The Shard opening hours on the official page read 10:00 to 22:00 for the day I checked, with last entry one hour before closing, per theviewfromtheshard.com. Opening times can vary by day, so check the calendar before you travel. If you are still choosing a ticket, my comparison of The Shard tickets sets out all six options and their prices.
I wrote this guide to plan one visit to The View from The Shard, from the opening hours and the entrance to the walk from London Bridge station. The facts come from the venue’s own pages, Wikipedia, Open-Meteo and the product listings, and I say which when it matters. Hours and rules change, so open the official site on the day you go. You can start from my home page for the rest of the London attractions I compare.
The Shard Opening Times
The official page for planning a visit showed today’s opening times as 10:00 to 22:00, but that figure reflects the date the page was captured, not every day of the year. The page itself says opening times at The View from The Shard may vary and sends you to an opening times calendar. I read the calendar page only as a link, so I cannot give you a month of Shard opening hours.
My data has no Google Maps entry for the tower itself, so I cannot show you a day-by-day table the way I do for other attractions. The opening hours for The Shard can differ by date, which is why I would not copy a time from a search result. The only opening hours for The Shard I can stand behind are these:
| What |
Per the official site |
| Opening times shown on the day I read it |
10:00 to 22:00 |
| Last entry |
One hour before the advertised closing time |
| Bars on the viewing levels |
Close roughly 30 minutes before closing |
| Where to confirm your date |
The official opening times calendar |
If the day you want shows a 22:00 close, last entry is 21:00 and the bars wind down around 21:30. The Shard opening hours therefore give you less than the headline hours for a drink, so arrive early in the evening rather than at the end.
The Shard Visiting Hours and the Viewing Levels
The Shard visiting hours, like the other Shard opening hours, cover three floors that a ticket opens. Per the official site, a ticket includes levels 68 and 69, the viewing platforms that include the Champagne bar, and level 72, the open-air sky deck. It also includes a digital photo package. Wikipedia places the observation deck at about 244 m and says the observatory occupies floors 68 to 72.
The Shard opening hours also depend on the weather for level 72. Level 72 is open to the air, so the weather affects it more than the glass floors do. I did not find an official statement about when the open-air deck closes in rain or wind, so I would check the website on the day. The listings I compared say a printed souvenir photograph costs extra, which differs from the digital package in the official description, so ask at the desk what your ticket includes.
The Shard View Opening Times
The Shard view opening times are simply the Shard opening hours for the viewing floors, because the view is the product. There is no separate sunrise or sunset slot on the listings I compared. The only differences are the date and the time you choose when booking.
The two plain entry tickets I compared show a one-day validity and free cancellation up to 24 hours before. The most-reviewed is the $36 entry, rated 4.5 from 10,389 reviews. It is the one I’d book when your day is fixed and you want the least to think about.
The View from The Shard
The View from The Shard
- ★ 4.5 (10,389 reviews)
- 24-hour ticket
- Free cancellation
My pick: The simplest way in: plain entry to the viewing floors, $36, 4.5 from 10,389 reviews, free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say
Included
- ✓ Ticket to the attraction
Not included / not suitable
- ✕ Souvenir photograph - available for purchase, for an additional cost
Meeting point: Address: London Bridge, London. The entrance to the attraction is on Joiner Street, next to the London Bridge Underground station. 32 London Bridge St, London SE1 9SG, UK
Duration: 1 day
Cancellation: Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
“I really enjoyed the day excellent views very clean my only complaint was there was no prices on some of the items for sale in the shop” – GetYourGuide review
The Shard London Opening Hours Through the Year
The Shard London opening hours do not change with the seasons as far as I can verify, but the light does, so the same Shard opening hours feel very different in June and December. Open-Meteo’s historical data for 2025 puts sunset in London at 16:11 in November, 15:51 in December and 21:19 in June. That moves the best slot a lot: in midwinter a 15:00 visit ends in the dark, and in midsummer the sun sets after you would normally have left.
| Month (2025) |
Sunset |
Sunshine hours per day |
Rainy days |
| January |
16:21 |
3.5 |
13 |
| March |
18:05 |
9.2 |
3 |
| June |
21:19 |
12.9 |
8 |
| September |
19:14 |
9.3 |
11 |
| November |
16:11 |
4.3 |
16 |
| December |
15:51 |
3.5 |
10 |
The figures are Open-Meteo’s monthly values for central London (Open-Meteo), so they describe last year, not a forecast. They do show why a flexible ticket matters: November had 16 rainy days and about 4 hours of sunshine a day, and the view is the whole point of the visit.
