The construction of the Shard, Europe’s tallest building, was completed last summer. At that time they opened the top 3 floors as a viewing platform known as the “View of the Shard”.
There are many famous viewing platforms across the world – from the Empire State Building in New York and the Sky Tower in Auckland are 2 that come to mind. In fact the Huffington Post has a great article about the world’s top 10 Viewing platforms, which now includes the View of the Shard:
Huffington Post: 11 of the World’s Best Observation Decks
Set near London Bridge, on the south bank of the River Thames, on the western side near the Tower of London, this observation deck gives a bird’s eye view of the city. I was excited when it opened to give it a chance. I’ve done a few observation decks in various countries so I loved the thought of doing it in my back yard.
The experience, while worthwhile, did not live up to my expectations and at the end of the day I prefer the overall experience of the London Eye over the View of the Shard.
The View of the Shard will be crowded and no one is pushed through despite the tickets being issued for a specific window of time. The floor to ceiling glass panes that allow for such a magnificent view are often dirty from the weather and have smudged hand prints so that photographers have a challenge if they’re looking to capture the view or a specific site that has their interest.
