Southwark has been named as one of the best place to live 2026.

To be or not to be in Southwark? There’s really only one answer. Loft apartment, handy for the office, desirable distractions on the doorstep: aspirational Londoners watching Hamnet know exactly why Paul Mescal’s Shakespeare chose to live in an attic above the Globe. While details of his time in Southwark are mired in mystery, the real-life Bard is woven into the local fabric.

Bordered, roughly, by the river, Borough High Street and Waterloo Road, Southwark remains a hotspot for culture in general and theatre in particular, with the Globe’s two stages, the National, the Old and Young Vies, the Menier Chocolate Factory and the Union Theatre. There’s world-class classical music at the Royal Festival Hall, contemporary art at the Hayward and Tate Modern, a feast of cinema at BF! South bank -and unrivalled Thames-side people­ watching, with St Paul’s and the Shard as a dramatic backdrop. Outstanding secondaries with catchment areas that cover Southwark include Oasis Academy South Bank and King’s Maths School, Parent Power’s State Sixth Form College of the Year for Academic Excellence 2026. The bill of fare is not to be sniffed at either from the scores of stalls and restaurants at bustling Borough Market (as tasty as ever, if tourist-thronged at all times) to acclaimed eateries such as Bala Baya (Middle Eastern), the rooftop Seabird (seafood), the Anchor & Hope gastropub and Pyro (Greek). The area’s past as a hub for tanning, brewing and manufacturing makes it heaven for fans of industrial heritage -you can get merrily lost in the warren of rows and alleys, warehouses and cottages.

At the Bankside Yards development, its first residential block, Opus, will offer sweeping views, padel courts, podcast studios and a hydrotherapy pool in 2027. 

Find out more about Opus at Bankside Yards by visiting our Sales Gallery.