Best Time to Visit The Shard
The official page does not say which days or hours are quietest, so I cannot give you a crowd forecast. What I can say comes from the weather data and the reviews. A clear day matters more than the hour, and reviewers who describe a clear day talk about seeing for miles. One reviewer noted the number of seats could be improved, which suggests that staying for a drink at a busy hour means standing for part of it.
My rule for the Shard opening hours is simple. Look at the forecast two days before, and keep the 24-hour free cancellation in mind, because all six Shard listings I compared allow it. Book the last hour before sunset if you want both daylight and lights, and the earliest slot of the day if you want the platforms with the fewest people, though I can’t promise it is quieter.
How Long Does It Take to Get to the Top of The Shard
I could not find an official lift time. Neither the official page I read nor the product listings state how long the ride to level 68 takes, so I won’t guess a number. What the data does support is how long to allow in total. Reviewers say they spent a couple of hours up there and did not feel hurried, and the tours that include the tower run from 2 to 7 hours because they add a walk.
For planning around the opening hours at The Shard, I’d allow about two hours from the entrance to the street. Start from the Joiner Street entrance, and keep the Shard opening hours in mind, and add time if you want a drink or the free-roaming photo stops. If you arrive close to last entry, you will have about an hour before closing, which is not much for the open-air deck and a drink.
How to Get to The Shard
The nearest Tube station is London Bridge, and the tower is next to it. By my estimate it is a 2-minute walk, working from Google Maps coordinates for the station and the tower’s Wikipedia position, with a straight line times 1.3 at 4.8 km/h. The GetYourGuide listings say the entrance to the attraction is on Joiner Street, next to London Bridge Underground station, and give the address as 32 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG. One listing gives 32 St Thomas Street, so follow the Joiner Street signs and check the venue’s own directions on the day.
| Station |
Distance (estimate) |
Walk (estimate) |
| London Bridge |
0.1 km |
2 minutes |
| Borough |
0.6 km |
10 minutes |
| Monument |
0.7 km |
12 minutes |
| Cannon Street |
0.8 km |
13 minutes |
| Tower Hill |
0.9 km |
15 minutes |
| Bank |
1.0 km |
16 minutes |
For routes and live service updates, use Transport for London, because I have not checked which lines are running on your day. Walking times are estimates in a straight line, and the real route around the station is longer.
Things to Do Near The Shard
The nearest big sight is the Tower of London, about 14 minutes on foot by my estimate, rated 4.7 from 123,214 reviews on Google Maps. St Paul’s Cathedral is about 22 minutes away and the London Dungeon about 36 minutes, so I’d take the Tube for that one. Distances here are straight-line times 1.3 at 4.8 km/h, using the tower’s Wikipedia position. Plan these around the Shard opening hours: a late-afternoon slot leaves the morning for the Tower. The Shard map shows what the viewing floors look like once you are up.
Shard Free Entry
I found no free-entry category for The View from The Shard in the listings I compared, and the official site was not readable for me, so I cannot confirm any concession. The plain entry ticket costs $36 and holds 4.5 from 10,389 reviews. If you want a free view, the Sky Garden costs nothing with a booked slot, as I note in the section above. The Shard opening hours and the price are the two things to check on the day.
What to Know Before You Go
The pages with the Shard opening hours that I could read do not state the bag, security, ID or dress-code rules, so I won’t invent any. Expect a security check at the entrance, as with other high-rise viewing galleries, and read the visitor information on the official site before you pack. Jeans and trainers are a common question, and I found no dress code for the viewing floors, so check the site if you plan an evening visit with a drink.
Two details are worth knowing. Whatever the Shard opening hours, a glass of champagne costs extra on the plain ticket, and the $49 ticket includes one, so decide before you book. And if you want a free alternative, the Sky Garden is about 13 minutes away on foot and costs nothing when you book a slot on its official site (skygarden.london). I compare it with the Shard in Sky Garden tickets.
Is The Shard Worth Visiting
The Shard is worth visiting if you want the highest public view in London, and I’d pick a clear day for it. Wikipedia lists it as the tallest building in the United Kingdom at 309.6 m, designed by Renzo Piano’s workshop, and says The View from The Shard opened to the public on 1 February 2013 (Wikipedia). That is the reason for the price, and it is also why I’d keep the free Sky Garden in mind for a tighter budget.
For the choice between the plain ticket, the champagne upgrade and the walking tours, the full comparison is in the hub page. Before you leave, I’d check the calendar for the Shard opening hours once more, because The Shard opening hours are the one thing I can’t confirm for your exact day.
