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Shard
© The View from The Shard

The Shard: your ultimate guide

However impressive The Shard is from the outside, there's nothing like the view from the inside. Get the most out of your visit with our ultimate guide to The Shard

Written by
Time Out London Things To Do
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The Shard, London's tallest building, was not universally well-received when it was completed in 2012. For every fan of architect Renzo Piano's crystalline, church steeple-inspired skyscraper – rescued from the jaws of recession by Qatari investors in 2008 – there's at least one detractor, angry that the 1,016-foot-tall hulk was ever allowed to bully its way into sightline omnipresence.

But if views of The Shard are controversial, the views from it are not. At 800 feet, the building's ticketed viewing platform The View from The Shard is nearly double the height of its closest competitor, the London Eye. From that high up London is Lego, the Thames a blue shoelace. Even the peaks of the City, immediately north, appear suddenly quaint. So, featuring where to eat to what to see a nearby, here's our sky-high guide to a trip up The Shard.

What's all this about The View from the Shard?

Chances are your trip up western Europe's tallest building is for The View from The Shard, a ticketed viewing platform with 360-degree views across the capital and beyond (up to 40 miles on a clear day). The attraction spans three levels of decks (the bottom two enclosed, the third open to the elements above) on floors 68 to 72 of the skyscraper, reached by two super-smooth, high-speed lifts taking just 30 seconds each. Up top, Digital 'Tell:scopes' update the coin-in-the-slot binoculars at traditional viewpoints: touchscreens locate and provide information about important landmarks, zoom in, and toggle between views from different times of the day.

How about opening times and tickets info?

The View from The Shard is open daily from 10am to 10pm. Winter hours, starting in October, are Sunday to Wednesday, 10am to 7pm; and Thursday to Saturday, 10am-10pm. Please note that last viewings start one hour before closing. Tickets cost £25.95 in advance for adults (£30.95 on the day) and £19.95 for children aged 4-15 (£24.95 on the day). 

Hang on, where actually is The Shard?

Up. More specifically, The Shard is in Southwark, just two minutes from London Bridge Station (accessible by rail and the Northern and Jubilee lines tube lines). If you've got 10 minutes to spare, alight at Monument tube station (on the Circle and District lines) and behold The Shard's towering majesty as you cross London Bridge. The site can also be reached by more than a dozen buses that stop outside the entrance to London Bridge Station, including the 43, 48, 141, 149 and 521.

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Eating and drinking at The Shard

Hutong

Hutong

  • 4 out of 5 stars

'Hutong does credit to the growing trend for offbeat Chinese dishes. The service was good, the prices high, but then this is The Shard, not Chinatown.'

Aqua Shard

Aqua Shard

  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • price 4 of 4

'The appeal of drinking while on high is eternal and even a bit inexplicable, but there's no denying it,' said our reviewer. 'Aqua Shard is not the sort of...

Oblix

Oblix

  • 3 out of 5 stars

'A starter of tataki-style beef (£12) was a few tasty morsels while the main course of halibut (£28) was perfectly cooked, though rather oddly...

Ting

Ting

  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

What’s this, a new Tellytubby? Actually, Ting is the Shangri-La hotel’s dining space on the thirty-fifth floor of the glistening Shard, but unless you’re...

Things to do near The Shard

Old Operating Theatre Museum

Old Operating Theatre Museum

  • 4 out of 5 stars

Britain's oldest surviving purpose-built operating theatre, the Old Operating Theatre Museum is situated in a herb garret in the roof of St Thomas's Church....

Maltby Street Market

Maltby Street Market

During the summer of 2010, a quiet bubble of gastronomic intent was swelling under the railway arches in Bermondsey. This unlikely south-east London backwater...

Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

One of the most famous river crossings in the world, Tower Bridge is actually only 120 years old. Still, the fact that it lifts up in the middle when large...

Shakespeare's Globe

Shakespeare's Globe

  • 4 out of 5 stars

Built in 1599 and destroyed by fire in 1613, the original Globe Theatre was at the heart of London’s seedy entertainment district in William Shakespeare’s...

Borough Market

Borough Market

The food hound’s favourite market is also London’s oldest, dating back to the 13th century. It’s the busiest too, occupying a sprawling site near London...

Monument

Monument

Although the Monument, which commemorates the Great Fire of 1666, is often attributed to Christopher Wren – who did choose its location 202 feet from the...

HMS Belfast

HMS Belfast

  • 4 out of 5 stars

Europe's largest cruiser from WWII, HMS Belfast is now a floating naval museum, a landmark on the Thames near Tower Bridge, with its nine huge decks, including...

Tate Modern

Tate Modern

  • 5 out of 5 stars

Thanks to its industrial architecture, this powerhouse of modern art is awe-inspiring even before you enter. Built after World War II as Bankside Power...

Where to eat near The Shard

Tapas Brindisa

Tapas Brindisa

  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

The upsurge in Spanish food quality in London since the 1990s can in part be dated from the arrival in Borough Market of food importers Brindisa, bringing...

Elliot's

Elliot's

  • 3 out of 5 stars

Light and airy, with stripped brick walls and a contemporary feel, Elliot’s is a busy little spot full of tourists, dates and business people; in the evenings...

fish!

fish!

  • 3 out of 5 stars
  • price 2 of 4

On weekday lunchtimes, this swanky glass pavilion overlooking Southwark Cathedral and Borough Market is full of suits and well-heeled tourists. The interior is...

Tas

Tas

  • 3 out of 5 stars

The Borough branch of Tas neatly embodies the traits that make this Anatolian chain so popular. The pillared white interior is simply decorated – a wall mosaic...