The grade II* listed power station on the south bank of the Thames, once a derelict shell famous mostly for appearing on a Pink Floyd album cover, has now pulled in around 50 million visitors since its doors reopened in late 2022. That figure — reached in roughly three years — makes it one of the most-visited attractions in London, and a genuine case study in how to bring a beloved ruin back to life.
So what's inside? Quite a lot. Sir Norman Foster and WilkinsonEyre led the redevelopment of the Giles Gilbert Scott-designed building, filling its vast turbine halls with shops, restaurants and bars under the original steel framework and cranes, which were kept in place. There's a cinema, a big food hall, and one of London's largest Apple stores tucked into the old boiler house. For the view, Lift 109 carries visitors up the north-west chimney in a glass elevator for panorama over the Thames and the city skyline.
The wider neighbourhood has grown up around it too. The Electric Boulevard strip connects the station to Sloane Square via a new Underground station on the Northern line — Battersea Power Station station opened in September 2021, ending decades of the site being awkward to reach. Add the riverside walkways, the seasonal events programme (an ice rink in winter, open-air screenings in summer) and easy access to nearby Battersea Park, and you get a half-day outing that works in almost any weather.
Why should a traveller care? If your mental image of Battersea is an empty building behind hoardings, it's worth a fresh look. It's free to enter, it's a short tube hop from central London, and it pairs naturally with a stroll along the Thames or a visit to Chelsea across Albert Bridge. Go in the late afternoon, ride Lift 109 around sunset, then eat in one of the turbine hall restaurants while the building lights up — it's one of the more striking interiors in London right now.
Details in this brief are based on the coverage by Secret London.
