Enjoy a free view at the Sky Garden
Scenic Sky Garden towers above the city, offering breathtaking 360-degree views, beautifully landscaped garden areas, fine restaurants, friendly bars, observation decks, and a charming open terrace for visitors to enjoy.
Highlights
- See London’s fabulous, unique skyline in a bird’s-eye view from a sky-high oasis of lush, exotic gardens.
- Be wined and dined or sip your favourite tall natural beverage in your choice of the excellent lofty bars and restaurants.
- Enjoy exciting festivals like the 2019 Fantastic Feats event with street theatre, circus acts, concerts, art exhibitions, and tours through the exotic plant life environment.
What to See and Do
View Sights from the Clouds
When you arrive at this impressive skyscraper at 20 Fenchurch Street, you will take a lift up to the Sky Garden. This enchanting garden includes the top three floors of this unique, glass-domed building of 37 floors. By visiting the large outdoor terrace and the observation decks, you can marvel at the panoramic view below of four distinct London vistas.
Examine Stunning Architecture
Sky Garden was designed by the world-famous Uruguayan architect, Rafael Viñoly in 2004. This structure is stunning in terms of architectural design and aesthetics. Its design incorporates huge expanses of glass, and the structure of the tower makes it appear to grow larger as the viewer’s eyes travel skyward from street level or downward from the top.
Enjoy Exotic Plant Life
The garden paradise with its wide array of plant life was designed by acclaimed landscape architects of the Gillespies firm. The elegant terraces include a variety of Mediterranean and South African plant species. Some of the most exotic flowering plants include the Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia), the African Lily (Agapanthus), and the Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae).
This intriguing expanse of plant life also includes 85 Italian wisteria trees and more than 30 fruit trees. It also displays an exquisite flowing water feature that is 200 feet long, and comfortable, relaxed seating for guests is distributed through the garden areas.
Visit Fine Restaurants and Bars
There are two excellent dining venues in the garden, Fenchurch Restaurant and the Darwin Brasserie. At the stylish Fenchurch, you can enjoy a sophisticated British menu and a stellar wine list, and the Darwin eatery features hearty local specialties and drinks in a casual atmosphere. The sociable City Garden Bar serves wine, beer, cider, and creative cocktails all day, the friendly Sky Pod Bar offers bar food, drinks, and live music, and elegant foods and beverages are also served in Fenchurch Terrace on Sky Garden’s top floor.
Did you know: (3 interesting facts!)
- The celebrated City of London architectural development adviser, Francis Golding, selected Rafael Viñoly as the innovative architect to design Sky Garden.
- Sky Garden is located in the very centre of London, which is the perfect venue for gaining a spectacular, sweeping view of the entire city.
- Sky Garden was designed with a continuous walkway around the building’s topmost perimeter to ensure stellar viewing of vistas of the scenic city skyline from all four directions.
History
- 2004 – World-renowned Uruguayan architect, Rafael Viñoly, designed Sky Garden.
- January 2009 – Canary Wharf Contractors started piling on the site of the Sky Garden building on Fenchurch Street.
- January 2011 – Construction work on the basement level of the building was begun.
- March 2012 – The building’s concrete core was completed.
- December 2012 – The construction steelwork was completed.
- April 2014 – The building shell and flooring were completed.
- August 2014 – The building and Sky Garden were completed.
Facilities and Accessibility
The Sky Garden bars and restaurants will accommodate walk-in guests without reservations whenever possible, starting at 6:15 pm on evenings during the week and 9:15 pm on weekends.
Children under 16 years of age are welcome to visit Sky Garden as long as they are accompanied by an adult. This adult must be 18 years old or above. One adult is permitted to bring a total of three children to visit the garden and its eateries.
Sky Garden is designed to be accessible to everyone. If you or another member of your party is disabled, you can contact the customer service team before your visit to arrange for the use of a wheelchair. Navigating the gardens with a wheelchair is easy and is encouraged for disabled or elderly guests. Sky Garden welcomes one and all.