The Shard Will Give You a Free Return Visit, If You Ask Before You Leave

Go up The Shard on a grey London afternoon, find the city has disappeared into cloud, and you are entitled to come back for nothing. They call it the View Guarantee, and almost nobody claims it, because you have to ask before you walk out of the building.

The terms are published and they are specific. If you cannot see at least three of five named landmarks, the London Eye, the Walkie Talkie, Tower Bridge, One Canada Square and St Paul’s Cathedral, you speak to the Duty Manager on the day and they hand you a voucher for a free standard return ticket, valid three months. Leave the building first and it is gone.

That is the single most useful thing to know about the most expensive view in London. The second is newer: it is now closed every Monday and Tuesday, on its own calendar, through to the end of November 2026. Here is the rest of it, and the honest answer to whether you should pay at all.

The tower

The View from The Shard, Joiner Street

Three viewing levels, one of them open to the sky.

The View from The Shard

Address

Joiner Street, London, SE1 9QU

Nearest

London Bridge, two minutes

Hours

Closed every Monday and Tuesday. In October 2026, midday to 8pm Wednesday to Friday and on Sunday, and 10am to 10pm on Saturday, with changes for events on the published calendar: it is closed all day on Saturday 17 October, for one. From November the weekday and Sunday hours move to 11am to 7pm. Last entry is one hour before the advertised closing time, and the bars stop serving roughly thirty minutes before that

Booking

Online in advance. Every ticket carries the View Guarantee and includes a digital photo package

Price

Children from 10 pounds, and under fours go free with any adult ticket. The adult price varies by date and appears in the booking flow rather than on the site

Standing

The viewing platforms on Levels 68 and 69, a Champagne bar, and an open air sky deck on Level 72

How to get in

Three published rules decide the visit. Last entry is a full hour before closing, so an 8pm close means a 7pm cut off. The bars stop about thirty minutes before the doors do. And once you are inside there is no time limit at all: their own wording is that you may stay as long as you wish until closing, which matters because this is the one London viewing platform where lingering is the point. Level 72 is the open air deck, and looking up from it at the spire is a better view of the building than any photograph taken from the ground. Opening times move around for events, so check the calendar for your date rather than assuming, and remember that Monday and Tuesday are shut.

Can you go up The Shard for free?

No. But you can go up two other towers for nothing, and one of them keeps its bars open until one in the morning.

This is the question the search results keep asking and the answer is not the one the question expects. There are three high viewing platforms in central London and only The Shard charges.

Sky Garden is free with a booked ticket, from 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 11am to 9pm at weekends, and its bars carry on to midnight from Sunday to Thursday and 1am on Friday and Saturday. No viewing platform in the city stays open later.

Horizon 22 is free and the highest free platform in London, on Level 58, with a timed ticket and a QR code. It is also the earliest to close: 6pm on a weekday, 5pm on Saturday and 4pm on Sunday.

The Shard is higher than both, and Level 72 is open to the air, which neither of the free ones offers. That is what the ticket buys: altitude and open sky.

There is a third answer that is not a viewing platform at all. The bars inside this building keep going long after the ticketed floor shuts: the Shanghai Bar on Level 33 runs to 1am seven days a week, and the lounge on Level 52 to 1am from Thursday to Saturday. What a window table at The Shard actually costs prices the whole tower floor by floor, including the one restaurant that publishes what the glass is worth.

Shard or Sky Garden?

If it is free you want, Sky Garden. It costs nothing, it has a bar, and it runs later than any viewing platform in the city.

If it is height you want, The Shard. Levels 68, 69 and 72 against Sky Garden’s 35th floor is not a close comparison, and the open air deck is unique to it.

If it is an afternoon you want, Horizon 22. Free, the highest of the free ones, and no time limit, but it shuts at four on a Sunday, so it is a daytime visit rather than an evening one.

If the weather is bad, The Shard is the only one that gives you a second go. Sky Garden and Horizon 22 are free, so there is nothing to refund. The View Guarantee exists precisely because you paid.

What to know before you book

Claim the View Guarantee before you leave. Speak to the Duty Manager on the day of your visit. It has to be claimed before you leave the venue and cannot be claimed afterwards. Three of the five landmarks is the test, and the voucher is valid for three months.

