A South London Greek weekend is the easy answer to half term if you live between Lambeth and Croydon and do not fancy the West End crowds. This week the south of the river has the strongest programme in the city: a once in a lifetime Hokusai show in Dulwich, free Victorian dinosaurs in Crystal Palace, a free children’s book festival at the Imperial War Museum and a scream park in Greenwich. Each stop comes with the nearest Greek List member for a coffee, a cheese pie or a long lunch. Most dates come from the Londonist guide for the weekend of 24 and 25 October, checked against the venues.
Half term starts on Monday 26 October in most boroughs and the weather is still kind enough for a park. South London is also home to two Greek List members we rate highly: Kamari on Westow Street in Crystal Palace and Grand Cafe 241 on Selhurst Road in South Norwood. Both open early, both do the pies and coffee you miss from home, and both sit a short bus ride from everything below. Here is the South London Greek plan.
Start with the oldest dinosaur park in the world. The Crystal Palace Dinosaurs were unveiled in 1854, sculpted by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, and they are Grade I listed, the same protection as Westminster Abbey. More than 30 creatures stand on islands in the lower lake, iguanodons and plesiosaurs among them, some charmingly wrong. The trail is free, flat and pushchair friendly, and the park also has a maze, a farm and the terraces of the lost palace.
Getting there: Crystal Palace station (Overground and Southern) or Penge West; the dinosaurs are at the Penge end of the park, about 10 minutes from either station.
Greek stop nearby: Kamari at 25 Westow Street, Crystal Palace, opens at 6:30am every day and is a few minutes from the park gates, so have breakfast there first: Greek coffee, tiropita and a proper bakery counter. A short bus ride down the hill, Grand Cafe 241 at 241 Selhurst Road, South Norwood, is a family run Greek coffee shop, bakery and bar with fresh cheese and spinach pies every day, the natural stop from Croydon or Selhurst.
This is the big one. From Tuesday 20 October, Dulwich Picture Gallery shows the complete Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji by Katsushika Hokusai, all 46 prints including the ten added after the first run, from the Iuchi Collection on deposit at the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo. It is the first time the whole series has been shown together in the UK, including a superb Great Wave and a rare Red Fuji never seen in this country. The Soane designed gallery is the oldest purpose built public art gallery in England and small enough to do properly in ninety minutes. Until 17 January 2027; adult tickets from £21.50 with donation, members and Friends free, open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am to 5pm.
Getting there: 14 Gallery Road, SE21 7AD. West Dulwich station is 10 minutes on foot, North Dulwich 15; the P4 and 3 buses stop outside.
Greek stop nearby: The number 3 bus runs from outside the gallery up to Crystal Palace in about 15 minutes, which puts Kamari on Westow Street at the end of your Hokusai morning. A pie and a freddo there is the most Greek post gallery lunch south of the river.
The Horniman is the museum South London families already love: the walrus, the aquarium and 16 acres of gardens with a big skyline view, all free. Over half term the free Octonauts trail runs until 1 November, with craft sessions on 27 and 28 October, and the farmers market fills the Bandstand Terrace on Sundays from 10am to 3pm. For grown ups, Sunday 25 October at 5pm brings Murnau’s 1926 silent film Faust with an immersive live score, about as atmospheric as a pre Halloween evening gets. Check the Horniman site first: the bus stops outside were closed this week after a burst water main.
Getting there: Forest Hill station (Overground and Southern) is a 5 minute uphill walk; the 176, 185 and 197 buses stop nearby.
Greek stop nearby: From Forest Hill it is one stop to Sydenham and a short bus ride up to Crystal Palace, so Kamari works again for lunch between the Horniman and the dinosaurs. Heading home towards Norwood or Croydon, Grand Cafe 241 on Selhurst Road does coffee and pies by day and, being a bar too, something stronger later, a good way to end a South London Greek day.
On Sunday 25 and Monday 26 October the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth becomes a free children’s book festival from 10am to 6pm. The Big Story Festival mixes free drop in activities, a giant story wall and a family sing along with a few ticketed author events at £10, including Tom Palmer at 11am on Monday and Dame Jacqueline Wilson at 2pm on Monday. The free Childhood in War display suits primary age, under 14s need an adult with them, and the author sessions sell out, so book now.
Getting there: Lambeth Road, SE1 6HZ. Lambeth North (Bakerloo) is 5 minutes away, Elephant and Castle about 10, with plenty of buses along Lambeth Road and Kennington Road.
On Saturday 24 October at 11am the walking tour Up the Creek leaves the Cutty Sark and follows the river into Deptford, taking in the church where Christopher Marlowe is buried and Deptford market, two hours of real history with guide Pete Smith. For teenagers and adults who like a fright, The Nightmare Realm has taken over the Grade II listed Avery Hill mansion in Eltham until 1 November, with more than 70 live performers and a Halloween Town where the stories unfold around you. Book ahead; it is not for younger children.
Getting there: Cutty Sark DLR for Greenwich; Avery Hill is a 15 minute walk or a short bus ride from Falconwood or New Eltham stations.
The clocks go back at 2am on Sunday 25 October, so you get an extra hour before the Horniman market. And if you are in Crystal Palace anyway, note Wednesday 4 November: the Orpheus Series poetry evening comes to Ivy and the Wolf on Westow Hill, two minutes from Kamari.
Every Greek event in the UK is on the Greek List events page, the most complete list of Greek events in the country, and listing an event is free. If your South London Greek weekend leaves you wanting more, here is what is on in the next ten days:
Kamari and Grand Cafe 241 appear in this guide because they are Greek List members. More than 100,000 Greeks and Cypriots in the UK read Greek List every month on the site, in the newsletter and in the Ellines sto Londino Facebook group, and Greek List listings rank first on Google. A listing takes ten minutes.
Did we miss your favourite Greek spot south of the river? Tell us in the Facebook group Ellines sto Londino and we will add it to the next South London Greek guide.
