A View from London’s Shard at night

By
Bex Hall
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20
Visiting London's Shard at Night - LifeBeyondBorders

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I’ve visited the Shard in London before, but during the day.  This 95 storey, 11,000 glass panelled skyscraper located in Southwark, a district of London near London Bridge station on the south side of the River Thames, looms stately-like at 309m (1,016ft) over all who hustle and bustle beneath her.  She (I like to give it a gender as ‘she’s’ so majestic, in my opinion) comprises of the following:

72 habitable floors including:

  • Shangri-La Hotel Reception on the Ground Floor
  • Retail shop and Observation Deck entrance on floors 1 and 2
  • Office space on floors 3-28 (companies include Al-Jazeera English & UK, Gallup, Warwick Business School and South Hook Gas
  • Restaurants on floors 31-33
  • The Shangri-La Hotel on floors 34-52
  • Residences (i.e.: homes) on floors 53-65
  • An ‘ultimate penthouse’: 224 meters high over two floors, the equivalent of a 7 bedroomed mansion.  Reported price tag is GBP£50 million (USD$77 million)
  • The View from The Shard (observation deck) on floors 68-72
  • The Glass Spire spreads up the remaining floors from 73-95

The View from London’s Shard at night is great to see London sparkle.  Open from 10am to 10pm allows plenty of opportunity to appreciate different views of the city – and it’s possible to extend an add-on to your ticket price to visit at both times of the day.

NOTE: These are 2016 prices, so do be sure to check.

Shard View Prices
Shard View Prices

Note: You choose a time when you want to visit and can turn up within half an hour of the allotted time.  This is to prevent too  many people turning up at once and overcrowding.

**Disclosure: I was offered the opportunity to visit The Shard View at night by Visit London and presented with a Press Pass. All opinions remain my own**

A View from The Shard at Night

Having already been blown away by the Shard during daytime, I couldn’t wait to see it at night.  I arrived after 6pm on a mid-week night – actually I’d highly recommend this kind of time.  Aside from the crowds rushing to London Bridge at peak rush hour, I didn’t find many people around at this time.
I whizzed through the security and into the lifts.  In fact, I had a lift all to myself!  I felt a little disorientated as I hurtled up to the 68th floor first of all, at a speed of 6 meters per second!

The Shard- entry
The Shard- entry

Shard View on three floors

  • 68th floor = Cloudspace where you can learn about all the different sorts of clouds above London
  • 69th floor = Walk around with telescopes scattered around at intervals, for you to enjoy a close up of your favourite view
  • 72nd floor = Open to the elements!  (Well, kind of).

I took in all three floors – the 72nd floor as to be walked up to, but it’s not far.  I didn’t stay long at the top…it got kinda chilly on a November night!

I have to say though, as I wandered around all three viewing floors, seeing London all lit up at night offered a beautiful perspective of the city I’d never seen before – so high up.

Take a look:

London at night from The Shard
London at night from The Shard

shard-at-night-collage-lifebeyondbordersblog

The Shard is one of many tourist attractions in London.  For example, you can:

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London's Shard - Why You Should Visit At Night - LifeBeyondBorders

20 COMMENTS

  2. Thanks Elena.

    Yes, it was lovely to visit at night – very magical, especially so near Christmas.

  3. Your view from the Shard looks wonderful but I can’t help wondering if it is worth the expensive entrance fee. We enjoyed a cocktail in one of the bars on a lower floor, still with a fabulous view, for less than the entrance fee.

  4. What a fabulous view of Tower Bridge. I love the idea of going to the top of the Shard at night, especially if you can have a glass of champagne at the same time!

  6. Thanks for your comment Jenny. Yes, I understand your thought process re: price – I would definitely pay for the entry to a higher floor as it is stunning, but maybe not the champagne. As you say, there are other options at a slightly lower level for less money.
    Glad you enjoyed your visit to The Shard too!

  8. Wow! The view certainly has the right name. Got to put it on our list for a visit to London.

  10. I went there from Sunset into the evening and also did a nice glass of Champagne – it really was spectacular and the views from above at night time is really amazing!

  12. Yes – the views certainly are spectacular Janice! Thanks for stopping by and admiring the view – albeit via my post!

  13. Yes- I wish I’d been able to make it for sunset…one day, I intend to go back, so I’m sure I’ll get to do it. Thanks for stopping by Noel

  15. Thx for this post about the Shard. I’ve been to London more than once, but somehow did not make it there yet. Hopefully next time, as the views certainly do look spectacular.

  16. Thanks Doreen – glad it inspired you. I know that my North American audience might not think it’s a big deal (with all the skyscrapers you have), but we are very struck by The Shard (except, maybe, the ridiculously priced Penthouse).

  18. I loved it Carole. Like I say, to our North American cousins, a pointy skyscraper of glass in London is probably not a big deal (given the amount of skyscrapers over the Pond), but to us, it’s really quite something!