Rotherhithe

The eastern Rotherhithe, also known as Canada Water, is a modern area with weird buildings, parks and The Finnish church for all you Finns. There's also a gigantic Tesco near the Canada Water Station. There are also some large water basins that used to be busy and even more plentiful when London docks were still active. The western part of Rotherhithe on the other hand is quite a beautiful area with old pubs, parks and churches. It's already a bit further away from the centre and that means less crowds.

Sights:

• I wouldn't necessary say this is a sight, but there is a Finnish church in Rotherhithe. They have a sauna, Finnish food and a shop selling Finnish products. The shop is really expensive but that's understandable, since they have to ship small amounts of stuff from Finland just for this shop. Not necessarily interesting to non-Finns.
• Look for the many basins of Rotherhithe if you want coastal atmosphere. The basins are full of boats and there are small pedestrian bridges from the 19th century.

Parks:

• Southwark park is a beautiful park with a pond, a bandstand and places to play sports or have a picnic. It's not the most interesting park in London, but if you're in the neighbourhood, you might as well check it out.
• Stave Hill Ecological Park is a piece of woodland in the middle of dockland Canada Water. There's a pond with a variety of different birds. It's a great place to escape the noises of the city.

Drinking:

• The Angel is an old pub by the Thames. It looks like an old sailor pub with all the pictures on the walls, fire place and a nice view to the Thames from the upstairs. Samuel Smith beers on tap. 
• The Mayflower is amazingly beautiful riverside pub in a nice secluded area in Rotherhithe. This is where Mayflower started its trip to America. The pub is atmospheric and apparently the food is good as well. One of the cosiest places to hang out with a pint.

Areas around Rotherhithe: Bermondsey, New Cross