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London – the view from the Shard

London’s skyscraper, The Shard, designed by architect Renzo Piano is an amazing visitor attraction.  ‘The View from the Shard’ on floors 69-72 is the only place where it is possible to see all of London at once.

The 360 degree panoramic takes in the Tower of London, St Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Battersea Power Station, Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Park. I visited the Shard on a grey and mizzy opening day to see how many London landmarks I could spot.

The Shard from London Bridge

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I love looking down on the world from way up high – be it from a hot air balloon, a plane window or the highest of buildings.  I’ve viewed Paris from the Eiffel Tower, Toronto and its islands from the CN Tower, New York from the observation deck of the World Trade Centre and Las Vegas, The Grand Canyon and Rio de Janeiro by helicopter.  

Obviously I don’t suffer from vertigo. When I heard about The View from the Shard I knew instantly that I had to see my capital city from its highest point.

Check out the views from the time I looked out over Dubai from the Burj Khalifa

tower-bridge-from-the-shard

What’s it like to visit the Shard

The Shard Map of London

We started our visit in the lobby before going through security where coats and bags pass through x-ray machines and people through a scanner – much like airport security only friendlier.  We’re directed to the first lift through an area with a map of London covering the walls and floor with cryptic clues marking each landmark. 

The Shard experience is ‘queue free’ because visitors choose the time and date of their visit so with a limited number of tickets available per slot we didn’t have to wait.

The first lift, one of 44 in the building, went up the first 33 floors at a rate of 6 metres a second.  We shooshed upwards smoothly and quietly feeling nothing but a small tummy flip as we came to a halt. The lift attendants were chatty and gave out random facts like that 95% of the building’s construction materials are recycled. 

The second lift whisked us up the next 35 floors to level 68, the cloudscape, and as we stepped out my ears popped. Onwards and upwards and a short flight of stairs and we’re at floor 69 home to the triple-height main viewing gallery.  The ascent took no more than a minute; to take the stairs – all 306 flights – doesn’t bear thinking about…

Check rates and availability for the Shard

The Shard - Floor 69

The day had started wet and grey but luckily the rain had cleared and the sun even put in a brief appearance although raindrops still speckled the glass.  On a clear day the epic views stretch for up to 40 miles.

View of the Thames from the Shard

View of Tower Bridge from The Shard

We picked out many of the capital’s major landmarks – with the help of twelve interactive telescopes you can pinpoint up to 200 famous buildings and monuments.

The view from the Shard

Shadow of The Shard

After half an hour on this level we climbed up another short set of stairs to reach floor 72. This is the highest viewing point of any building in Western Europe at a spectacular height of 244 metres.

Check rates and availability for the Shard

The Shard - Open-air viewing platform, Floor 72

Partially open to the elements this level is surrounded by massive shards of glass. These gradually taper up to a peak making up the spire. This takes The Shard to a full breathtaking 1,016 feet.

Top of The Shard

Looking up to the peak

Cleaning The Shard's Windows

11,000 panes of glass to clean

View from The Shard towards Westminster
View from The Shard
View from The Shard

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Shard and I’d love to return and view London at dusk. Afternoon tea at The Shard sounds pretty good and a stay high up in the Shard’s hotel, the Shangri-La, would be a fabulous experience too.

Check rates and availability at the Shard Shangri-La

The Shard

What’s to know…

How much time did we spend at The Shard?  Set aside 1 to 2 hours – we were there around 1.5 hours and we weren’t rushed through the visit.

Shard Tickets

Prices – In Advance: Adults: from £28.50 midweek. Check rates and availability for the Shard

viewfromtheshard.com

Operating Hours
Daily 9am to 10pm except  25 December. Timed tickets every 30 minutes until last entry at 8.30pm. The Shard closes at 10pm.

Getting there – Tube London Bridge (Northern Line, Jubilee Line) Overground/Network Rail London Bridge

Address
The Shard Viewing Gallery
Bermondsey Street
London SE1

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Adam P.

Friday 18th of October 2013

Although there´s been a lot of controversy and negative reactions regarding this building I have to say I really like how it looms over the city. Views beyond words! Not to mention the top of the tower, love the design! I was surprised to learn that "Shard" is not its official name. In fact, it was mean to be an insult, but it became so popular among people that even the developers started using it for marketing purposes. I wonder though what´s the official name then..

Daniel

Wednesday 26th of February 2014

The official name is London Bridge Tower. You are correct that the name 'Shard' was initially meant as an insult by English Heritage who said 'the building will strike through the heart of London like a shard of glass'. The phrase was picked up by several architecture websites who began to nickname the building 'The Shard', this was then picked up by the developers who adopted it.

The full history of the Shard can be found on my website: shardldn.com

Suzanne Courtney

Friday 18th of October 2013

Hi Adam, I wasn't aware that it had another name - thanks for the nod on this - I'll go and do some research and see what turns up!

MY SURYA

Monday 22nd of April 2013

Thank you very much Suzanne for share this picture. It make me wish to visit London, too. :)

London. That is one of my friend's dream. She wish to come there one day. And I hope will be reality. Her name is Kaito.

Next time, when me and my friends at there, I will remember you. Because you ever gave your experience to me.

See you....

The Travelbunny

Friday 26th of April 2013

I hope you get to visit our capital city one day soon :) Take care

Miz Roket

Monday 18th of March 2013

Breathtaking view...

The Travelbunny

Monday 18th of March 2013

Not for those afraid of heights though!

Comments are closed.