The View from The Shard

We spent a sunny Saturday afternoon venturing into Central London on the Tube with the girls to visit The Shard. It was a great day out for all of us and the views of London from the top floors were amazing.

We were so excited about going to The Shard, you could not imagine! Living in London and being just 20 minutes away it was something that we have really meant to do for a while now.

We bought the tickets online the day before to hopefully avoid queues and get in quicker. We travelled on the tube via the Jubilee Line to London Bridge. Bella was in a fun mood, deciding to model for us using one of the poles on the tube, she was so cute actually, LOL! When we arrived to London Bridge, the Shard was clearly signposted so it was very easy to find.

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Once there you have the option to take the stairs or a lift which will take you to the main floor where the actual ticket purchase/check area is. They also have a gift shop next to it, although everything seemed quite expensive. In order to get to the top of the building you have to take 2 lifts, with the first one going up about half-way stopping around floor 33 I think and the second one went up to floor 68. It felt quite high, although the lifts were actually quite quick and it didn’t take long to reach the top! It is about 800 ft (244 m) above the city. Once there you have 2 Levels that you can walk around. The first level is more about the view of London from The Shard. The views are amazing and you can see up to 49 miles into the horizon on a clear day – we were so impressed! Wow London is such a pretty city! 😃 We were so lucky because we had a fairly sunny day so of course everything looked even better! The Thames river was also shining, so beautiful!

After walking around this level with our two crazy little girls (a 5 year old and a 1 year old) we were desperate to have some refreshments so we decided to go to the next floor (Level 72). OMG, this level is so pretty! It has an open-air sky deck so you can breathe the fresh air and feel the breeze which was so nice. We found out that they have The Parlour, a ‘decadent’ ice cream experience provided by Fortnum & Mason (F & N), which if you are not familiar with is one of the most traditional upmarket department stores situated in Central London. They offered flavours such as Summer Cup, Very Vanilla, Strawberry Blush, Rose & Violet, Chocolossus, Magnificent Melon Sorbet, Florentine Fancy Sorbet, Gin & Tonic Sorbet and a Frozen Champagne Ice Popsicle. We went for a scoop of classic Very Vanilla along with a scoop of the Chocolossus flavour. These tasted amazingly good of course and we really enjoyed them. It was also a good way to have the girls calmed and relaxed for a peaceful few minutes (much appreciated when you have a 1 year old mastering her walking and wanting to run away from you every minute!). I regret so much not taking Sienna’s harness so at least she would’ve been more free to walk but at the same time restricted by us. Silly me!! 😁

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Anyway, coming back to the description of level 72 (The highest you are able to reach), the floor was filled with artificial grass among seasonal florals. It really transports you to a British Summer garden – you couldn’t imagine that you were that high up. I also saw that there were chairs and tables in each corner which is something else organised by F&M where you can book for a Sky-High tea experience. They are offering guests a chance to enjoy a delicious picnic ‘Hamperling’ filled with a classic afternoon tea selection (classic finger sandwiches, scones, clotted cream, a miniature jar of raspberry jam, and their signature Royal Blend tea. To truly celebrate, champagne can also be added when booking). So glamorous!!! You have to book this in advance. Imagine booking this for the night with that fantastic view of London! Wow, so magical and romantic right? It could be even better if you include a proposal in the plan!! 😉

We stayed there for about 2 hours since the moment we arrived to the building, and the time seemed to pass pretty quick. We couldn’t stay longer really because Sienna was starting to get quite restless – she was completely nuts that day! Typical right? We returned in the lift to the lower floor where we were greeted again and asked if we wanted to queue for our photos (they took a couple of photos of us all together just before we went in the lift to the top). The packages were quite expensive although we liked the shot of us together as a family so we chose the basic option which was a photo printed with a simple card frame. 

Just when we were ready to leave, Sienna fell asleep so we decided to go for a walk outside. The view of The Shard from outside looking up is also amazing. It was still sunny for moments and wasn’t cold at all. We had a nice time until Sienna woke up which is when we decided that it was the perfect time to go back home so we went back to the station. The journey back on the tube was actually pretty quick and we were back home by  6 o’clock.

You can also watch our video of our visit to The Shard below:

Well guys, this was our day out to The Shard. We had a fantastic day and we enjoyed it a lot. The views are amazing and if you are in London and you don’t know what to do I recommend you to pay it a visit. You will not regret it. 

Have you been to The Shard before? Did you like it? What are your thoughts about the views? And if not, would you like to go, are you planning to go? Is it something that interests you?

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca  💋