Last entry is an hour before closing. Not fifteen minutes, not half an hour. On an 8pm day the last people go up at 7pm.

The bars close first. Roughly thirty minutes before the advertised closing time, so a Champagne at the top is an earlier decision than the view is.

There is no time limit once you are in. That is unusual and it changes the calculation: a sunset ticket bought for an hour before dusk gets you the day view, the sunset and the lit city on one admission.

Check the calendar for your date. Opening times vary with events, which they say outright, Monday and Tuesday are closed, and the published calendar is the only reliable source.

Children are cheap and toddlers are free. Kids from ten pounds, and under fours free with any adult ticket. The adult price is not published on the site and moves with the date and time slot.

Everything here was taken from The View from The Shard’s own published information and rechecked in full on 28 September 2026, and the comparisons from Sky Garden’s and Horizon 22’s own pages. Prices and hours move. Confirm before you travel.

Tower Bridge is one of the five landmarks the View Guarantee is measured against, and it is ten minutes east along the river.

St Paul’s Cathedral is the other climb, and one of the five landmarks the View Guarantee is measured against. A ticket, with the Dome Galleries included, is 27 pounds, or one pound if you receive Universal Credit, Pension Credit or ESA.

The London Eye is the other named landmark in the View Guarantee list, and its own catch is different: the time on your ticket admits you to the queue rather than the capsule.

Where to go next

The Tower of London is across the river, and the London Eye is the other height option.

The best views in London ranks six of them by what you have to arrange rather than what you have to pay, and the restaurants with a view cover eating at height rather than just looking.

Sky Garden and Horizon 22 are the two free alternatives, with opposite opening hours: one keeps its bars open to 1am, the other shuts at 4pm on a Sunday.

Borough Market is five minutes from Joiner Street and closed on Mondays, and the restaurants around it cover dinner after the view.

Questions we get asked

Can I go up The Shard for free?

No, The View from The Shard is ticketed. Two other central London towers are free: Sky Garden, which is free with a booked ticket from 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 11am to 9pm at weekends, with bars open to midnight and to 1am on Friday and Saturday, and Horizon 22, which is free, sits on Level 58 and is the highest free viewing platform in London. The Shard is higher than both and has an open air deck, which is what you are paying for.

Is it worth paying to go up The Shard?

It depends on the weather and the hour. On a clear evening, yes: Level 72 is open to the sky, there is no time limit once you are inside, and a ticket bought before dusk covers daylight, sunset and the lit city in one visit. On a grey day the free alternatives make more sense, though The Shard is the only one that hands you a free return visit if visibility is poor.

What is the View Guarantee at The Shard?

A free return ticket if the weather ruins your visit. If you cannot see at least three of five named landmarks, the London Eye, the Walkie Talkie, Tower Bridge, One Canada Square and St Paul’s Cathedral, speak to the Duty Manager on the day and they will give you a voucher valid for three months for a free standard return. You must claim it before you leave the venue.

Which is better, The Shard or Sky Garden?

Sky Garden if you want it free or late, since a daytime ticket costs nothing and its bars run to midnight, and to 1am on Friday and Saturday. The Shard if you want height and open air, since its viewing levels are 68, 69 and 72 against Sky Garden’s 35th floor, and Level 72 is an open air deck. Horizon 22 is the third option: free, higher than Sky Garden, and closed by 6pm.

What time is last entry at The Shard?

One hour before the advertised closing time, which is a longer cut off than most London attractions. On a day closing at 8pm, the last admission is 7pm. The bars inside stop serving roughly thirty minutes before closing as well, so a drink at the top needs to be earlier again. Opening times vary by date for events, and it is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.

Is The Shard open on Mondays?

No. The View from The Shard is closed every Monday and Tuesday on its published calendar through to the end of November 2026. In October it opens midday to 8pm from Wednesday to Friday and on Sunday, and 10am to 10pm on Saturday, with some days changed for events, so check the calendar for your date. On a Monday, Horizon 22 and Sky Garden are both open and both free.

How long can you stay up The Shard?

As long as you like until closing. Their own wording is that once inside you may stay for as long as you wish, which is unusual among London attractions and worth planning around. A ticket timed for an hour before sunset gives you the daylight view, the sunset and the illuminated city without paying for three visits.