Let’s face it, we all love a great view of the skyline in a fantastic city when traveling. But, is it worth a fee when there may be a more cost-efficient way? We found out the answer on our trip to London a few months ago. Keep reading to learn our secret trick to getting a great view of London on a budget.
The tallest building in Western Europe is the Shard, a 95-story (72 habitable) skyscraper that most people easily recognize as a London emblem. It is located beside the River Thames and near the London Bridge Station. You can go to the observation platform on level 68 for a view of the city (which is amazing but unfortunately comes at a price). Ticket costs range from 24.50 to 30.94 pounds depending on how many days prior you purchase your tickets, which in my book is too much, especially if there’s another way to view it somewhere else…hint, hint.
A visit to the Shard never fit into our itinerary in prior trips to London so this time we debated if an outing would be worth it. Fortunately, one of our son’s friends from London suggested a perfect option by skipping the observation deck and visiting the Aqua Shard Bar (on level 31) instead. It has nearly the same view for a fraction of the cost (the only cost being the price of your drink of course).
The view of London from the 31st floor of a building is pretty amazing – I don’t know if the view is any better just a few floors higher to the observation platform (31 floors is pretty darn high already) but I do know that my view only cost the price of a cocktail – which I probably would have had anyway before going to the theater later that day – I will tell more about that later.
There was nothing in the bar to distract from the view, just simple furniture and huge floor to ceiling windows. We went in the early afternoon and walked right into the bar. Lucky for us, we were able to grab a corner table in the back with a glorious view – Tower Bridge, London Tower, etc. Unfortunately, they do not take reservations in the bar so visiting at a peak time might be tricky.
I ordered a glass of wine for 10 pounds (surprisingly reasonably priced) and my husband had a soft drink. My son opted for a whisky fizz specialty drink that he would not have been able to get in the States (that was an added bonus right there). Dress attire is “smart casual” – jeans are acceptable but shorts, flip flops, and sports shoes are not.
I am very glad we acted on the recommendation to visit the Aqua Shard. The bar is open 12pm to 1am Sunday through Thursday and 12pm to 3am Friday to Saturday – again, I recommend going during a non-peak time to increase your chances of getting a great window table but I could only imagine the view you could get at night.
Now, literally a two-minute walk is Borough Market – a massive open-air market. Here, you can sample, buy, and eat foods from all over the world. There are even live cooking demonstrations going on to keep you entertained. I wish we could have stayed longer but we were headed to the theater and needed to be on our way – but it wasn’t just any ordinary theater. Stay tuned for next week’s blog post and I will tell you all about that.
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