The View from The Shard: London from its highest floor
The Shard was finished in 2012 and is 310 metres tall, the tallest building in the country. Its viewing gallery opened the next year, near the top, and looks down on everything else in London.
- What it is
- Monument
- Time to allow
- 1 to 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Ticket
- Best time
- Before sunset, on a clear day
London this week
Why The Shard is worth it
Renzo Piano designed the tower as a spire of glass, narrowing to a point that is left open and unfinished on purpose. He said he had in mind the church steeples and the masts of ships in old pictures of the Thames. It stands directly over London Bridge station.
The public floors are the sixty-eighth to the seventy-second. The lower one is enclosed, with glass from floor to ceiling. The upper one, at 244 metres, has no roof: you stand among the last panes of the tower with the wind coming through.
The Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St Paul's are all close enough to pick out every window, and on a clear day the view runs for some sixty kilometres.
What to see
Level 69
The main gallery, with a view on all four sides. Screens along the glass name what you are looking at and show it by day and by night.
Level 72, open to the air
The highest public floor of any building in Britain. Look up: the glass shards of the spire rise another sixty metres above you.
The river from above
The Thames bends below you with its bridges in a row: Tower Bridge to the east, then London Bridge, Southwark, the Millennium footbridge and Blackfriars.
The trains
Straight down are the tracks of London Bridge station, with trains sliding in and out like a model railway.
Dusk
Arrive an hour before sunset and stay. There is no limit on how long you may remain, and the city lights come on beneath you.
How to do it well
- Book for a clear day if you can, and for the hour before sunset. Tickets are for a time of entry, and you may stay as long as you like.
- If cloud hides the view on the day, the Shard has in the past offered a return visit: ask at the desk.
- The lifts change at level 33. The ride to the top takes about a minute in all.
- Borough Market is at the foot of the tower. Eat there before or after.
- It is higher than the London Eye and you can stay longer. The Eye is closer to Parliament and moves. They are different things.
Where it is
Address
Joiner Street, above London Bridge station
Nearest station
London Bridge (Jubilee, Northern), at the foot of the tower
Museums and sights nearby
- Tower Bridge800 m
- Tower of London850 m
- Tate Modern1.0 km
- St Paul's Cathedral1.3 km
Distances are in a straight line.
Tickets and tours: The View from The Shard
The View from The Shard: common questions
- How high is The View from The Shard?
- The top viewing floor, level 72, is 244 metres above the street. The building itself is 310 metres tall.
- Is The Shard or the London Eye better?
- The Shard is far higher, is partly open to the air and lets you stay as long as you like. The London Eye is lower, moves, and sits opposite the Houses of Parliament. For the widest view, choose The Shard.
- How long do you spend at The Shard?
- Most people stay about an hour. There is no time limit once you are up.
- How much time do you need for The Shard?
- Allow 1 to 1.5 hours. That is this site's estimate for an unhurried visit.
What visitors say about The Shard
Rating from Google
Things to do near The Shard
The nearest of this site's best things to do in the city. Distances are in a straight line.
- 17Eat your way round Borough Market300 m awayWalk, 1.5 to 3 hours, free to walk, pay for what you eat
- 9Walk the glass floor of Tower Bridge800 m awayMonument, 1 to 1.5 hours, ticket, bridge free to cross
- 1See the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London850 m awayMonument, 2.5 to 3.5 hours, ticket
- 7See modern art in a power station at Tate Modern1.0 km awayMuseum, 2 to 3 hours, free
Artists to see near The Shard
The museums nearest to here, and the most famous artists on show in each.
Tate Modern, 1.0 km away
The National Gallery, 2.9 km away
- Jan van Eyck
- Paolo Uccello
- Piero della Francesca
- Giovanni Bellini
- Sandro Botticelli
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Michelangelo
- Raphael
- Titian
- Hans Holbein the Younger
- Caravaggio
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Anthony van Dyck
- Diego Velázquez
- Rembrandt
- Johannes Vermeer
- Canaletto
- William Hogarth
- George Stubbs
- Thomas Gainsborough
- J. M. W. Turner
- John Constable
- Édouard Manet
- Paul Cézanne
- Claude Monet
- Vincent van Gogh
- Georges Seurat
Where to eat near The Shard
The nearest of the famous tables this site lists in London. Distances are in a straight line.
- The George Inn4.3Coaching inn, Southwark250 m away
- M.Manze4.6Pie and mash shop, Bermondsey950 m away
- Sweetings4.5Fish restaurant, City of London1.0 km away
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese4.4Historic pub, Fleet Street1.8 km away
Hotels near The Shard
The five-star hotels closest to it, of those this site lists in London. Distances are in a straight line.
- Shangri-La The Shard, London4.6Five-star hotel, London Bridge50 m away
- Four Seasons Hotel London at Ten Trinity Square4.7Five-star hotel, Tower Hill, facing the Tower of London800 m away
- The Ned4.5Five-star hotel, Poultry, by the Bank of England1.1 km away
- The Savoy4.7Five-star hotel, The Strand, on the Thames2.4 km away