The Shard, home to the highest viewing platform in London. This now iconic landmark used to be little more than an unobtrusive office building. The original idea behind the building was to create a vertical city at the heart of one of London’s transport hub. The building contains a wide range of spaces. There are offices, restaurants, bars and a hotel.
The ambitious building was the first in the UK to be built top-down. It required some pioneering feats of engineering in order to survive the difficulties presented by the British weather and the unruly Thames. The end result is considered to be a truly magnificent feat of architecture, and it is sure to remain a favourite piece of the London skyline for years to come.
The Viewing Platform
The viewing platform fills the 68. 69 and 72 floors of the Shard. The platform offers 360-degree views of the city, and your ticket can come with a weather guarantee. So if the weather is not kind on your visit, you can return another day for free. In the city of London, there is a good chance that you might need to use that guarantee!
You can book tickets in advance, and can save up to 20% by doing so. Tickets start from £25 for basic entry. If you want to make a real outing of the visit, you can book an all-inclusive option. This includes a glass of champagne as well as souvenir photographs.
Food and Drink
The Shard is home to several fine dining restaurants spread across its floors. Included are Aqua Shard, which offers contemporary British fine dining, Oblix, which serves New York-inspired cuisine, in an urban casual setting and Bar 31 which is a favourite meeting place of Londoner’s and tourists alike.
How To Get There
The best underground stop for the Shard is London Bridge. This means there are several options for getting there. From the Darlington Hotel, you pop into Paddington Station. The Bakerloo line takes you as far as Baker Street Station, where you change to the Jubilee line to London Bridge. It takes around 30 minutes to get all the way to London Bridge, depending on the time of day that you choose to travel.