Thurs, 10 March 2016, 11:23 am: Following is my Trip Advisor review of the Walkie Talkie building’s Sky Garden at 20 Fenchurch Street in the City of London. If you’re a supporter of any or all things Matt, please click here to go to the actual page and give it a thumbs up.
I’ll leave the debate over 20 Fenchurch Street’s exterior appearance to the architects and the city planners. All that matters is what you behold from the viewing platforms thirty-five stories above London.
Admission to the top of the Shard is twenty-six pounds (thirty-one if you fail to book ahead of time). Additionally, as the fourth tallest building in all of Europe, the Shard is too high above many of London’s sights to let you view them in the detail offered by the Sky Garden. And though on an overcast day the infamous London fog may obscure some of the viewing at the Sky Garden’s level, the Shard will have you straining to see some areas at all through the entirety of the fog. Any romance in being above the clouds is quickly sapped when you’ve paid good money and can’t see through ’em.
To ride the London Eye starts at just over twenty-one pounds. Its rotation’s peak height puts it just under the Sky Garden’s level, so views are comparable. But you’re limited to thirty minutes on the wheel, and because you’re constantly in (admittedly slow) motion you can’t linger on any sight as you can at the Garden or the Shard, where you can stay as long as you like. (Well, I suppose if you were there all day, a staffer might eventually shoo you downstairs. Has that happened to anyone reading this?)
If you’re looking forward to enjoying a beautiful expansive garden in the sky, as hyped by initial artists’ renderings, I advise deflating those expectations. But if you’re looking for breathtaking views of everything in central London for absolutely no money, go ahead and get excited. From now on, this is where I’m bringing all my friends and clients who’ve never been to London before on the first day they see this great city with me.