The Sky Garden, which opened at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street (the Walkie Talkie) has now had over 10 million people visit it since it opened in January 2015. On average around 3,000 people a day are now visiting the venue – which is free to visit.
(c) Sky Garden
Meanwhile, the nearby Garden at 120, at the top of Fen Court building just down the road at 120 Fenchurch Street, is closing in on three-quarters of a million visitors since it opened in February 2019.
The number of visitors to the two Fenchurch Street roof gardens may decline in the future though, as many more roof gardens are opening soon, and will also be free to visit.
Two more free public viewing galleries at 8 Bishopsgate and 22 Bishopsgate are due to open in the coming months, and six new public roof gardens and terraces are currently under construction at 120 Fleet Street, Seal House, Millennium Bridge House, 81 Newgate Street, 1 Leadenhall Court and Citicape House.
While London’s two main tourist attraction viewing galleries are both on the south side of the river — at the Shard and the London Eye, the City of London, on the north side of the river will have many more varied roof gardens to choose from instead.
At the moment:
- The Sky Garden is free to visit – but you are recommended to book tickets in advance from here.
- The Garden at 120 is free to visit and you don’t need to book, but do check their website for event closures.
Chairman of the City of London Corporation’s Planning and Transportation Committee, Chairman Shravan Joshi, said: “The spectacular success of the Sky Garden and The Garden at 120 show how tall buildings in the City not only provide the high-quality office space we need, but offer benefits to the community and a boost to the Square Mile’s tourist appeal.”
Although construction hasn’t started yet, and might not, the planning approval for the skyscraper at 1 Undershaft includes a free public viewing gallery at the top of the building. That may make a serious dent in the viability of the Shard if it goes ahead.
Elsewhere in London, there are elevated viewing platforms at The Monument, the walkway at the top of Tower Bridge, the narrow at the top of St Paul’s Cathedral’s dome, the OXO tower, and the little known viewing gallery at the top of the tower at Westminster Cathedral. And the newly opened roof garden next to Oxford Street, and futher out, you can climb to the top of the Canonbury tower, an Islington church tower and the Cally Tower.
The viewing gallery atop One New Change is worth a mention too for its excellent views of St Paul’s Cathedral and beyond.
And for the preserved sculptures and mosaic floors from the previous buidling on the site, Victor Heal’s lovely One New hange for the Bank of England. It’s good that they have been retained even if the former are rather hidden away and you can’t get near enough to the latter to see it properly.
The two viewing galleries outside the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral are The Stone Gallery at the base of the dome and the Golden Gallery at the base of The Lantern (Ball and Cross) – over 500 steps to climb . The Whispering Gallery is currently closed as it is being repaired, new stone floor and the rails.
What did you mean by ‘the narrow’ at the top of the dome?
The lower walkway is nice and wide – the one at the top is famously narrow.
I was suprised how much the greenery at 120 has grown since opening when I was there wth the architect last autumn. It’s a nice spot, just a shame the building itslf is to overwhelming in its bulk and its reflections of the coloured glazing onto the surroundings.