandering duck or two as you enter this walled pocket of botanical enchantment, established by the Apothecaries’ Society in 1673 for…

8. Saatchi Gallery

0.91 MILES

This grandly housed gallery In the Duke of York's Headquarters hosts temporary exhibitions of experimental and thought-provoking work across a variety of…