As a complement to the Illuminated River map we featured previously, which shows the central London bridges that are lit up with LED-light-based visualisations, South Bank Business Improvement District has another map of the area for visitors – namely the Illuminated Art Trail. This winds from Lambeth Bridge to Blackfriars Bridge, taking the visitors on a meandering tour via the (in)famous Leake Street Arches graffiti tunnel, the Oxo Tower’s window-based adverts and the London Eye – but on the way visiting some less well-known sculptures and artworks.
The map itself gives quite a nice summary of what you will see, with sketches of most of the pieces on the map itself. What it is less useful for is as a navigation aid – so you might still need Google Maps or other smartphone-based navigation apps if you are unfamiliar with the area, with the Art Trail map acting instead as a pointer to the next place to go. Indeed, the “suggested route” on the map itself is deliberately whimsical, consisting of various swirling loops that at time spill into the River Thames itself. Still, it’s a pretty enough map with a pink, purple and blue base colour ramp, and various other colours showing the artworks themselves.
