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The Shard Vs The Sky Garden

The Shard vs the Sky Garden. We spent last weekend in London as Charlie was part of the Young Voices Choir and their performance at the o2. We decided to stay at the Novotel Excel in Docklands and then have the weekend in London. Spending Saturday exploring Greenwich and then on Sunday, heading into the city. on Sunday we went to both The Shard and The Sky Garden on the same day giving us a unique opportunity to compare the two famous buildings. So if you only have time for one during a visit to London, which one should it be?

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The Shard Vs The Sky Garden

Both have been on my bucket list for ages. But for one reason or another, we’ve never quite managed to visit either. Having actually had reservations at both in the past. We visited with two children ages 6 and 10 on a very bright sunny day in January. This might give you some additional context around our visit and probably is quite important when comparing the two. After all, visiting on different days can give a very different experience and taint your comparison one way or the other.

Hopefully, this blog post will give you everything you need to compare The Shard and The Sky Garden. But if you have any questions feel free to note them in the comments below. And I will come back to you as soon as I can. To try and make it as a fair comparison as possible I have picked a few key headings when looking at the two iconic London skyscrapers that you may well consider when making your decision.

The Price

The Shard will cost £28-£32 per person to go to the viewing platform. The Sky Garden on the other hand is free. Therefore one would suggest that if you’re comparing on price alone that perhaps the Sky Garden is the better option. Although it is not quite so cut and dry. As if you are willing to eat or drink in the Shard then you can visit one of the lower levels and there see the view for free. The lower levels where the restaurants and bars are located (there are 7 in all) are in the low 30s. And so comparable to The Sky Garden which is located at 35.

Both attractions are for drinks at the top and therefore the question is got to be how much does this cost. We had four soft drinks in the Sky Garden, a Coke and apple juice and two bottles of fizzy water which came to around £15.

We did not order drinks at The Shard if we were to order four soft drinks. The price is lit comparable with various soft drinks being £3 each. They have a large number of cocktails to choose from and I was impressed with the range of nonalcoholic beverages.

The Bars

We found at The Shard on level 69 there were two large bars. They offered table service by scanning a QR code which was attached to a table. They had a wide selection of drinks and cocktails both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. There was also a lady at the entrance serving champagne.

In the Sky Garden, there is also a bar as you walk out of the lift into the main area which has a takeaway coffee shop attached to it as well. There is another bar around the back up the stairs. Again The Sky Garden serves a wide selection of alcoholic beverages and cocktails. Both locations I think are probably on par with the drinks offered and the prices for those drinks. When comparing The Shard vs The Sky Darden

Food Options

The shard offers plenty of different bars and restaurants on various floors of the tallest skyscraper in London. Seven in total all doing and serving something different. Including a place for afternoon tea, fine dining and also Asian food. I did not see the opportunity to buy cakes or snacks at either of the bars on level 69 at The Shard.

Whereas The Sky Garden also offers the ability to have coffee and cake without pre-booking as part of the general set-up. However, you can also book dinner, lunch or brunch at Darwin Brasserie. It is on the same level in the sky garden, the 35th floor, but is a bit higher as it is slightly suspended. It’s higher up so you get the best views possible. It is also possible to book the Sky Pod Bar with the City Garden Bar being

Tickets

Tickets for the affectionately called Walkie Talkie building, which houses The Sky Garden are free and therefore normally really hard to come by. You need to book your free ticket in advance, which can be done on The Sky Garden website. Sky Garden ticket become available 4 weeks in advance. If you have a key date and time in mind then I would recommend getting in straight away. Especially in the busier months of the summer, I have struggled to get tickets.

The Shard is also a popular tourist attraction and therefore you do also need to book your tickets well in advance. Especially in the Summer months when London is more likely to be busy. Tickets for the Shard are available 12 months in advance which can give you more flexibility. You pick your time slot online at the time of booking.

