Be The First Viewer Of the Stupendous Piece Of Architecture, The London Shard

The latest addition to the London skyline, jutting out from London’s South bank, is a thousand foot spire of steel, concrete, and glass called the London Shard. This towering structure, which is clad entirely in 11,000 glass panels covering an area of eight football pitches, was officially inaugurated on the 5th of July 2012 with a spectacular music, light, and laser show, and has claimed its spot as the tallest building in Western Europe.

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It will be visible from practically anywhere in London, but you might be asking, can I visit the Shard? Yes, and you can find it at 32 London Bridge Street, Southwark, from where the Shard climbs to the sky from the heart of London. The tower has 72 habitable floors, with a five-floor public viewing gallery including an open-air observation deck on the 72nd floor. At a shade over 800 feet high, this deck is the highest viewing platform in the United Kingdom, and offers views that, if the weather permits, stretch out over 40 miles. If you're lucky, you can even see right across the English Channel.

The Shard by the numbers

With the tower rising up to 1,016 feet, the Shard has 44 lifts, including double-decker lifts, to ferry visitors up and down the 72 habitable floors of the tower. The tower also has 306 flights of stairs, should visitors choose to take them. The Shard also has another 15 levels making up the spire, and 8 plant floors, bringing the grand total to 95 floors.

The exterior of the Shard is clad in 11,000 glass panels, covering an area of 602,779 square feet. All in all, they cover an area equal to eight football pitches. The interior of the Shard, on the other hand, covers 1,200,000 square feet of floor area.

The Shard's floor space will split into 595,000 square feet of premium office space and winter gardens, a hotel, luxury residences, retail space, restaurants, a spa, and a five-storey public viewing gallery named The View from the Shard.

The Shard cost approximately £450 million to construct, and around 95% of its construction materials are recycled. Construction took around 40 months, starting in March 2009 and ending with the tower's formal inauguration in July 2012.

The most important numbers, however, may be these: tickets for The View from the Shard cost £24.95 for adults and £18.95 for children. That adds up to just under £90 (£87.80 to be exact) for a family of four.

Book your visit

The Shard will open on February 1, 2013, and thousands have already booked The Shard opening tickets. Register online now, and make sure you care one of the first to visit the Shard London.