What to do at the top

Other than having a drink, which is the thing that everybody seems to do. The Sky Garden has the option to walk up and around the back of London’s highest public garden. To see the full view across the financial district including the Cheese Grater. There is no pamphlet, but there are key points of interest Indicated on the glass. As well as some small seating areas amongst the plants in the indoor garden. The garden itself is not huge but the tree ferns are pretty and there were a number of exotic plants. Including bird of paradise plants with flowers, African lily, fragrant herbs and red hot poker.

You can also go outside on the open-air terrace at the Sky Garden although we noticed as did not open till 11 o’clock. This gives great views of The Shard.

There is generally more seating available in The Sky Garden in the form of tables, stalls or sofas. I also noticed more families compared to The Shard.

The Shard on the other hand is literally just like a bar. There are no other points of interest although you are given a panoramic leaflet which shows all the points of interest throughout the 360° rotation. A nice souvenir it covers 20 landmarks. When you go up to the observation decks on the top floor there is a photo opportunity with a traditional red telephone box and some seating.

It is not possible to go outside on a terrace, but on the 72nd floor, the Skydeck is partially open. The Shard offers free talks and guides around different parts of the city, telling stories and explaining some of the histories.

On a clear day you will be able to see a spectacular view of the London skyline. Including the London Eye, Canary Wharf, St Paul’s Cathedral and the winding River Thames.

The Location

Both The Shard and The Sky Garden are in a central location within a 20-minute walk from each other. The Shard is literally right next to London Bridge station and therefore can be reached by the London Underground Jubilee Line, Northern Line or National Rail. You walk out of the National Rail station and turn to the left it is impossible to miss it.

The Sky Garden is located close to the Leadenhall Market on Fenchurch Street. can get the DLR to Tower Gateway close to the Tower of London. This is around 10 minute’s walk away. Tower Hill tube station is located in the same place and gives access to both the Circle and District lines.

Because of their close proximity to each other, if you want to do them both in one day as we did then it is relatively easy. We booked The Sky Garden for 11 am and had lunch in Borough Market which is a five-minute walk from the Shard. We booked the Shard for 2 pm. It worked well and meant there was enough time between them if there were queues.

How much time do you need?

Although this is not an entirely fair comparison as we had a drink in The Sky Garden but not The Shard. We spent around an hour and a half in The Sky Garden, but only about 45 minutes at The Shard. This was definitely partly to do with the fact that we stopped for a drink. And we didn’t manage to catch one of the talks at The Shard. However, I think walking around The Sky Garden probably took longer.

The Height

The Shard is 310m tall and rated the 94th tallest building in the world and the 4th tallest building in Western Europe. It is London’s tallest building. This means that you do get much higher views and can see further than The Sky Garden will allow at 160m. Which is roughly half the height. However, it does have amazing views specifically of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.

Also, you can get a lot closer to the glass so it’s easier to take photos to avoid the reflections which we struggled with in The Sky Garden. If height is your main determinator then it would mean that The Shard would win this point. When comparing The Shard vs The Sky Garden

Souvenirs

Our ticket to The Shard also included a free digital package which meant that we could download the photos that were taken when we arrived. Pictures of the four of us with three different Shard-related backgrounds. It was a nice touch and included a little video if you wanted to share it on social media. The Shard also has a gift shop where you can buy keyrings, magnets and little models. Just like if you were going to the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe.

Sky Garden doesn’t really have any souvenirs at the moment. But there is a gift shop that is due to open in the building opposite the entrance.

Conclusions – The Shard Vs The Sky Garden

Visiting them both on the same day definitely gave us a unique insight. Visiting The Shard slightly later in the day when it wasn’t quite so misty as it had been in the early mornings The Sky Garden. Being closer to the glass meant that we could get far better photos of the panoramic views of London.

However, I did prefer the relaxed atmosphere in The Sky Garden. It’s a lot more relaxed. The fact that there are a lot more people in general helps. I suspect this is probably because the tickets are free. And although the gardens weren’t as nice as I had hoped, they did give a much nicer feel to the space.

Hopefully, this blog post has given you a good basis to compare The Shard vs The Sky Garden. However, if you would like to me more about a visit in-depth and I have individual proposals both were both.

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